By Jay Hardin
Springfield, IL-What a day at Springfield for two-time USAC Sprint Car champ
Brian Tyler! After qualifying poorly, Tyler dusted off the competition to
win the last chance race and advance to the 44th Tony Bettenhausen 100.
Considered a dark horse favorite by many in the know after his performance
in May's Hoosier 100 and then winning the Sumar 100 at Terre Haute, Tyler
began the Bettenhausen 100 in the 21st position. Quickly disposing of the
stiff competition in front of him, which included Jay Drake, Tony Elliot and
defending Bettenhausen 100 winner Dave Darland among others, Tyler caught
Rich Tobias on a lap 48 restart and charged into the lead, never to be
seriously challenged again. Tyler's win was popular with the crowd, and
owner Tom Johnson of 6R Racing as well.
By winning the consi and taking the Bettenhausen 100 as well, Tyler became
just the second driver to win the 100-mile grind from the consi since USAC
began running the last chance event in 1978. The only other driver to come
from the consi and take the Bettenhausen as well was the late Kenny Irwin,
who started 28th (the furthest back any Springfield championship race winner
has started) and won the race. Tyler's 21st starting position was also the
furthest back any winner has started since Irwin's jaunt from 28th in 1995.
Tobias, among others, put on a great show for the fans on Saturday. Tobias,
starting 12th in his own creation, looked like a combination of A.J. Foyt
and Parnelli Jones when he headed for the top groove at the drop of the
green flag, and swept around seven or eight cars in the first two corners
alone! Continuing his march, Tobias crossed the finish line in second and
then calmly motored around pole sitter Jerry Coons, Jr. in turn two for the
lead! Tobias began pulling away and covered the first 25 miles in just over
13 minutes, averaging over 111 miles an hour in the process! In fact, it
appeared for a long time as if seventeen year old 100-mile track record of
Jack Hewitt would be smashed to bits, but the first caution of the day on
lap 40 for Russ Gamester's stalled car in the second corner squashed any
hopes of a new 100-mile track record. As it was, Tyler still averaged over
97 miles an hour for the 100-mile distance.
Speaking of Coons, he won his first Springfield pole position Saturday with
a lap of 30.362, or 118.569 miles an hour. Coons used the cushion to set
fast time, and in Springfield tradition was aided by an early draw, going
out fourth in the lineup. Coons sat on the front row here last year, and it
a bit of irony drove a car he used to sit on the pole position a couple of
years ago at DuQuoin, while the car he sat on the outside of the front row
at Springfield last year sat along side of him this year, driven by the
"Silent Gasser", Jon Stanbrough.
Coons must feel kind of frustrated by Springfield, last year he led one lap
of the Bettenhausen before being re-passed by teammate Dave Darland. This
year, he led the opening lap before watching as the 12th starting Tobias
went by on the outside. Jerry missed duplicating last year's second place
run by one spot this year.
"The Rave" Dave Darland, one of the pre-race favorites, had a decent
afternoon with a third place qualifying effort and early one seemed to be
pacing himself. However, the three time Bettenhausen 100 winner was not
able to show the blazing speed that the Galen Fox 56 had last year, Darland
was never able to seriously challenge for the lead and ended the day in the
sixth position, but in the process regained fifth slot in the point
standings.
The other heavy pre-race favorite, Jay Drake had a much worse day Saturday.
Driving the Mopar sponsored machine owned by 1981 Bettenhausen 100 winner
George Snider and NASCAR's Tony Stewart, Drake qualified the machine in 10th
and was lapped by Tobias before halfway. The driver who had captured three
consecutive Silver Crown events prior to Springfield finished in 14th and
lost one spot in the Weld Racing Silver Crown point standings.
Point leader Dave Steele had a day reminiscent of 1993 Silver Crown champ
Mike Bliss Saturday. Much like Bliss, Steele is considered a better
pavement driver than dirt track ace, though you would never know it by Dave'
s performance at the Hoosier Hundred in May. Steele started eleventh,
stayed out of trouble all day and finished in seventh, gaining valuable
points toward the title.
His closest pursuer Jason McCord didn't have such luck, though his 12th
place finish was gained through a lot of hard work and a lot of help.
McCord's HatWorld Beast may have had something break in the steering in
practice, as the car smashed the front chute wall just past the flag stand.
Nearly every bolt on part of the front end was broken or bent, and the
Contos crew scrounged the pit area for spare parts. Jason returned to the
track in time to take one qualifying lap at the end of time trials, gingerly
taking a 34.478 in qualifying. He conservatively ran 8th in the consi, then
moved from 28th to 12th in the 100-mile main event, losing just a few points
to leader Steele and retaining second in the standings.
A record three drivers from Springfield and eight from Illinois entered the
44th Bettenhausen 100 and it was clear the partisan crowd was rooting for
the local favorites. Unfortunately, it was an up and down day for the home
state pilots. Indy 500 veteran Donnie Beechler, looking at perhaps some
stock car or truck racing activity if the opportunity presents, encountered
problems with the right rear of the Mopar powered Stanton of Team 6R and
failed to make the top 20 in qualifications. In fact he nearly had a repeat
of a few years ago when the car jumped the cushion in qualifying and he
nearly kissed the fence. The crew fixed the rear brake and adjusted the
handling of the car, allowing Donnie to finish 2nd in the consi. Once the
Bettenhausen 100 started, Beechler was moving up steadily until a suspension
bolt snapped and knocked the right rear shock off, dropping the rear end to
the ground and ending his day in the last slot. Springfield's Jim Moughan,
once an employee of the Illinois State Fair, ran one of the new Eagle
chassis built in Springfield by former driver Jerry Russell. Returning to
the dirt cars after an absence of 15 years, the son of "Gentleman Jim"
Moughan looked very comfortable and quite fast in hot laps, touring the
course in the low 31 second bracket. However, problems developed in practice
when the drive pulleys broke and had to be replaced. Moughan started 14th,
but on lap 48 the drive belt came apart and sidelined Jim in 26th.
The other Springfield shoe just missed adding his name to the record books
on Saturday. Admittedly nervous about his debut in the big cars before the
home town crown, Justin Allgaier quickly got comfortable in Ebby Bergfield's
J&J chassis, the former Bowen owned mount of Eric Gordon. Allgaier looked
good in practice, however by the time he went out in the 26th slot the track
had changed considerably. Justin put together two extremely consistent
laps, varying only by .05 and setting 30th quick time. He was running in a
transfer slot in the consi before a caution came out and the car "loaded up"
on fuel during the slow down. He lost several slots on the restart, and as
the track took rubber was unable to keep the car on the bottom of the
Springfield Mile. Justin missed by one position becoming the first driver
in fifteen years to compete in both the Bettenhausen 100 dirt car race and
the Allen Crowe 100 stock car race on the same weekend, the last being Tom
Bigelow. And, had Allgaier made both shows, he would have been the youngest
driver in Illinois State Fair history to make both events. Justin started
college on Monday, while trying to get both the stock car and dirt car ready
for DuQuoin, where once again he will try to become the first driver in
fifteen years and the youngest to make both the stock car and dirt car event
on the "Magic Mile".
Allgaier will have company at DuQuoin, as Galesburg's A.J. Fike announced
this week he will attempt not two, but THREE events at DuQuoin, running the
Ted Horn 100 for the Silver Crown cars, the Federated-Southern Illinois 100
for the ARCA cars and the UMP Modified Bill Oldani Memorial as well. A.J.
is a former Silver Crown driver who ran at Springfield last year, and sat on
the pole for Sunday's ARCA event this year. He fared better than brother
Aaron, who is a former winner in the Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series. Aaron
had to run the consi in the family machine, and dropped out in 28th with
ignition problems early in the Bettenhausen 100. Other Illinois drivers
included Marion's Alex Shanks, making his debut in the big cars but
finishing 16th in the consi, Saybrook's Kyle Wissmiller who finished behind
Allgaier in the consi, and Decatur veteran Terry Babb who finished behind
Wissmiller. However, Murphysboro veteran Randy Bateman had a very good day,
bringing the car home in 16th in the 100-miler, just one lap down.
A number of top pilots had very difficult days. Jon Stanbrough qualified on
the outside of the front row in the Steve Fox machine, but a mishandling car
and a flat tire relegated him to 21st. Mopar Thunder winner Kevin Huntley
qualified 15th but ended the day in 27th with engine failure. 2001
Bettenhausen winner and Silver Crown champ Paul White was the first car out
of the consi after running well ahead of the last transfer slot, and Tyler
Walker, third here a year ago in the Roger Johnson machine brought the Kasey
Kahne team this season and qualified fifth. He appeared destined for a top
finish until the right rear tire gave way, dropping him to 22nd at the end.
Hendrick Motorsports development driver Boston Reid started ninth and was
running in the top ten when issues with the car dropped him 5 laps down,
though running at the end. Teddy Beach, holder of the world record mile
dirt track lap for a Silver Crown car set last year at DuQuoin, was blazing
fast in practice until the engine let go and the Beach Boys team loaded up
and headed for home before noon.
There was some good news for several drivers, however. "Hot Rod" John
Heydenreich qualified the Sharon Bank Beast in 20th after going out 25th,
and by the end of the day was in fourth. Matt Westfall, the rookie of the
year in the dirt cars in 2002, took the Daugherty Beast from 13th to a fine
5th place finish at the end. Bud Kaeding, the winner at Tulsa last year,
started 8th and finished there for the Zarounian family, while Indiana's
Shane Hollingsworth qualified 4th and garnered a top ten. Todd Kane,
subbing for the still recuperating Johnny Parsons, started 18th and had the
Ricky Nix dirt car in 11th at the end. Ron Gregory and Aaron Pierce ran all
day, while Ohio's Mike Brecht got valuable track time in Ralph DePalma's
twenty-year old Gambler.
For the record, Brian Tyler gave car number 21 its first Springfield
victory, and his winning time and speed were the 8th fastest in the 70 year
championship race history of the Illinois State Fairgrounds. His victory
gave the Chevrolet stock block V-8 win number 28 at Springfield, and Bob
East a record 13th victory for one of his creations. Tyler's car was the
tenth to pull into Springfield's victory lane on McCreary brand tires.
Tyler became the 43rd different championship race winner in 70 years (and 70
races) at Springfield, and the 23rd different winner of the Tony
Bettenhausen 100. His 21st starting position was the second furthest back
anyone has come to victory, behind Kenny Irwin's 28th slot in 1995.
Saturday also marked the first laps led on the Springfield Mile by Brian
Tyler.
Coons first pole position at Springfield was a speed that was the 4th
fastest pole position time and speed in 70 years at Springfield.
Saturday's entry list turned out to be 41 strong, and the quality of the
machines unparalleled in recent memory. However, there were a number of
no-shows among cars and drivers that could have swelled the entry list back
up close to the fifty mark common for many seasons at the Illinois State
Fairgrounds. Josh Wise was scheduled to drive the Gene Nolen owned number
20, however Josh was busy racing in the SCRA event in Kansas City and
neither car nor machine made the trip. It marked the first time in a number
of years, perhaps over twenty that the yellow 20 of Glen Neibel or Gene
Nolen failed to appear at Springfield. Other no-shows were the 44 of Danny
Ebberts who ran at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in May, the familiar orange
and white 12 of Bob Galas, the Mataka 3n1 which was entered, Billy
Puterbaugh's 73, the Parker 24 which Josh Wise ran at the Indy mile in May
and the well used Lloyd chassis number 84 of Herb Spivey which was to have
carried Tad Roach. 2000 USAC champ Tracy Hines and the Indiana Underground
Beast were entered, but his current NASCAR commitments kept he and the car
away. Dane Carter, who took several weeks to recover from his nasty crash
at the Indy mile in May was ride hunting and helping out in the pits,
indicating that the Beast he crashed was a write off and that the owner
lacked funds to put a car together for the dirt miles. Springfield's Donnie
Lehmann, many time MARA midget champ is rumored to still have his Watson
dirt car but also lacks funding to compete. Also notable was the absence of
Gus "Digger" Sohm and the 1988 winning Adkins-McQueen chassis he owns.
Apparently Texans Murray Erickson and Wes Miller have left the series,
Miller was involved in a spectacular crash at DuQuoin last September and the
car appeared to be a write off. Indianapolis midget driver David Bridges
and family sold their Beast after last season, and the Chicago based
Aviators operation has decided to call it quits, putting their equipment up
for sale as well.
One car that has retired but looks like it still could garner a top ten is
the former Indiana Underground 37, an Edmunds chassis that A.J. Foyt once
bought and intended to run at the Hoosier 100 in the early 1990's. Once
owned by Claire Pattee, the car is one of the old style championship
machines and has a full belly pan, chrome grille and open cockpit that fans
really love. The car is painted as it appeared in the early 90's, it was
driven by such greats as Stan Fox, Steve Chassey, Stevie Reeves and even
Jack Hewitt. Foyt's foot injuries at Elkhart Lake in 1990 kept him from
competing in the machine, but today it carries the Copenhagen logo made
famous on Foyt's Indianapolis cars. The car ran in the vintage event prior
to the Bettenhausen 100.
The Springfield crowd was treated to some unusual August weather, with sunny
skies, low humidity and a temperature in the high 70's, it was a gorgeous
day for racing. The cooler weather, rain on Friday and tremendous work by
the track crew led to a wonderful race track on Saturday. Two and three
distinct grooves developed in hot laps and drivers flirted near the track
record. Fans were treated to real old style championship dirt car racing in
practice, many drivers were backing it in "old style" and the young midget
chauffeurs in the field showed absolutely no fear. In the eleven years as
promoter at Springfield, Bob Sargent has really learned what the "World's
Fastest Mile Dirt Track" does and does not like.
Hope for improvements at the Illinois State Fairgrounds appeared to take on
some reality this year, even the governor mentioned that lighting of the
mile would help horse and auto racing, and the fair manager mentioned the
possibility again at the close of the festivities. Once the most modern
mile dirt track in the world, some minor improvements would once again make
Springfield the premier one mile dirt track on the planet. DuQuoin has seen
a massive renovation project in the last five years that continues, while
the Indiana State Fairground mile, once near demise, has seen a rejuvenation
and now may get a new dirt surface to replace the sandy loam now used. The
Illinois State Fair has done a number of improvements around the grounds,
and this year had a welcome sight at the race track, a new stage and
concrete ramps and walkway. The state also replaced or added a number of
grandstand seats in the lower area. Lights at Springfield would most
certainly mean blazing speed for any auto racing run at night, and perhaps a
28 second lap for the dirt cars!
The USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown Series moves to the pavement at Nazareth
this weekend, but comes back to the tradition of the series when they visit
the beautiful DuQuoin State Fairgrounds for a Sunday night race on September
5th. This will be the first time during the running of the DuQuoin State
Fair the big dirt cars have run at night, last year's event was rained out
and run one week after the fair.
Springfield, IL-What a day at Springfield for two-time USAC Sprint Car champ
Brian Tyler! After qualifying poorly, Tyler dusted off the competition to
win the last chance race and advance to the 44th Tony Bettenhausen 100.
Considered a dark horse favorite by many in the know after his performance
in May's Hoosier 100 and then winning the Sumar 100 at Terre Haute, Tyler
began the Bettenhausen 100 in the 21st position. Quickly disposing of the
stiff competition in front of him, which included Jay Drake, Tony Elliot and
defending Bettenhausen 100 winner Dave Darland among others, Tyler caught
Rich Tobias on a lap 48 restart and charged into the lead, never to be
seriously challenged again. Tyler's win was popular with the crowd, and
owner Tom Johnson of 6R Racing as well.
By winning the consi and taking the Bettenhausen 100 as well, Tyler became
just the second driver to win the 100-mile grind from the consi since USAC
began running the last chance event in 1978. The only other driver to come
from the consi and take the Bettenhausen as well was the late Kenny Irwin,
who started 28th (the furthest back any Springfield championship race winner
has started) and won the race. Tyler's 21st starting position was also the
furthest back any winner has started since Irwin's jaunt from 28th in 1995.
Tobias, among others, put on a great show for the fans on Saturday. Tobias,
starting 12th in his own creation, looked like a combination of A.J. Foyt
and Parnelli Jones when he headed for the top groove at the drop of the
green flag, and swept around seven or eight cars in the first two corners
alone! Continuing his march, Tobias crossed the finish line in second and
then calmly motored around pole sitter Jerry Coons, Jr. in turn two for the
lead! Tobias began pulling away and covered the first 25 miles in just over
13 minutes, averaging over 111 miles an hour in the process! In fact, it
appeared for a long time as if seventeen year old 100-mile track record of
Jack Hewitt would be smashed to bits, but the first caution of the day on
lap 40 for Russ Gamester's stalled car in the second corner squashed any
hopes of a new 100-mile track record. As it was, Tyler still averaged over
97 miles an hour for the 100-mile distance.
Speaking of Coons, he won his first Springfield pole position Saturday with
a lap of 30.362, or 118.569 miles an hour. Coons used the cushion to set
fast time, and in Springfield tradition was aided by an early draw, going
out fourth in the lineup. Coons sat on the front row here last year, and it
a bit of irony drove a car he used to sit on the pole position a couple of
years ago at DuQuoin, while the car he sat on the outside of the front row
at Springfield last year sat along side of him this year, driven by the
"Silent Gasser", Jon Stanbrough.
Coons must feel kind of frustrated by Springfield, last year he led one lap
of the Bettenhausen before being re-passed by teammate Dave Darland. This
year, he led the opening lap before watching as the 12th starting Tobias
went by on the outside. Jerry missed duplicating last year's second place
run by one spot this year.
"The Rave" Dave Darland, one of the pre-race favorites, had a decent
afternoon with a third place qualifying effort and early one seemed to be
pacing himself. However, the three time Bettenhausen 100 winner was not
able to show the blazing speed that the Galen Fox 56 had last year, Darland
was never able to seriously challenge for the lead and ended the day in the
sixth position, but in the process regained fifth slot in the point
standings.
The other heavy pre-race favorite, Jay Drake had a much worse day Saturday.
Driving the Mopar sponsored machine owned by 1981 Bettenhausen 100 winner
George Snider and NASCAR's Tony Stewart, Drake qualified the machine in 10th
and was lapped by Tobias before halfway. The driver who had captured three
consecutive Silver Crown events prior to Springfield finished in 14th and
lost one spot in the Weld Racing Silver Crown point standings.
Point leader Dave Steele had a day reminiscent of 1993 Silver Crown champ
Mike Bliss Saturday. Much like Bliss, Steele is considered a better
pavement driver than dirt track ace, though you would never know it by Dave'
s performance at the Hoosier Hundred in May. Steele started eleventh,
stayed out of trouble all day and finished in seventh, gaining valuable
points toward the title.
His closest pursuer Jason McCord didn't have such luck, though his 12th
place finish was gained through a lot of hard work and a lot of help.
McCord's HatWorld Beast may have had something break in the steering in
practice, as the car smashed the front chute wall just past the flag stand.
Nearly every bolt on part of the front end was broken or bent, and the
Contos crew scrounged the pit area for spare parts. Jason returned to the
track in time to take one qualifying lap at the end of time trials, gingerly
taking a 34.478 in qualifying. He conservatively ran 8th in the consi, then
moved from 28th to 12th in the 100-mile main event, losing just a few points
to leader Steele and retaining second in the standings.
A record three drivers from Springfield and eight from Illinois entered the
44th Bettenhausen 100 and it was clear the partisan crowd was rooting for
the local favorites. Unfortunately, it was an up and down day for the home
state pilots. Indy 500 veteran Donnie Beechler, looking at perhaps some
stock car or truck racing activity if the opportunity presents, encountered
problems with the right rear of the Mopar powered Stanton of Team 6R and
failed to make the top 20 in qualifications. In fact he nearly had a repeat
of a few years ago when the car jumped the cushion in qualifying and he
nearly kissed the fence. The crew fixed the rear brake and adjusted the
handling of the car, allowing Donnie to finish 2nd in the consi. Once the
Bettenhausen 100 started, Beechler was moving up steadily until a suspension
bolt snapped and knocked the right rear shock off, dropping the rear end to
the ground and ending his day in the last slot. Springfield's Jim Moughan,
once an employee of the Illinois State Fair, ran one of the new Eagle
chassis built in Springfield by former driver Jerry Russell. Returning to
the dirt cars after an absence of 15 years, the son of "Gentleman Jim"
Moughan looked very comfortable and quite fast in hot laps, touring the
course in the low 31 second bracket. However, problems developed in practice
when the drive pulleys broke and had to be replaced. Moughan started 14th,
but on lap 48 the drive belt came apart and sidelined Jim in 26th.
The other Springfield shoe just missed adding his name to the record books
on Saturday. Admittedly nervous about his debut in the big cars before the
home town crown, Justin Allgaier quickly got comfortable in Ebby Bergfield's
J&J chassis, the former Bowen owned mount of Eric Gordon. Allgaier looked
good in practice, however by the time he went out in the 26th slot the track
had changed considerably. Justin put together two extremely consistent
laps, varying only by .05 and setting 30th quick time. He was running in a
transfer slot in the consi before a caution came out and the car "loaded up"
on fuel during the slow down. He lost several slots on the restart, and as
the track took rubber was unable to keep the car on the bottom of the
Springfield Mile. Justin missed by one position becoming the first driver
in fifteen years to compete in both the Bettenhausen 100 dirt car race and
the Allen Crowe 100 stock car race on the same weekend, the last being Tom
Bigelow. And, had Allgaier made both shows, he would have been the youngest
driver in Illinois State Fair history to make both events. Justin started
college on Monday, while trying to get both the stock car and dirt car ready
for DuQuoin, where once again he will try to become the first driver in
fifteen years and the youngest to make both the stock car and dirt car event
on the "Magic Mile".
Allgaier will have company at DuQuoin, as Galesburg's A.J. Fike announced
this week he will attempt not two, but THREE events at DuQuoin, running the
Ted Horn 100 for the Silver Crown cars, the Federated-Southern Illinois 100
for the ARCA cars and the UMP Modified Bill Oldani Memorial as well. A.J.
is a former Silver Crown driver who ran at Springfield last year, and sat on
the pole for Sunday's ARCA event this year. He fared better than brother
Aaron, who is a former winner in the Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series. Aaron
had to run the consi in the family machine, and dropped out in 28th with
ignition problems early in the Bettenhausen 100. Other Illinois drivers
included Marion's Alex Shanks, making his debut in the big cars but
finishing 16th in the consi, Saybrook's Kyle Wissmiller who finished behind
Allgaier in the consi, and Decatur veteran Terry Babb who finished behind
Wissmiller. However, Murphysboro veteran Randy Bateman had a very good day,
bringing the car home in 16th in the 100-miler, just one lap down.
A number of top pilots had very difficult days. Jon Stanbrough qualified on
the outside of the front row in the Steve Fox machine, but a mishandling car
and a flat tire relegated him to 21st. Mopar Thunder winner Kevin Huntley
qualified 15th but ended the day in 27th with engine failure. 2001
Bettenhausen winner and Silver Crown champ Paul White was the first car out
of the consi after running well ahead of the last transfer slot, and Tyler
Walker, third here a year ago in the Roger Johnson machine brought the Kasey
Kahne team this season and qualified fifth. He appeared destined for a top
finish until the right rear tire gave way, dropping him to 22nd at the end.
Hendrick Motorsports development driver Boston Reid started ninth and was
running in the top ten when issues with the car dropped him 5 laps down,
though running at the end. Teddy Beach, holder of the world record mile
dirt track lap for a Silver Crown car set last year at DuQuoin, was blazing
fast in practice until the engine let go and the Beach Boys team loaded up
and headed for home before noon.
There was some good news for several drivers, however. "Hot Rod" John
Heydenreich qualified the Sharon Bank Beast in 20th after going out 25th,
and by the end of the day was in fourth. Matt Westfall, the rookie of the
year in the dirt cars in 2002, took the Daugherty Beast from 13th to a fine
5th place finish at the end. Bud Kaeding, the winner at Tulsa last year,
started 8th and finished there for the Zarounian family, while Indiana's
Shane Hollingsworth qualified 4th and garnered a top ten. Todd Kane,
subbing for the still recuperating Johnny Parsons, started 18th and had the
Ricky Nix dirt car in 11th at the end. Ron Gregory and Aaron Pierce ran all
day, while Ohio's Mike Brecht got valuable track time in Ralph DePalma's
twenty-year old Gambler.
For the record, Brian Tyler gave car number 21 its first Springfield
victory, and his winning time and speed were the 8th fastest in the 70 year
championship race history of the Illinois State Fairgrounds. His victory
gave the Chevrolet stock block V-8 win number 28 at Springfield, and Bob
East a record 13th victory for one of his creations. Tyler's car was the
tenth to pull into Springfield's victory lane on McCreary brand tires.
Tyler became the 43rd different championship race winner in 70 years (and 70
races) at Springfield, and the 23rd different winner of the Tony
Bettenhausen 100. His 21st starting position was the second furthest back
anyone has come to victory, behind Kenny Irwin's 28th slot in 1995.
Saturday also marked the first laps led on the Springfield Mile by Brian
Tyler.
Coons first pole position at Springfield was a speed that was the 4th
fastest pole position time and speed in 70 years at Springfield.
Saturday's entry list turned out to be 41 strong, and the quality of the
machines unparalleled in recent memory. However, there were a number of
no-shows among cars and drivers that could have swelled the entry list back
up close to the fifty mark common for many seasons at the Illinois State
Fairgrounds. Josh Wise was scheduled to drive the Gene Nolen owned number
20, however Josh was busy racing in the SCRA event in Kansas City and
neither car nor machine made the trip. It marked the first time in a number
of years, perhaps over twenty that the yellow 20 of Glen Neibel or Gene
Nolen failed to appear at Springfield. Other no-shows were the 44 of Danny
Ebberts who ran at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in May, the familiar orange
and white 12 of Bob Galas, the Mataka 3n1 which was entered, Billy
Puterbaugh's 73, the Parker 24 which Josh Wise ran at the Indy mile in May
and the well used Lloyd chassis number 84 of Herb Spivey which was to have
carried Tad Roach. 2000 USAC champ Tracy Hines and the Indiana Underground
Beast were entered, but his current NASCAR commitments kept he and the car
away. Dane Carter, who took several weeks to recover from his nasty crash
at the Indy mile in May was ride hunting and helping out in the pits,
indicating that the Beast he crashed was a write off and that the owner
lacked funds to put a car together for the dirt miles. Springfield's Donnie
Lehmann, many time MARA midget champ is rumored to still have his Watson
dirt car but also lacks funding to compete. Also notable was the absence of
Gus "Digger" Sohm and the 1988 winning Adkins-McQueen chassis he owns.
Apparently Texans Murray Erickson and Wes Miller have left the series,
Miller was involved in a spectacular crash at DuQuoin last September and the
car appeared to be a write off. Indianapolis midget driver David Bridges
and family sold their Beast after last season, and the Chicago based
Aviators operation has decided to call it quits, putting their equipment up
for sale as well.
One car that has retired but looks like it still could garner a top ten is
the former Indiana Underground 37, an Edmunds chassis that A.J. Foyt once
bought and intended to run at the Hoosier 100 in the early 1990's. Once
owned by Claire Pattee, the car is one of the old style championship
machines and has a full belly pan, chrome grille and open cockpit that fans
really love. The car is painted as it appeared in the early 90's, it was
driven by such greats as Stan Fox, Steve Chassey, Stevie Reeves and even
Jack Hewitt. Foyt's foot injuries at Elkhart Lake in 1990 kept him from
competing in the machine, but today it carries the Copenhagen logo made
famous on Foyt's Indianapolis cars. The car ran in the vintage event prior
to the Bettenhausen 100.
The Springfield crowd was treated to some unusual August weather, with sunny
skies, low humidity and a temperature in the high 70's, it was a gorgeous
day for racing. The cooler weather, rain on Friday and tremendous work by
the track crew led to a wonderful race track on Saturday. Two and three
distinct grooves developed in hot laps and drivers flirted near the track
record. Fans were treated to real old style championship dirt car racing in
practice, many drivers were backing it in "old style" and the young midget
chauffeurs in the field showed absolutely no fear. In the eleven years as
promoter at Springfield, Bob Sargent has really learned what the "World's
Fastest Mile Dirt Track" does and does not like.
Hope for improvements at the Illinois State Fairgrounds appeared to take on
some reality this year, even the governor mentioned that lighting of the
mile would help horse and auto racing, and the fair manager mentioned the
possibility again at the close of the festivities. Once the most modern
mile dirt track in the world, some minor improvements would once again make
Springfield the premier one mile dirt track on the planet. DuQuoin has seen
a massive renovation project in the last five years that continues, while
the Indiana State Fairground mile, once near demise, has seen a rejuvenation
and now may get a new dirt surface to replace the sandy loam now used. The
Illinois State Fair has done a number of improvements around the grounds,
and this year had a welcome sight at the race track, a new stage and
concrete ramps and walkway. The state also replaced or added a number of
grandstand seats in the lower area. Lights at Springfield would most
certainly mean blazing speed for any auto racing run at night, and perhaps a
28 second lap for the dirt cars!
The USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown Series moves to the pavement at Nazareth
this weekend, but comes back to the tradition of the series when they visit
the beautiful DuQuoin State Fairgrounds for a Sunday night race on September
5th. This will be the first time during the running of the DuQuoin State
Fair the big dirt cars have run at night, last year's event was rained out
and run one week after the fair.
