* * * * * By: Dustin Jarrett * * * * *
At the beginning of the year when I planned the 3rd Annual "Six Days on the Road" Tour, I decided to expand the trip to nine days and, honestly, I didn't think we could pull it off. 2,735 miles and 21 fountain drinks later, we accomplished our goal. It wasn't an easy feat, by any means. Wet weather, tornadoes, and even mosquitoes as big as vultures all tried to stop us... but to no avail. Kick back and relax as this is going to be a long one, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the story.
Friday, July 2nd -- Official Showtime co-pilot Joe Gainey rolled into town Friday afternoon and we wasted no time slipping across the OH/IN border (and gained an hour of time) to the paperclip 3/8 mile track known as UNION COUNTY SPEEDWAY located just outside of Liberty, Indiana. The NALMS Late Models were on hand as this marked my third trip of the year to UCS. Car counts were 28 Late Models, 17 Modifieds, 13 Street Stocks, 17 Bombers, and 22 Road Hogs. A big tip of the hat to good friend John Whitney who bested a stout field of cars in time trials to set the overall fast time in the 66m car with a quick lap of 15.52. The first heat of the night rolled onto the track at 8:15pm and, as usual, the UCS staff did a nice job of keeping the program moving. Unfortunately, on this particular night, the track really seemed to lock down and the low side of the track was the preferred groove. Nevertheless, Shawn Negangard, "Insane" Duane Chamberlain, and Darrell Lanigan (wheeling Jeff Alsip's #78) put on a pretty good show up front with Chamberlain and Lanigan each working Negangard hard for the point. When all was said and done, Negangard fended off the challenges and picked up the $2000 paycheck with Lanigan, Chamberlain, Mark Frazier, and Jeff Wilson rounding out the top five.
Saturday, July 3rd -- West bound and down, Joe & I left at 9am for our Saturday night destination, Pevely, Missouri's I-55 RACEWAY for their UMP Summer Nationals race. At 2pm, about 30 miles east of St. Louis, I received a phone call from Showtime crew member Ernie informing me that I-55 had just rained out. No sweat. We'll find another track. Three phone calls later, we still hadn't found anyone that was running.
Before crossing the Mississippi River and the Gateway to the West, we put a phone call in to my mom (the official Showtime on-call meteorologist). She informed us that nothing looked good due west and we should consider heading southwest. We found two tracks in the southwest part of Missouri that were running -- St. Francois County Raceway and Poplar Bluff Speedway. Poplar Bluff runs Late Models, St. Francois County doesn't.
We headed nearly three hours south of St. Louis to the new POPLAR BLUFF SPEEDWAY located near Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The track is a relatively high-banked 3/8-mile with long straightaways and fairly tight turns. A concrete wall and catchfence line the entire speedway with the exception of where cars enter the track (at the beginning of the backstretch) and where cars exit the track (at the end of the backstretch) as the pits are located off the backstretch. A lap counter located in turns three and four allow both fans and drivers to see how many laps have been completed.
Ample seating on both the front and back straightaways allows fans from both the general admission and pit sides to gain a view of the action on the speedway. The concession stand offers a small array of dinner options with yours truly finding the $2.50 cheeseburger to be pretty darn good. You can also purchase a very informative program for a $1.00 as it contains a track schedule, current point standings, and a driver's list for all classes.
Racing at The Bluff started at 7:25pm (five minute early!) due to inclement weather on the horizon. We could see it coming. Big black swirling clouds heading our way. PBS wasted no time in running off dashes for all classes (Late Models, Modifieds, Super Streets, Pure Streets, and Two-Man Cruisers). Heat races followed starting with the bottom class and working their way up. The pill-draw format combined with the Delaware restarts made for some VERY exciting racing in the prelims. Just as the second Modified heat was taking the green flag, the monsoon rolled in and made a big impact. Thrashing winds and heavy rain forced the cancellation of this program an hour after it started and just three races way from intermission.
With visions of Gordy Killian dancing in our heads -- and noting that it was only 8:20pm -- Joe and I began looking for other options in an attempt to pull off the double. We found our target and it was an hour and 20 minutes south in Paragould, Arkansas. The track was called CROWLEY'S RIDGE RACEWAY and they were running Limited Lates, Modifeds, Pure Stocks, Ridge Runners, Two-Man Cruisers, and Mini-Sprints. We hooked up with Limited Late driver Brian Richie and followed his team from the Poplar Bluff parking lot all the way to the Crowley's Ridge pit area.
The Showtime crew crashed the Crowley's Ridge party at 9:45pm to find the final heat race on the track. Intermission, complete with a nice little fireworks display, followed and then it was time for the features.
Now, let me give you a little info on Crowley's Ridge. To say that this track is nestled deep in in the hills of Arkansas would be an understatement. As a matter of fact, the have skeeters the size of vultures there. I swear two tried to pick Joe up and carry him away. Note to self: Take the 100% Deet Deep Woods Off with me the next time I go there. The Ridge is throw-back to the old days... a very small but wide 1/5-mile that pays next to nothing to win (the Limited Late winner pocketed $200 and two free tires). Poor lighting make it tough for drivers to see, but a good PA system allows fans to hear what's going on. The pits are located over a hill below turns 1 and 2 with additional pit parking behind the frontstretch. The general admission grandstands are all concrete, built into a hillside, and can hold about a 1,000 people. The place was packed on this particular night and not one person left until the final checkered flag waved.
Unofficial car counts were 14 Limited Lates, 13 Modifieds, 18 Pure Stocks, 8 Ridge Runners, 14 Two-Man Cruisers, and 9 Mini-Sprints. Despite several cautions waving in each of the six A-Mains, the racing was decent and track was smooth and tacky. It's worth noting that Crowley's Ridge makes cars race back to the caution flag (can we say "dangerous" boys and girls?) and, after about the top 5 cars are lined up, they really don't seem to care about the rest of the field. After the top 4 or 5 cars, restarts looked like a NASCAR start at Pocono with cars three and four wide regardless of where they were supposed to be in line.
The Limited Late feature was a good race, but a battle of attrition as several cars fell from the race. Our friend from Poplar Bluff, Brian Richie, started on the tail of the Limited Late feature and grabbed the win. The final race of the night was the A-Main for the Two-Man Cruisers and, as mentioned above, not one single person left until this race was over. The winners were driving an El Camino!
Sunday, July 4th -- After spending the night in Jonesboro, Arkansas, we left early in the morning for Central Missouri's LAKE OZARK SPEEDWAY. Getting to Lake Ozark was more of a challenge than anticipated as a fierce batch of rain containing hail and wild winds nearly stopped us somewhere around West Plains, Missouri. We later found out that the very same storm destroyed two homes in Jonesboro and claimed the life of one person just outside of West Plains.
We arrived at Lake Ozark safely and found an absolutely immaculate facility ready to host a MARS Late Model event. Like Poplar Bluff, Lake Ozark is another brand new facility with 2004 being its inaugural season. The track looks like a 3/8, but is advertised as a true 1/3-mile with 10 degree banking in the corners and 5 degree banking on the straightaways. The pits are located off the backshute and turns three & four and the speedway is completed lined with a concrete wall and catchfence with cars entering the track at the beginning of the frontstretch and exiting the track near the end of the backstretch. The facilities are exceptional with seating for 5,000 fans, an asphalt general admission section, a bright Musco lighting system, easy-to-hear PA system, transponder scoring & timing, a 20-place scoreboard/lap counter in turn 3, and a big concession stand with more menu items than I've ever seen at a dirt track (the $4.50 pulled pork sandwich seemed to be a fan favorite). Unfortunately, coolers are not allowed in the track and that gets a thumbs down from the Showtime crew.
Checking into the pits were 23 MARS Late Models, 36 Modifieds, 15 Super Stocks, and 16 Street Stocks. Pill draws were used to determine the line-ups in all classes with Delaware restarts being used to get things going after a caution. With racing advertised to start at 7pm, the first heat didn't make its way onto the track until 7:25pm. The racing surface was a driver's nightmare as it was extremely rough in the corners and it appeared as though the driver who caught the best bounce would lead coming off the turns. It was actually so bad they took over 30 minutes at intermission to bring out the grater and re-work the surface.
Unfortunately for fans wanting to leave early, the 40-lap MARS Late Model feature wasn't run until last. On the bright side, however, fans were treated to an absolutely fabulous Modified feature which saw lots of passing and side-by-side racing up front for the lead. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Carl Edwards jumped in some dude's car and started at the tail of the consi and won it and then started 18th in the feature. Long story made short, Steve Payne led early only to get a flat tire and fall into the pits to get it changed about 5 laps into the race. Edwards stormed from the tail of the field and was battling Jason Russell for the point when, out of no where, Payne blazed through the field like a houseafire and regained the lead with about 3 laps to go. The next by, however, mechanical woes ended Payne's amazing run back to the front and handed the lead and the win over to Carl Edwards. Edwards did his tradition backflip off the car onto the track in victory lane, much to the pleasure of the thousands in attendance.
The MARS Late Model A-Main rolled onto the speedway at 11:15pm. After eight cautions, the race was cut to 30 laps. Despite the pill draw/passing points format and the Delaware restarts, Scott Drake was uncontested in this one leading every lap from his number one starting spot. Following Drake to the line was Jeff Floyd, Leslie Essary, Richard Foster, and Wendell Wallace. The LM feature was over at midnight.
Monday, July 5th -- The UMP Summer Nationals event at Brownstown, Illinois' FAYETTE COUNTY SPEEDWAY was our Monday destination of choice. Unfortunately, they called off the show extremely early... 11:30am to be exact. The thought of hitting Lake Cumberland, Kentucky's Monday special crossed my mind but, with severe weather heading that way, we opted to grab a hotel in Collinsville, IL and call it a day. It's worth noting that a tornado touched down about 3 miles northeast of our hotel. Again, we dodged a bullet.
Tuesday, July 6th -- Tuesday's trip found us driving 30 minutes southeast of our hotel to the Madison County Fairgrounds to the HIGHLAND SPEEDWAY in Highland, IL. On tap was UMP Summer Nationals race #16 with a cool six grand going to the winner. The track is an older looking speedway that was recently given more banking in the corners. It's a somewhat narrow 1/4-mile track with fairly tight turns and a dirt infield. A concrete wall goes from turn one all the way around to turn four while a guardrail lines the outside of the frontstretch. Cars enter the track at the beginning of the frontshute and exit the track at the end of the backshute as the pits are located off turns three and four. The grandstands are your typical fair grandstands with the covered roof and concessions located below (in the bottom of) the stands. Top food choices include the BBQ sandwich for $2.50 and the basket of chicken tenders for $4.00.
The format for the UMP Summer Nationals is somewhat disappointing as all cars qualify and the fastest six are locked into a dash along with the defending UMP National Champion (Rodney Melvin), the highest Summer Nationals point man, and the high track point man. The top six finishers are locked into the feature and the other three start at the front of heads-up heat races. The feature is then lined up by the dash & heat finishes. The result is a format that provides little passing and a race winner that typically comes from one of the first four starting spots.
Car counts for this event were 34 Late Models, 31 Modifieds, and 12 Sportsmen. As an added surprise, Kenny Schrader was on hand racing his Federate Auto Parts #99 Late Model. The first race of the night hit the speedway right at 7:30pm and prelims in all classes at Highland were exceptional as the narrow track surprisingly provided constant side-by-side racing throughout the field. There was no wasted time in between races and a short 10 minute intermission was taken to allow track workers to take a breather. The Late Model feature was somewhat of a snoozer as outside polesitter Shannon Babb led all 40 laps en route to the win. Fast Qualifier Randy Korte finished 2nd followed by Summer Nationals points leader Don O'Neal, Steve Sheppard, and Billy Faust. The LM feature was over at 10:15pm.
The best race of the night, and possibly the best show of our entire week, was (yet again) the Modified feature. Scott Weber, Mike Harrison, and Jeff Leka battled right down to the checkered flag in a phenomenal two-and-three wide race for the top spot. Weber claimed with win with Leka 2nd and Harrison 3rd.
Wednesday, July 7th -- We ventured 3 hours north and grabbed a hotel in Peoria, Illinois before slipped over to the SPOON RIVER SPEEDWAY for race #17 of on the UMP Summer Nationals circuit and race #6 on our road trip. Spoon River, located outside of Banner, Illinois, is a VERY high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval with concrete wall along the frontstretch and yuke tires off turns one, two, and the backshute which is where most of the pits the pits are located. Cars may also pit in the infield, which is also separated from the track by several large yuke tires standing upright. Cars parked outside the track enter the speedway at the end of the backstretch and exit the track at the end of the front straightaway. A scoreboard at the end of the frontstretch helps fans keep track of laps, times, and the top five cars. Lighting is fair and the PA system is decent. The old wooden grandstands hold several fans, but don't provide a lot of leg and elbow room. The concession stand located behind the bleachers offer a few different dining options with the popular choices being the $3.50 pork chop sandwich and the $2.25 steak burger.
This Summer Nationals race drew a whopping 61 Late Models complimented by 40 Modifieds, 18 E-Mods, and 28 Hornets. Racing started right at 7:30pm at the Spoon River crew wasted absolutely no time during and in between races. One thing that Spoon River did that other tracks should take note of... when there was a caution on the track, all cars were stopped and lined up at the end of the frontstretch. The next time by, they were given the green flag. This eliminated senseless parade laps around the track under caution and allowed track officials to tell each and every driver exactly where he belonged.
The racing at Spoon River was so-so. As usual, the support classes had no problem passing cars and running side-by-side (pill draws for heats with Delaware restarts in both heats & features), but the Late Models didn't do much passing with the "all the fast cars up front" Summer Nationals format. Outside pole-sitter Don O'Neal grabbed the lead at the start of this race and, with only one caution to tighten the field back up, won this race easily over Shannon Babb, Dennis Erb, Randy Korte, and Terry English.
At the beginning of the year when I planned the 3rd Annual "Six Days on the Road" Tour, I decided to expand the trip to nine days and, honestly, I didn't think we could pull it off. 2,735 miles and 21 fountain drinks later, we accomplished our goal. It wasn't an easy feat, by any means. Wet weather, tornadoes, and even mosquitoes as big as vultures all tried to stop us... but to no avail. Kick back and relax as this is going to be a long one, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the story.
Friday, July 2nd -- Official Showtime co-pilot Joe Gainey rolled into town Friday afternoon and we wasted no time slipping across the OH/IN border (and gained an hour of time) to the paperclip 3/8 mile track known as UNION COUNTY SPEEDWAY located just outside of Liberty, Indiana. The NALMS Late Models were on hand as this marked my third trip of the year to UCS. Car counts were 28 Late Models, 17 Modifieds, 13 Street Stocks, 17 Bombers, and 22 Road Hogs. A big tip of the hat to good friend John Whitney who bested a stout field of cars in time trials to set the overall fast time in the 66m car with a quick lap of 15.52. The first heat of the night rolled onto the track at 8:15pm and, as usual, the UCS staff did a nice job of keeping the program moving. Unfortunately, on this particular night, the track really seemed to lock down and the low side of the track was the preferred groove. Nevertheless, Shawn Negangard, "Insane" Duane Chamberlain, and Darrell Lanigan (wheeling Jeff Alsip's #78) put on a pretty good show up front with Chamberlain and Lanigan each working Negangard hard for the point. When all was said and done, Negangard fended off the challenges and picked up the $2000 paycheck with Lanigan, Chamberlain, Mark Frazier, and Jeff Wilson rounding out the top five.
Saturday, July 3rd -- West bound and down, Joe & I left at 9am for our Saturday night destination, Pevely, Missouri's I-55 RACEWAY for their UMP Summer Nationals race. At 2pm, about 30 miles east of St. Louis, I received a phone call from Showtime crew member Ernie informing me that I-55 had just rained out. No sweat. We'll find another track. Three phone calls later, we still hadn't found anyone that was running.
Before crossing the Mississippi River and the Gateway to the West, we put a phone call in to my mom (the official Showtime on-call meteorologist). She informed us that nothing looked good due west and we should consider heading southwest. We found two tracks in the southwest part of Missouri that were running -- St. Francois County Raceway and Poplar Bluff Speedway. Poplar Bluff runs Late Models, St. Francois County doesn't.
We headed nearly three hours south of St. Louis to the new POPLAR BLUFF SPEEDWAY located near Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The track is a relatively high-banked 3/8-mile with long straightaways and fairly tight turns. A concrete wall and catchfence line the entire speedway with the exception of where cars enter the track (at the beginning of the backstretch) and where cars exit the track (at the end of the backstretch) as the pits are located off the backstretch. A lap counter located in turns three and four allow both fans and drivers to see how many laps have been completed.
Ample seating on both the front and back straightaways allows fans from both the general admission and pit sides to gain a view of the action on the speedway. The concession stand offers a small array of dinner options with yours truly finding the $2.50 cheeseburger to be pretty darn good. You can also purchase a very informative program for a $1.00 as it contains a track schedule, current point standings, and a driver's list for all classes.
Racing at The Bluff started at 7:25pm (five minute early!) due to inclement weather on the horizon. We could see it coming. Big black swirling clouds heading our way. PBS wasted no time in running off dashes for all classes (Late Models, Modifieds, Super Streets, Pure Streets, and Two-Man Cruisers). Heat races followed starting with the bottom class and working their way up. The pill-draw format combined with the Delaware restarts made for some VERY exciting racing in the prelims. Just as the second Modified heat was taking the green flag, the monsoon rolled in and made a big impact. Thrashing winds and heavy rain forced the cancellation of this program an hour after it started and just three races way from intermission.
With visions of Gordy Killian dancing in our heads -- and noting that it was only 8:20pm -- Joe and I began looking for other options in an attempt to pull off the double. We found our target and it was an hour and 20 minutes south in Paragould, Arkansas. The track was called CROWLEY'S RIDGE RACEWAY and they were running Limited Lates, Modifeds, Pure Stocks, Ridge Runners, Two-Man Cruisers, and Mini-Sprints. We hooked up with Limited Late driver Brian Richie and followed his team from the Poplar Bluff parking lot all the way to the Crowley's Ridge pit area.
The Showtime crew crashed the Crowley's Ridge party at 9:45pm to find the final heat race on the track. Intermission, complete with a nice little fireworks display, followed and then it was time for the features.
Now, let me give you a little info on Crowley's Ridge. To say that this track is nestled deep in in the hills of Arkansas would be an understatement. As a matter of fact, the have skeeters the size of vultures there. I swear two tried to pick Joe up and carry him away. Note to self: Take the 100% Deet Deep Woods Off with me the next time I go there. The Ridge is throw-back to the old days... a very small but wide 1/5-mile that pays next to nothing to win (the Limited Late winner pocketed $200 and two free tires). Poor lighting make it tough for drivers to see, but a good PA system allows fans to hear what's going on. The pits are located over a hill below turns 1 and 2 with additional pit parking behind the frontstretch. The general admission grandstands are all concrete, built into a hillside, and can hold about a 1,000 people. The place was packed on this particular night and not one person left until the final checkered flag waved.
Unofficial car counts were 14 Limited Lates, 13 Modifieds, 18 Pure Stocks, 8 Ridge Runners, 14 Two-Man Cruisers, and 9 Mini-Sprints. Despite several cautions waving in each of the six A-Mains, the racing was decent and track was smooth and tacky. It's worth noting that Crowley's Ridge makes cars race back to the caution flag (can we say "dangerous" boys and girls?) and, after about the top 5 cars are lined up, they really don't seem to care about the rest of the field. After the top 4 or 5 cars, restarts looked like a NASCAR start at Pocono with cars three and four wide regardless of where they were supposed to be in line.
The Limited Late feature was a good race, but a battle of attrition as several cars fell from the race. Our friend from Poplar Bluff, Brian Richie, started on the tail of the Limited Late feature and grabbed the win. The final race of the night was the A-Main for the Two-Man Cruisers and, as mentioned above, not one single person left until this race was over. The winners were driving an El Camino!
Sunday, July 4th -- After spending the night in Jonesboro, Arkansas, we left early in the morning for Central Missouri's LAKE OZARK SPEEDWAY. Getting to Lake Ozark was more of a challenge than anticipated as a fierce batch of rain containing hail and wild winds nearly stopped us somewhere around West Plains, Missouri. We later found out that the very same storm destroyed two homes in Jonesboro and claimed the life of one person just outside of West Plains.
We arrived at Lake Ozark safely and found an absolutely immaculate facility ready to host a MARS Late Model event. Like Poplar Bluff, Lake Ozark is another brand new facility with 2004 being its inaugural season. The track looks like a 3/8, but is advertised as a true 1/3-mile with 10 degree banking in the corners and 5 degree banking on the straightaways. The pits are located off the backshute and turns three & four and the speedway is completed lined with a concrete wall and catchfence with cars entering the track at the beginning of the frontstretch and exiting the track near the end of the backstretch. The facilities are exceptional with seating for 5,000 fans, an asphalt general admission section, a bright Musco lighting system, easy-to-hear PA system, transponder scoring & timing, a 20-place scoreboard/lap counter in turn 3, and a big concession stand with more menu items than I've ever seen at a dirt track (the $4.50 pulled pork sandwich seemed to be a fan favorite). Unfortunately, coolers are not allowed in the track and that gets a thumbs down from the Showtime crew.
Checking into the pits were 23 MARS Late Models, 36 Modifieds, 15 Super Stocks, and 16 Street Stocks. Pill draws were used to determine the line-ups in all classes with Delaware restarts being used to get things going after a caution. With racing advertised to start at 7pm, the first heat didn't make its way onto the track until 7:25pm. The racing surface was a driver's nightmare as it was extremely rough in the corners and it appeared as though the driver who caught the best bounce would lead coming off the turns. It was actually so bad they took over 30 minutes at intermission to bring out the grater and re-work the surface.
Unfortunately for fans wanting to leave early, the 40-lap MARS Late Model feature wasn't run until last. On the bright side, however, fans were treated to an absolutely fabulous Modified feature which saw lots of passing and side-by-side racing up front for the lead. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Carl Edwards jumped in some dude's car and started at the tail of the consi and won it and then started 18th in the feature. Long story made short, Steve Payne led early only to get a flat tire and fall into the pits to get it changed about 5 laps into the race. Edwards stormed from the tail of the field and was battling Jason Russell for the point when, out of no where, Payne blazed through the field like a houseafire and regained the lead with about 3 laps to go. The next by, however, mechanical woes ended Payne's amazing run back to the front and handed the lead and the win over to Carl Edwards. Edwards did his tradition backflip off the car onto the track in victory lane, much to the pleasure of the thousands in attendance.
The MARS Late Model A-Main rolled onto the speedway at 11:15pm. After eight cautions, the race was cut to 30 laps. Despite the pill draw/passing points format and the Delaware restarts, Scott Drake was uncontested in this one leading every lap from his number one starting spot. Following Drake to the line was Jeff Floyd, Leslie Essary, Richard Foster, and Wendell Wallace. The LM feature was over at midnight.
Monday, July 5th -- The UMP Summer Nationals event at Brownstown, Illinois' FAYETTE COUNTY SPEEDWAY was our Monday destination of choice. Unfortunately, they called off the show extremely early... 11:30am to be exact. The thought of hitting Lake Cumberland, Kentucky's Monday special crossed my mind but, with severe weather heading that way, we opted to grab a hotel in Collinsville, IL and call it a day. It's worth noting that a tornado touched down about 3 miles northeast of our hotel. Again, we dodged a bullet.
Tuesday, July 6th -- Tuesday's trip found us driving 30 minutes southeast of our hotel to the Madison County Fairgrounds to the HIGHLAND SPEEDWAY in Highland, IL. On tap was UMP Summer Nationals race #16 with a cool six grand going to the winner. The track is an older looking speedway that was recently given more banking in the corners. It's a somewhat narrow 1/4-mile track with fairly tight turns and a dirt infield. A concrete wall goes from turn one all the way around to turn four while a guardrail lines the outside of the frontstretch. Cars enter the track at the beginning of the frontshute and exit the track at the end of the backshute as the pits are located off turns three and four. The grandstands are your typical fair grandstands with the covered roof and concessions located below (in the bottom of) the stands. Top food choices include the BBQ sandwich for $2.50 and the basket of chicken tenders for $4.00.
The format for the UMP Summer Nationals is somewhat disappointing as all cars qualify and the fastest six are locked into a dash along with the defending UMP National Champion (Rodney Melvin), the highest Summer Nationals point man, and the high track point man. The top six finishers are locked into the feature and the other three start at the front of heads-up heat races. The feature is then lined up by the dash & heat finishes. The result is a format that provides little passing and a race winner that typically comes from one of the first four starting spots.
Car counts for this event were 34 Late Models, 31 Modifieds, and 12 Sportsmen. As an added surprise, Kenny Schrader was on hand racing his Federate Auto Parts #99 Late Model. The first race of the night hit the speedway right at 7:30pm and prelims in all classes at Highland were exceptional as the narrow track surprisingly provided constant side-by-side racing throughout the field. There was no wasted time in between races and a short 10 minute intermission was taken to allow track workers to take a breather. The Late Model feature was somewhat of a snoozer as outside polesitter Shannon Babb led all 40 laps en route to the win. Fast Qualifier Randy Korte finished 2nd followed by Summer Nationals points leader Don O'Neal, Steve Sheppard, and Billy Faust. The LM feature was over at 10:15pm.
The best race of the night, and possibly the best show of our entire week, was (yet again) the Modified feature. Scott Weber, Mike Harrison, and Jeff Leka battled right down to the checkered flag in a phenomenal two-and-three wide race for the top spot. Weber claimed with win with Leka 2nd and Harrison 3rd.
Wednesday, July 7th -- We ventured 3 hours north and grabbed a hotel in Peoria, Illinois before slipped over to the SPOON RIVER SPEEDWAY for race #17 of on the UMP Summer Nationals circuit and race #6 on our road trip. Spoon River, located outside of Banner, Illinois, is a VERY high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval with concrete wall along the frontstretch and yuke tires off turns one, two, and the backshute which is where most of the pits the pits are located. Cars may also pit in the infield, which is also separated from the track by several large yuke tires standing upright. Cars parked outside the track enter the speedway at the end of the backstretch and exit the track at the end of the front straightaway. A scoreboard at the end of the frontstretch helps fans keep track of laps, times, and the top five cars. Lighting is fair and the PA system is decent. The old wooden grandstands hold several fans, but don't provide a lot of leg and elbow room. The concession stand located behind the bleachers offer a few different dining options with the popular choices being the $3.50 pork chop sandwich and the $2.25 steak burger.
This Summer Nationals race drew a whopping 61 Late Models complimented by 40 Modifieds, 18 E-Mods, and 28 Hornets. Racing started right at 7:30pm at the Spoon River crew wasted absolutely no time during and in between races. One thing that Spoon River did that other tracks should take note of... when there was a caution on the track, all cars were stopped and lined up at the end of the frontstretch. The next time by, they were given the green flag. This eliminated senseless parade laps around the track under caution and allowed track officials to tell each and every driver exactly where he belonged.
The racing at Spoon River was so-so. As usual, the support classes had no problem passing cars and running side-by-side (pill draws for heats with Delaware restarts in both heats & features), but the Late Models didn't do much passing with the "all the fast cars up front" Summer Nationals format. Outside pole-sitter Don O'Neal grabbed the lead at the start of this race and, with only one caution to tighten the field back up, won this race easily over Shannon Babb, Dennis Erb, Randy Korte, and Terry English.
