Puttin' On A Show

jdearing

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* * * * * By: Dustin Jarrett * * * * *

Welcome to 2005!! For the first time ever I made the February trek down south take in some racing action. Nine races in 11 days at three different tracks found me pretty exhausted at end of the trip.

I hooked up with good friend and well-known Dirt Late Model photographer Rick Schwallie as this Eastern Ohio duo headed out of Cambridge at 7:30pm on Thursday night, February 3rd. We drove to Statesville, NC Thursday night and made a stop in and around Charlotte, NC Friday morning to check out Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) and meet good friend Matt Long and company at Lowe's Motor Speedway. I gotta say, if you ever get the chance, be sure to check out the dirt track at Charlotte. This joint is first-class all the way around.

After lunch at a great little Charlotte eatery, we were back on the road south bound and down shortly after noon.


Golden Isles (GA) Speedway, 2/4/05 -- Located about 12 miles west of Brunswick, GA is the Golden Isles Speedway. On the card was a $10,000 to win Late Model show. A disappointing car count of only 30 Late Models signed into the pits. Along with the Late Models, Golden Isles ran a boatload of support classes -- too many, in my opinion -- as they also had 33 Crates, 17 Modifieds, 12 Limited Sportsmen, and 23 Hobby Stocks. This would mark my first ever trip to The Isles.

Golden Isles is a 1/2-mile very similar in shape and banking to Muskingum County (OH) Speedway with a little longer turns. The Late Models and some of the Crates pitted off turn one while the support classes parked in the infield. The infield parking makes it exceptionally difficult to see the back straightaway. The aluminum bleachers made my fanny a tad bit cold on this chilly night as yours truly forgot his trusty hunting "Therma-Seat". A concrete wall lines the frontstretch on this fairly narrow track with no other railing on the speedway's outer edge other than a small guardrail at the very end of the frontstretch. The lighting is okay and PA system is decent. A scoreboard in the infield in turns one and two allows fans to keep track of qualifying times as well as the top five in heat and feature races.

The track itself has an oiled surface which makes it extremely black but extremely sticky, almost like an asphalt track. As a matter of fact, the surface was so sticky and so fast, three drivers broke the old track record with Skip Arp credited with fastest time of the night as he clocked in at an astounding 15.723, which the announcers said was an AVERAGE speed of over 143mph.

One problem with this super black, oily race track is that it provides minimal passing. Three ten-lap Late Model heats saw a total of two passes. The feature was more of the same. A lap 5 caution in the A-Main saw pole-sitter Darrell Lanigan leading Skip Arp (who started 2nd), Earl Pearson Jr. (who started 3rd), Johnny Collins (who started 4th), and Scott Bloomquist (who started 6th). That running order remained exactly the same until Collins fell pitside with a flat on lap 30. This moved Black Sunshine up to 4th and Brian Birkhofer in 5th. 20 laps later at the finish, it was Lanigan getting the win over Arp, Pearson, Bloomer, and Birky. A boring feature to say the least.

It's worth mentioning that the red flag waved on lap 32 for local Bo Allen who absolutely demolished his car when he ran head-on in the guardrail at the very end of the frontstretch. It's one of the hardest hits I've seen in a quite a while. Fortunately, Allen was able to walk away from the frightening accident. Rick was able to get a snap shot of the accident, which you can check out at www.rickschwalliephotos.com


Schwallie and I high-tailed outta there right after the checkered waved and made a red-eye drive through the night into Tampa, FL. After finding a... um... "great" little Days Inn to crash at, we hooked up with the rest of the NARA crew and ventured over to East Bay for the final night of their 410 Sprint Nationals. Danny Lasoski battled with lapped traffic throughout much of the race and held off a strong run from Craig Dollansky to grab the $10,000 win in the inaugural Knoxville Sprint Car Hall of Fame 50. 31 410's were on hand for the show. This was my first ever trip East Bay.

Now, before I get into talking about the following week at East Bay, it's only fair to let you know that I was a paid employee of the Lucas Oil NARA DirtCar Series the entire week. As most of you know, my writings are intended to be unbiased as I call 'em how I see 'em. With this in mind, I feel as though it's only fair to (1) not go into great detail about East Bay's Late Model races and (2) let you know that my writings solely reflect my own opinions and not that of the entire Lucas Oil NARA DirtCar Series. Now that that's cleared up.....

East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, 2/7/04-2/12/04 -- Car counts at East Bay were phenomenal with 116 on Monday, 117 Tuesday, 110 Wednesday, 110 Thursday, 100 Friday, and 90 Saturday. The programs, in my own personal opinion, were run without a hitch. Heat races were on the track at 7pm each night and the racing action in the prelims was outstanding, filled with side-by-side action and car moving from the back to the front. The features were great races all but two nights (Tuesday and Thursday) when the track locked down. Even so, a tip of the hat has to be given to the East Bay staff for their constant hard work in getting the track prepared. Every night after the races, they were working on the track and continued to do so through the night. Then, after hot laps and qualifying for all 100+ cars, the East Bay track prep crew completely tore up the track and reworked it, which provided the aforementioned excitement in the heats and B-Mains. And, other than the two nights mentioned, the track was multi-grooved for the feature. The on-track action coupled with the timely racing program should have kept fans happy just about every night.

As for my role with the NARA, I was in the pits most of the night calling cars to chute to get lined up hot laps, qualifying, heats, etc. I thought I had done it all until this week. I've been in the booth, on the flagstand, in the infield, and just about everywhere else. Working that position really helped me understand the importance of every single position at a track or within an organization. And believe me, there in not one position that is more important than another. Whether you're flagging, lining up cars, putting up banners, directing the race, working the gate, announcing, scoring, or whatever, it takes a total team effort to make things run smoothly. Not only that, but everyone has to be on the same page. It's essential to know what everyone's duties are and to know exactly where everyone is at any given time. Spencer Wilson, Lucas Oil NARA DirtCar Series Director, has got a straight head on his shoulders and has the leadership skills it takes to sanction six straight nights of racing (which, by the way, this was the first time ever that only one organization/series sanctioned all six nights of Late Model racing at East Bay).

Aside from calling cars to the line-up chute, I also lended a hand to Michael "Spanky" Despain on the RSBN broadcast on the internet. What a thrill!! I'm not sure how the broadcasts came across for those of you who listened, but I know it was a blast on our part and we certainly enjoyed ourselves. The RSBN deal came together at the last minute and a big thank you goes out to VP Racing Fuels for stepping up and sponsoring all six nights we were on the air. I'm happy to say that the broadcasts attracted a record listening audience every night!

After six straight nights of working at East Bay (seven straight night if you count Sunday night's open practice session we worked at), I think we were all tired, worn out, and exhausted. I'm not sure that anyone made it bed before 1:30am and we were usually at the track by 10am or 10:30am the next day (with the exception of Monday, when we were there at 9am). Nevertheless, it was an exciting week and I'm happy that I got to be a part of it. A huge "thank you" goes out to Spencer Wilson, Rick Schwallie, Lucas Oil, Spanky, and everyone else who made it possible.

East Bay Notes: One of the best performances turned in by a local driver was Jason Montgomery. Montgomery made every feature throughout the week and did so through his heat every night except Saturday... Butch McGill was another local who ran strong all week long. McGill, piloting the Mitchell Motorsports #18, made the feature Friday and Saturday, but could have made a couple more had Lady Luck not dealt him a bad hand a few nights... Don O'Neal's run Saturday night is one that will stand out for a while. The Real Deal started 20th in the feature and had worked his way up to the top 5 when a got a flat on lap 19. Quick work by the pit crew enabled the Martinsville, IN driver to come back out and restart the race at the rear of the field in 23rd. With the body crinkled and smoke pouring from under the hood, O'Neal charged to the front on the pack and finally grabbed the point on lap 69, leading the final six laps to get the win... I was pretty impressed with Terry Casey's run Wednesday night at the New London, WI native started 15th and finished 3rd in the Seubert Calf Ranches #42... Scott James' consi drive in one of Saturday night's B-Main was unbelievable. The Silver Shark tangled with Randy Korte at the drop of the green sending James into the infield and over the berm, which launched the #83 into the air not once, but twice (check out www.stlouisracing for the pic). Amazingly, James was able to keep going, finishing 3rd... Terry English, in the CJ Rayburn house car, and 2004 Polydome WDRL Champion Brady Smith were two of the most consistent drivers all week long... A tip of the hat to local Mike Benedum as he won Monday night's Strawberry Dash... A big thank you to the East Bay Raceway Park staff as they are some of the easiest people in the sport to work with, especially considering all the races they put on in late January and all of February.


After a week long of working at the races, Sunday's day off was a big sigh of relief. While many opted to go home, a few of us stayed and made the trip over to Daytona Beach. A relaxing Monday found everyone sleeping in, racing go-karts, and then heading over to Volusia County for the first night of their week of racing.

Volusia (FL) Speedway Park, 2/14/05 -- The Monday night journey to Volusia County was actually my first ever trip to the famed 1/2-mile speedway, making it career track #84. Surprisingly, the Late Model car count was way down from what East Bay had seen with 66 Late Models on hand along with about 26 DIRT Modifieds.

I'd always heard the track was pretty much one-grooved, and that can expected on a lot of bigger track. On this night, there was more passing than we'd seen at Gold Isles some 10 days prior, but still it was difficult to pull out and make a pass on someone. Scott James and Dennis Erb were the only two drivers I saw actually making strides towards the front of the field with Erb running the very bottom of the track and James running the high side of the speedway. Rick Eckert fended off Billy Moyer to nab the Late Model win over Steve Francis, Dale McDowell, and Shannon Babb. Brett Hearn won the big block Modified A-Main.

And with that, my February racing stint was complete. Hardly a vacation, a lot of hard work went into putting on the shows at East Bay. Nevertheless, it was fun and people I got to work with are some of the best in the biz. Plain and simple.


DJ's Random Thoughts: I gotta send a call out to my dad, Larry Jarrett, who was honored at the Tyler County (WV) Speedway banquet a few weeks back with the track's "Sportsman of the Year" Award, Congrats Dad!! Also, I put together a simple yet informative website about Dad's racing career that you can check out at http://larryjarrett.150m.com... Am I the only one who thinks NASCAR intentionally waited until AFTER Bobby Hamilton passed Jimmy Spencer in the truck race at Daytona to turn on the yellow lights?... A tip of the hat to good friend Joey Kramer and Uncle Greg Baumberger on their recent success in Volusia's Modified races. Kramer nabbed three wins and a second while Baumberger posted three top ten finishes... I went out to eat recently and I couldn't help but notice that practically half the menu was "low-carb" this and "Atkins" that. Give me a break, people. Eat a little less and work out about 30 minutes a day and you'll be surprised at how much better you look and feel. I'm so sick of hearing about all this low carb/no-carb garbage... New country music group Hot Apple Pie (fronted by Little Texas co-founder Brady Seals) will soon release their debut single "Hillbillies Love It In The Hay". Funny stuff... With the exception of the last 25 laps, the 2005 Daytona 500 was one of the most boring in recent memory. As they continue to fabricate the rules and ruin the sport with their corporate and political BS, NASCAR will soon see their viewership decline. Mark my words... I recently started a forum devoted solely to the "good ol' days" of racing. Take a few minutes and register for Dirt Track Throwback at http://p066.ezboard.com/bdirttrackthroback... Rumor has it that a young man named Justin Howard recently created a new mixed drink called "The Tazewell", named after the great Tazewell (TN) Speedway, of course... Tyler County Speedway's schedule is out and boy does it look impressive. BDS Promotions just continues to raise the bar for dirt track racing in the Mid-Ohio Valley... Timmy McCreadie has certainly had an outstanding start to the 2005 racing season. The Watertown, NY youngster is one of the most personable drivers in the pit area on any given night... Am I the only one that's a little confused by the World of Outlaws Late Model schedule? It's hard to tell which races are actually WoO sanctioned and which aren't (such as the Dream, the World 100, etc.). Also, I see that WoO has scheduled against the 23rd Annual ($50,000 to win) North/South 100 for the 2nd straight year. If Hartslief thinks this race isn't one of the nation's crown jewels, he really needs to wake up.


SHOWSTOPPER OF THE WEEK: There's several strong candidates for this week's prestigious Showstopper Award, but I really feel like DON O'NEAL deserves the honor after his performance in the NARA finale at East Bay. He started 20th and was up to 4th when he got a flat on lap 19. Came in and changed the tire, then motored back through the field and, with an ailing race car, passed Steve Francis with six laps remaining to get the win.


That's it for me. Until next time, news and comments find me at DustinJ14@comcast.net. Or snail mail 'em to 411 South Main Street, Bethesda, OH 43719. It's showtime!!
 




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