Spring 50 Random Thoughts

• I got to sit outside with a t-shirt on and watch a race in the middle of March.  Absolutely no complaints from this guy.
• Was it a rough and tumble race track?  Yes.  Is it usually a choppy track for this race?  Almost always.
• With 33 official entries for the race, I was a only tad off on my car count prediction of 35-40 cars.
• I was, however, correct on my predictions that Don O'Neal would be hard to beat and to "keep an eye on any driver with a 'Club 29' decal on their car". Lanigan was strong, as everyone expected.
• Hat tip to Bobby Pierce.  He certainly lived up to his nickname ("Smooth Operator") for the duration of the feature.  Nice job, young man.
• As for the big accident on the backstretch on lap 2, chalk that one up to a combination of two guys racing hard and the ruts coming off turn two as the video clearly shows O'Neal's car bounce a little sideways into the path of Rattliff.
• I hated to see Eric Wells lose a motor.  He was certainly the fastest car there...at least through the heats.
• That had to be the biggest crowd Florence has ever had for the Spring 50. I'll go as far as to say it looked more like a Ralph Latham Memorial crowd.  
• Was anyone else surprised to see Duane Chamberlain in the Engle #15?  Maybe I missed that announcement during the offseason.
• Hat tip to the King Family for running a tight program with potential inclement weather on the way.  I know they would have liked to spend some time on the track at intermission, but I also understand their hands were somewhat tied, as we all saw the lightning off to the southwest.
• Nice to see Wayne Chinn back in action.  
• I thought RJ Conley looked really strong early, but simply held his own for the second half of the race. Maybe he was just being conservative given the track conditions.
• I could have sworn I saw a Leprechan with a bull horn running around in a green suit.
• If you stuck around for the Modified feature, you had to be impressed with Jeff Babcock's 18th-to-2nd run.
• Equally impressive was Joey Kramer.  The guy's just a damn good wheelman.
• I had a great time.  You can't put a price tag on socializing with friends and getting to see a lot of people you haven't seen in over five months.  I also hate it that so many good cars got torn up.  Let's hope everyone is able to rebound in time for their next race.