5 WEEKEND AFTER-THOUGHTS: Volusia

(track photo)

1.  Volusia continued to be THE track to hit during Speedweeks with the highest car counts and, seemingly, the best racing.  Side-by-side battles and drivers rallying from midpack are almost the norm at the half-mile oval these days.  When this happens, the fans are the real winners.

2.  If you're a Late Model fan and you didn't stick around to watch Brett Hearn's run in Saturday night's Big Block Modified finale, you missed what was probably the best show of the week.  Hearn's pit stop for a flat with just 15 laps remaining left most folks thinking he was done for the night.  Instead, the veteran stormed back through the field and took the point as the white flag waved to capture the win.  

3.  The drivers who MOST impressed me at Volusia:  Eric Wells, Stormy Scott, and Mason Zeigler.

4.  The drivers who LEAST impressed me at Volusia:  Jimmy Mars, Chub Frank, and Gregg Satterlee.

5.  Finally, if you didn't get a chance to see it, the DirtonDirt live broadcast was an absolute smash.  I'm talking, 100% total out-of-the-ballpark homerun.  A huge hat-tip to those folks for putting together the best live internet broadcast I have ever seen.  Job well done, fellas.

TUESDAY MORNING THOUGHTS: East Bay, Ocala, & Volusia

Some random thoughts from the last few days of racing in Florida...

1.  Car counts everywhere have taken a huge hit.  With Ocala averaging roughly 40 per night - and less than that at East Bay - is it time for these two tracks to put their egos aside and start working together?  I think so but, as one twitter follower pointed out, the current situation does allow for more drivers to take home money.  

2.  Josh Richards is fast.  Damn fast.  And he will be the driver to beat on the WoO circuit this year.

3.  DirtonDirt's broadcast last night at Volusia was absolutely off the chart.  From the camera angles to the live driver interviews, they have raised an exceptionally high bar for the world of online PPV broadcasts.  Kudos to everyone involved.

4.  Nice to see Earl Pearson Jr. get back on the winning track.  

5.  Has anyone else noticed that Billy Moyer seems to be struggling right now?  He has just one top five run in six starts and, while that may not be a big deal to most, it's down right shocking considering he's one of the winningest drivers in GA/FL Speedweeks history. 

6.  There were six features at East Bay and only three (official) lead changes.  

7.  Was anybody else surprised to see Vic Coffey stay at East Bay and not head to Ocala?  I was.

Five Weekend Afterthoughts 7/30/12

Jon Henry has made the tough decision to cease his racing operation for the rest of 2012.

1.  With the loss of financial backing, standout Ohio driver Jon Henry has made the tough decision to park his #15 for the remainder of 2012.  The decision, as mentioned in his press release, was a tough one but also a decision "The Steel Driver" knew he had to make.  After completing the grueling UMP Summer Nationals "Hell Tour", Henry was left with two motors than needed tuning as well as upgrades to his 2012 Rocket Chassis.  With his impressive resume, the move will undoubtedly make Henry one of the most sought-after "free agents" in the sport.

2.  Ryan Gustin captured the $25,000 World Dirt Track Modified Championship Saturday night at Minnesota's Deer Park Speedway.  However, the bigger story of the weekend was the bombshell announcement - just 24 hours from the start of the main event - that a group of sponsors had stepped up and added $30,000 to the feature's purse!  The Mod industry is absolutely BUZZING about this, and rightfully so.  Will we ever see something like this in the Dirt Late Model ranks?  We can only hope.

3.  Eldora's "Summer Shootout" for the USAC Sprints went off without a hitch and the racing was pretty darn good too.  At one point, Robert Ballou had come from 23rd to 3rd until mechanical woes forced him pitside with just four laps left.  Chase Stockon completed a 20th to 4th run which kept the fans on their toes and, until the yellow on lap 46, Bryan Clauson was sizing up Dave Darland for a potential last lap pass.  All-in-all it was an excellent show which most folks should have been happy with.  

4.  Don O'Neal won his 10th Lucas Oil race over the weekend when the series made a visit to Hagerstown (MD) Speedway.  If it wasn't for Jimmy Owens banging out top five after top five, "The Real Deal" would most certainly be a solid title contender ... even more of a contender than he is now, being 350 points behind ever-consistent Owens.

5.  A lot of the buzz this weekend was about DirtonDirt.com's live broadcast of this weekend's 25th Annual USA Nationals at Cedar Lake (WI) Speedway.  I'm fortunate enough to be a part of the broadcast team again, along with Ben Shelton among others.  I'm not usually one who gets on here and "encourages" you where to spend your hard-earned money, but trust me when I say that this broadcast is well worth the investment. 

TRACK SAFETY: DirtonDirt exclusive

I've got a new DirtonDirt exclusive blog talking about race track safety up on their website.  Be sure to check it out.  Here's a few short blurbs:

"...I stood and watched in amazement again as I saw a rather large gash in the fence and a couple poles ripped out of place..."

"...increased purses, admission discounts, and intermission entertainment don't mean a thing if the safety aspect gets tossed by the wayside..."

Five Weekend Afterthoughts 4/24/12

Attica was rained out after the Sprint Car heats Friday night.

1.  Mother Nature continued her early season dominance, besting a few tracks Friday night shows and several races Saturday night.  As for me, I hit Attica Friday after work, only to be rained out after the Sprint Car heats.  Does everybody remember when we went racing in mid-March during the 80 degree weather?

2.  Wayne County swung open the gates Friday night and, from everyone I have talked to, the place was packed in the pits and grandstands both.  This is good for the fans in the area and great for Jason Flory and company, who have been working nonstop to get the place reopened.  Russ King ran off and hid from the 28-car Late Model field.

3.  If you read last week's edition of Fast Talk on DirtonDirt, you'll notice that i mentioned Scott Bloomquist has a very good chance to rattle off "four or five wins in a row" now that he's finally pick up that elusive first win.  Well, Friday night, he proved me right and won at Roaring Knob.   

4.  After Eldora's season-opening Sunoco ALMS Late Model shoe was washed out, we finally got our first race in the books at the Big E.  Tracy Hines won the USAC Sprint A-Main with a last lap pass on Dave Darland.  Meanwhile, Joey Kramer bested a strong field of 44 Modifieds for his first Eldora win in over 10 years.

5.  Kudos to my dad, Larry Jarrett, on a nice run Friday night at 250 Speedway in Cadiz, Ohio.  After being charged with an early race caution in the Street Stock feature, Dad rallied from the tail of the field to post a solid third place finish.

Five Weekend Afterthoughts - 4/16/12

Periodically throughout the racing season, I'll post my "Five Weekend Afterthoughts" on Monday mornings. It's simply a collection of my thoughts on various racing topics of interest from the past weekend.  While most of the "afterthoughts" will pertain to regional racing action, a few mentions will cover national topics.   Enjoy!     -DJ-

Jon Henry (15) holds off Matt Miller (3) at Attica.  (Action Photos)

1.  Jon Henry debuted his brand new orange front-end Rocket Friday night at Attica and put the car in victory lane, holding off a furious late race charge from Matt Miller (driving Rick Delong's #3).  It was Henry's first win of the season and the first for his new wrench (and for Matt Miller crew chief) Scott "Schoolboy" Smith.  After four races this season, Attica is averaging 30.5 cars a night, slightly up from their 29.1 car-per-night average at the end of 2011.

2.  Scott Bloomquist's $25,000 win on a difficult-to-pass, tire-wearing Virginia Motor Speedway surface Saturday was probably a much-needed victory for that camp.  I don't know if anyone actually bought into the whole "he's leaving the Lucas Oil tour" shenanigans, but if they did, they're certainly not buying into it now.

3.  Rain was the big winner everywhere Saturday night as practically every track within a three-hour radius of my home was washed out.  The lone exceptions were Crystal, Michigan's season opener (26 cars; Scott Baker was the winner) and practice at Cadiz, Ohio's 250 Speedway, which was cut short by Mother Nature. Unfortunately, the Sunoco ALMS race at Eldora was rained out and will not be made up.

4.  Just like fine wine, Billy Moyer just continues to get better with age.  The 54-year-old notched his (I believe) eighth and ninth wins of 2012 over the weekend and something crazy like his fifth win in his last six starts, if my calculations are correct. Am I the only one who thinks Moyer will still be winning races when he's like 90?! Seriously, I don't see him slowing down anytime soon.

5.  I'll be a guest on DirtonDirt's FastTalk today.  Keep checking their website throughout the day as Todd Turner, Michael Rigsby, and myself discuss a wide array of racing topics from this past weekend.  

BRANDON THIRLBY: DirtonDirt Exclusive

While I try hard to keep new and fresh blog-style info up on this site, from time to time, I'll have an exclusive blog up on DirtonDirt.com.  Right now, I have a feature story on Traverse City, Michigan driver Brandon Thirlby and his 2012 plans.  Make sure you head on over and check it out.  Here's a couple short excerpts from that blog:

...and let’s not forget his wild two-races-in-one-night trip last August, where he rattled off a fourth place finish at Thunderbird (Mich.) Speedway, then loaded up and hauled ass an hour and 15 minutes east to a rain-delayed program at I-96 (Mich.) Speedway.  He rolled into I-96 with barely enough time to unload the car and throw a splash of fuel in it.  Without even changing tires, he tagged the tail of the Late Model A-Main at I-96 drove his way to front, and picked up the win...


"...once you figure in tires, race fuel, pit passes, food, and wear and tear on the car, it’s hard to break even, even if you win.  Heck, the wear and tear on the equipment itself can nickel and dime a guy right out of competition...”

P.F.R.

Rick Schwallie photo

In case you haven't seen it yet, better make your way over to DirtonDirt and check out last night's post-race interview from Volusia with Scott Bloomquist.  It's another classic and I have a feeling the acronym P.F.R. will now be used quite a bit.