5 WEEKEND AFTER-THOUGHTS: Power Outages, Pontoons, & Big Paydays

(Jeremey Rhoades photo)

1. Finally blessed with another nice weekend, local tracks Oakshade and Waynesfield both got to swing open their gates.  From what I've heard, Oakshade's Late Model feature was a dandy with Ryan Missler narrowly edging out Brian Ruhlman at the finish line.  Waynesfield, unfortunately, fell victim to a power outage just as the green flag waved on the first A-Main.

2.  One story you probably missed this weekend was the fact that Eldora Stock racer Paul Pardo had to pull the motor out of his car after last week's race.  His replacement engine? The motor out of his pontoon jet.  Pardo wheeled the fresh power plant to a heat race victory and and second place A-Main finish Saturday night at the Big E.

3.  In a weekend full of drivers with excellent finishes, perhaps no two-day run was stronger than Jon Henry's.  "The Steel Driver" captured two wins and a second place finish in a 24-hour span by wheeling the Dean Miracle-owned 23J to a win Saturday night at Eldora, which was preceded by a win and a runner-up finish the night before in Limaland's UMP Modified "Double Down" show.  Speaking of solid UMP Modified runs, Joey Kramer picked up back-to-back wins at Southern Ohio Speedway this weekend.

4.  Anybody remember when I said Doug Drown would get himself a big payday this year?  Okay, actually what I said was that Drown would get a national touring series win this year.  But, Saturday's $12,000 victory in the Southern 100 is just as good with several national stars, regional hotshoes, and local warriors in the house.  Kudos to him on the big win.

5.  Last but not least, get well wishes go out to Barry Doss.  The veteran southwest Ohio driver suffered a heart attacked in the pits at Moler Friday night and is currently in a medically-induced coma.  Thoughts and prayers here...

Five Weekend Afterthoughts: 5/14/12

1.  Saturday night's Late Model feature at Oakshade (OH) Raceway was an instant classic.  Brian Ruhlman (low), Jon Henry (middle), and Andrew Reaume (high) were three-wide at the white flag, and Henry & Reaume were side-by-side, door-to-door at the stripe with Henry getting the win by mere inches.  It was the kind of race you won't forget anytime soon and the type of show you drive all year just to see.   The win was Henry's fourth of the year and his third in a row (Fremont ALMS 5/4, Attica 5/11, Oakshade 5/12).

2.  Don O'Neal may be the hottest driver in the country right now, with three Lucas Oil wins in the his last four races thanks to his weekend sweep at Hartford (MI) Motor Speedway and LaSalle (IL) Speedway.  We're only halfway through the month of May and he's already got seven Lucas Oil wins, plus a few other big shows like Florence (KY) Speedway's Spring 50 back in March.  

3.  Has anybody else noticed the year Chris Garnes is having?  The 24-year-old from Cross Lanes, WV has been quite impressive to start off the 2012 season rattling off three wins...two at Skyline (OH) Speedway and one at Tyler County (WV) Speedway.

4.  UMP DirtCar's decision to terminate it's relationship with Farmer City (IL) Speedway comes as somewhat of a surprise...at least to those of us who aren't there every week or aren't close to the situation.  It'll be interesting to hear what develops the next few weeks regarding this whole ordeal. 

5.  Sometimes you question why things happen to the "good guys" in racing. Saturday night at The Shade, Josh Scott got upsidedown in his heat, ending his night and, according to him, putting him out of commission for quite a while.  Likewise for Curtis Deisenroth, who lost another motor in his heat, cutting his night short.  Josh and Curtis are two of the good guys in this sport...hate to see that kind of stuff happen to them.