5 WEEKEND AFTER-THOUGHTS: Eldora Off-Road, Oakshade finish, & more

(Mike Campbell/Eldora Speedway photo)

1.  It's the same old tune today with Mother Nature once again washing out many of the weekend's races in this region.  Eldora, Limaland, Attica, and Moler all fell victim to rain Friday while Waynesfield, Montpelier, and Florence were among the Saturday rainouts.  

2.  Eldora's TRAXXAS TORC Off-Road Championship Series event on Saturday was able to beat the weather and it was a pretty darned interesting show with former motocross champion (and TORC Series founder) Ricky Johnson getting the win in the Pro 4x4 division by passing Johnny Greaves with less than four laps remaining.

3.  I hear it was another outstanding Late Model finish at Oakshade Saturday night with Dona Marcoullier narrowly edging out Rusty Schlenk for a wild side-by-side victory that saw both cars spinning after the checkered flag waved. 

4.  Nationally speaking, who are the most consistent drivers in the country right now?  Shane Clanton and John Blankenship.  Clanton rattled off his third WoO win Saturday night while Blankenship scored another top five with the Lucas Oil Series.  Those two are my early favorites to win The Dream at Eldora here in a few weeks, and it's no coincidence they finished first and second in that race last year.

5.  In case you missed it, USMTS Modified ace Ryan Gustin notched his first career Late Model win over the weekend in the MARS-scantion John Kuntz Memorial at Springfield Raceway.

Five Weekend Afterthoughts: 6/25/12

Matt Miller collected $4,800 for his win Saturday night at Oakshade.

1.  If you didn't stick around for the Late Model feature Friday night at Attica Raceway Park, you most certainly missed the race of the year.  On a classic three-groove racing surface, unheralded John Mayes Jr. led the first ten circuits until Justin Chance finally worked his way around...only to have Mayes (whose previous best career finish was a 4th, I believe) battle back around him just a few laps later.  Chance slipped back under Mayes on lap 14 with Jeff Babcock pulling alongside in the corners.  Like a pesky mosquito that wouldn't go away, Mayes fought back in the middle groove and reassumed command of the race with four laps to go.  With Chance and Babcock pulling under Mayes, Ryan Missler worked the extreme outside groove hoping to spoil everyone's party.  As the white flag waved, Mayes held his middle line while Missler roared around the top.  Coming off turn four for the win, Missler got a monster run.  With his arm out the window, pumping his fist in the air, Mayes thought he had his first career win...only to be denied as Missler somehow stuck his car between Mayes' #69 and the outside wall to get the win by less than half a car length.  The official margin of victory was .08 seconds in a race which saw five lead changes and no one driver pull ahead by more than a single car length.  

2.  Matt Miller absolutely, totally dominated the Barney Oldfield Race at Oakshade Saturday night.  Miller lapped up to the top ten and collected $4800 for his efforts. You always hate to look too far ahead, but the 2005 Dream winner almost has to be considered an early favorite to win Oakshade's $10,000 UMP Summer Nationals finale.

3.  Somewhat overshadowed by Miller's domination were the solid performances turned in by Jeff Babcock and Dona Marcoullier Saturday night.  Glued to the bottom, and aided by just two cautions, Babcock came from 20th to 5th in the 40-lap A-Main. After being sent to the tail of the field for an early race spin, Marcoullier rallied back to a 7th place finish.

4.  The "feel good" story of the weekend has got to be the kindness drivers continue to show young Keegan Miller.  Long story made short, Keegan is a nine year old little boy (and a big race fan) who will undergo his third open heart surgery on August 6th. Several drivers have donated a wide variety of items to Keegan ranging from pictures to t-shirts.  Saturday night, however, Canadian drivers Andrew Reaume and Justin Coulter raised the bar.  Reaume autographed one of his doors and gave it to Keegan while Coutler gave Keegan one of his racing helmets (with a Spiderman paint scheme on it).  These random acts of kindness often go unnoticed in our sport, but they are certainly worthy of attention and praise.  Kudos to these guys and the others who have done so much for this little guy.  Make sure you "like" Keegan's facebook page to follow along on his journey.  

5.  Vacation starts Thursday!  Nine days...eight races...seven states.  As of right now, seven of the eight tracks have approved us for media credentials (thank you!) so we'll encourage you to check out their links on the lefthand side of the page.  Also, Tim Frost has jumped on board and provided us with the brand new 2012 edition of the National Speedway Directory (a must for every race fan).  If all works out as planned - and that's a big if - this little track-chasing adventure will put me at 162 tracks and 33 states lifetime.  To say my fingers are crossed would be an understatement.

Five Weekend Afterthoughts: 6/18/12

Rusty Schlenk (1z) and Dona Marcoullier (6m) battle Saturday at Oakshade.

1.  I mentioned last week to "look for good things" out of the Doug Drown/Sean Weekly combo and Drown certainly proved me right.  The Wooster, Ohio hotshoe doubled down this weekend, notching wins at Muskingum County Speedway (Friday) and Hilltop Speedway (Saturday).  I say this team will pick up at least five more wins this season.  

2.  Kudos to Dona Marcoullier, who finally got himself a Sunoco ALMS win over the weekend.  The win came Saturday night at Oakshade Raceway where Dona won a regular show the week before.  After starting fifth, Marcoullier moved ahead of early race leaders Curtis Roberts and Casey Noonan, then turned away the challenges of Rusty Schlenk and Brian Ruhlman.  From there, Marcoullier slowly pulled away from the field for the victory, which will certainly give him some momentum heading into this Saturday's $4800 to win Barney Oldfield Memorial at The Shade.

3.  I don't need to tell you that Billy Moyer, Jr. has been the hottest driver in the country over the last few weeks.  After picking up a few MARS wins in early June, he started off the Hell Tour winning three of the first four shows.  Things should get even more interesting this week as the Summer Nationals heads into Illinois.  It's about this time when Shannon Babb starts heating up, right...?? 

4.  You just can't beat Oakshade Raceway.  I know I've said that a lot over the years, but I really and truly just love that place.  The people (staff, drivers, fans) are all just outstanding individuals.  Case in point, track promoter Chrissy Henricks graciously allowed Jayme and I to take our son Chase in the pits Saturday night. While walking through just a small section of the pit area, we were stopped by Dusty Moore's team and Chase was given some stickers, then Andrew Reaume so kindly gave Chase an autographed picture, and finally Dan "Links" Rice gave Chase some candy AND a stuffed animal.  Everyone says Oakshade is a special place and this just further proves that point. 

5.  The countdown is on for Jayme and I's summer vacation.  If all goes as planned, I'll be hitting eight races in seven states over the course of nine days.  It all begins Thursday, June 28th at Lernerville Speedway.  From there, we'll swing through New York, venture on up into Vermont and New Hampshire, slip over to Maine, and finally grab a couple of shows in Massachusetts and Connecticut.  For me, there's nothing more exciting than planning and executing a road trip.