5 WEEKEND AFTER-THOUGHTS: Weather, Schlenk, NDRL, & more

1.  Mother Nature was the big winner in this area, taking the checkered at Attica, Eldora, Moler, and other tracks. It's that time of year where the weather is warm and, for the most part, perfect during the week then cold and miserable on the weekends.  Check out the local forecast for the next five days and you'll see what I mean.

2.  Typically a UMP stalwart, Rusty Schlenk opted to race at an unsanctioned Late Model track Saturday night. The former UMP National Champion headed to Brownstown Saturday evening, despite Twin Cities racing UMP sanctioned Late Models less than 30 miles away from Schlenk's destination.   

3.  We've been hearing good things about Brad McCown's Jackson County Speedway.  The car counts have continued to rise from week one, and word is the racing has been pretty good too.

4.  Crooksville, Ohio's Midway Speedway swung open the gates Friday night under the direction of Jerry Perrine.  Although the car counts were low and the weather was cold, a hat tip is certainly in line for Perrine who's track was one of the select few that got to race this weekend.  

5.  It wasn't just the high car counts that made the NDRL debut spectacular, but the quality of cars at both Paducah and I-55 was off the charts.  If this is what we can expected from John Kennedy's upstart series, I think we're all in for a treat.

Working Together...Or Not

I know, I know.  It's an old, worn out theme that's been beat to death over and over again.  For years everyone has been saying that tracks have to start working together in order to survive.  Some have listened.  Others?  Not so much.

Case in point:  This Friday, there are three Modified specials all within a few hours of each other.  Limaland Motorsports Park (Lima, OH) is hosting their annual Memorial Cup which pays $1500 to win for the UMP Mods.  150 miles south, Moler Raceway Park (Williamsburg, OH) is having the Cannonball Run for the UMP Modifieds paying $2500 to win.  And then, just an hour and a half east of Moler, Jackson County Speedway (Jackson, OH) is their 2nd Annual Modified Mayhem for the AMRA Road Warrior Tour paying $3000 to win.

UMP Modifieds go three-wide at Limaland Motorsports Park.

I honestly don't know whose schedule was released first, but I do know this.  If I'm a track promoter working on my schedule in October/November/December and I'm thinking about having a big race for ANY class, one of the first things I'm going to do is call the other promoters in my region to see what they have going on that night.

I mean, am I out of line in thinking this?

Now, in all reality, each track is most likely going to do just fine.  And each track will have a strong field of cars.  And really, there is very little overlap (if any) among these three tracks.

But the point is, we have got to be aware of our surroundings.  We have to know what other tracks are doing.  We have to think about the fans and drivers that live in between these tracks - the ones that do make a choice as to where they go.  

Scheduling on top of each other hurts everyone.  Let's start using our heads - and common sense... and start working together.

Random Thoughts...

Every so often, as needed, I'll post my random thoughts.  These thoughts will be short ramblings covering a wide variety of topics in racing.  As always, the opportunity for discussion is available at the end of the post.   -DJ-

• While I'm a little surprised a decision was made this early in the season, Brandon Sheppard in the Rocket house car is a good, solid choice.  He's young, he's talented, and he's only going to get better.  As is always the case when a quality ride opens up, I think anyone could make an argument for several other drivers to get the seat.  However, the fact is, nobody can say that Sheppard hasn't proved himself or isn't deserving of the opportunity. 

• Why are there virtually no Friday night Late Model tracks in the south?  If you look at Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, etc. there's a plethora of Friday night options.  But if you live in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, or Tennessee, you're pretty much racing just one night a week.  That bugs me.  Can any of my friends in those areas help me out?

• Kudos are in order for McCown's Jackson County Speedway just outside of Jackson, Ohio.  They continue to raise their profile by adding more races and upping their purses.  I hope their efforts to increase car and fan counts don't go unnoticed by the fans and drivers.