5 WEEKEND AFTER-THOUGHTS: The Valley, The Knob, & The Rock

Corey Conley got the win Saturday night at Ohio Valley Speedway.

1.  Race tracks really need to understand they are in the ENTERTAINMENT business.  I love Ohio Valley Speedway, but putting your first heat of the night on the track at 9:35pm is unacceptable. 

2.  On Friday night, Roaring Knob denied media credentials to someone because that person had "never been to the track before". We're talking a legit media member with full HD video services, etc.  This person called/emailed The Knob in advance and didn't find out about it until they got to the race track (a two hour drive). This, too, is completely unacceptable.

3.  I finally got a chance to watch Dad race Friday night at the 250 Speedway.  He won his heat, started on the pole of the feature, and was running second until the guy behind him beat his left rear in enough times that it cut down the tire.   

4.  Jimmy Owens. 'Nuff said.

5.  Huge shoutout to Rocky Owens on getting his first career Late Model feature win over the weekend!  Rocky rocked 'em Friday night at Attica, besting a solid field of cars that included Jeff Babcock, Rusty Schlenk, Ryan Markham, and others.

Five Weekend Afterthoughts: 5/21/12

(Mark Albright photo)

1.  In case you haven't noticed, Jimmy Owens is good.  After another win this weekend, he continues to be the most consistent driver in the country having not finished outside the top ten in a Lucas Oil race this season.  Not only that, but Owens has just one finish outside the top ten (Volusia 2/21) in ANY race this year.  Quite impressive.

2.  Speaking of impressive, Rusty Schlenk rattled off two more wins over the weekend at Attica and Oakshade.  Say what you want about Rusty, but he's a great driver. And who can blame him for not wanting to travel on Saturday nights when it pays $8,000 to win the Oakshade Late Model points.  If I was as good as he is at a track that's about 40 miles from home, I'd be there every Saturday night too.

3.  I have a little Twitter lesson for everyone.  If your race track is qualifying, please do not tweet every single individual qualifying lap.  That type of info may be great for a press release, but for Twitter...?  Not so much.  

4.  Hate to hear this, but it sounds like there's been some questionable decisions made at Brushcreek in their first two events.  What happened Saturday night?  First, the Late Model feature was only 15 laps due to the car count.  That, in some instances, could be justified, I guess.  However, despite only having one Bomber in attendance, that one Bomber ran a feature...against himself.  Wow.  Just...wow.  If I'm a fan in the stands, what am I thinking when my Late Model feature gets cut short, but the one Bomber gets to run a race by himself??  I guess common sense goes out the window sometimes.  

5.  Is there a race track in the country that provides better racing each and every week than Fairbury American Legion Speedway?  I'd say not.  From the looks of the video on DirtonDirt, Saturday night's Sunoco ALMS race was another FALS classic. Whether it's a big race or just a regular show, FALS rarely disappoints.