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| (Stacy Holland photo) |
OVERVIEW: As I've mentioned on here before, I don't talk about Eldora as often as I probably should simply for the fact that I don't want anyone to think I'm a "homer". I do my best to spread the love and make sure everyone gets an ample amount of airtime. With that in mind, however, I think most will agree that Eldora speaks for itself. Because of its history, long-standing reputation, and ownership the track has the opportunity to do things most others can't.
WHAT WE KNOW: 2013 will see several changes to the Eldora schedule, most of which have already been noted. The addition of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on July 24th is drawing tons of buzz and is sure to be one of the most watched race on TV this year. Other new events on schedule this year include the TRAXXAS TORC Off Road Series on May 10 and 11, the All-Star Sprint Speedweek show on June 22, and addition of the BOSS non-wing sprints to Sprintacular on Oct. 12. The format tweaks to the Dream and the World are widely known, but it's the revamping of the UMP Nationals that I'm looking forward to. With a Chili Bowl type of format for the UMP Modifieds, their show expands to three days with half the Mods running Thursday and the other half running Friday. The top "x" cars from each of those shows will be locked into Saturday night's A-Feature with everyone else playing alphabet soup on Saturday. In addition, the complete Late Model program now shifts to Saturday as well. Races that have been axed include the USAC Summer Sprint Car Shootout and the season-ending, 16-division Blue Collar Bash.
WHERE THEY'RE GOOD: Eldora's excellent at evolving with the sport itself in terms of building projects and event changes. This offseason will see wall and gate construction as well as new lights being installed in the Spring. And GM Roger Slack tells me a "major construction project" is tentatively set to begin after the final race in October. The format changes to some of Eldora's top events have given them a fresh look while keeping much of the same tradition fans have grown to love. The atmosphere at the Big E is second to none, especially for the crown jewels, and that atmosphere was intensified in 2012 with addition of new activities in the Fan Zone, the pay-pew-view broadcasts, and the fireworks displays that typically shook all of Darke County.
WHERE TO IMPROVE: In my opinion, Eldora took a big step forward in 2012 to help make the racing even better for the fans and drivers. Thanks to technology, body styles, and tires, it seems to get tougher and tougher each year to see consistent side-by-side racing on the bigger tracks. Of course, there's always going to be exceptions to that - we can all think of a few, I'm sure - but my honest opinion is that the Big E has their ship heading in the right direction in terms of track prep.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Eldora races 17 weekends (some of which are two or three day shows) and the Late Models continue to headline the Eldora schedule with the Dream, the World, and four Sunoco ALMS shows (April 13, May 26, Sept 1, Oct 5). And for that, I'm certainly grateful. As for the format differences, there will always be folks who don't agree with some of the changes, but I personally feel like the race and format tweaks have some really nice perks, and kudos are certainly in order to the Eldora staff for taking a chance and branching out in 2013.
Weston, WV's Tim Hitt was a popular driver throughout the 1990's and the early 2000's. And when you think of "The Hittman", you probably think of that sharp-looking red #68 with gold trim and checkerboard bottom. But Tim stepped behind the wheel of a few other rides in his career, including the two cars above. I don't have dates for either of these pics, but the B45 should be from the late 80's or early 90's, and I believe the 1H should be an early-to-mid 90's ride.
OVERVIEW: Russ King ran only a partial schedule in 2012, racing just 21 times throughout the season, after spending much of his time helping Sharon Speedway Crate champion Will Thomas. In 2013 King vows to get behind the wheel more, racing twice as much as he did last year.
WHAT WE KNOW: The Bristolville, OH driver will debut a brand new orange front-end Rocket in 2013, complete with a new Cornett Racing Engine. Much like last year, King will be turning wrenches in the Rocket camp during the Florida Speedweeks before his own season gets started on Saturday, March 30th at the ULMS-sanctioned "Chiller Thriller" at Mercer Raceway Park. From there, King will following the ULMS Series and hit other $3000-$5000 to win events close to home. Off weekends will find him at Wayne County and Lernerville among other places.
WHERE HE'S GOOD: Since traveling with the World of Outlaws a few years back, King's overall program took a big step forward. He drivers with more confidence than most and that often allows him to sneak his car into holes that others wouldn't dare go. He's noticeably better than most on a heavy track, and he's typically a "fast-outta-the-gate" kind of guy. He's got solid set-up skills which, as noted with Will Thomas' Crate title at Sharon, often puts him ahead of the competition the moment he rolls through the gates. Although he only raced 21 times last year, he won six races. Pretty impressive stuff.
WHERE TO IMPROVE: King has a tendency to overdrive his car at times. It's probably a product of having to be up on the wheel so much when he traveled with the Outlaws. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, that same characteristic allows him be one of the best on a wet, tacky surface. His new orange front-end Rocket - which most will agree is typically better on a smooth, slick track - will certainly makes things interesting this year.
DRIVER'S THOUGHTS: "Last year I got more in-depth with helping some guys as sort of a consultant ... it's cool to help other guys and then see them run good. After going to Florida with Josh Richards last year and being around the Rocket camp and Crew Chief Robbie Allen, I've really learned a lot!"
OVERVIEW: It's safe to say Alan Vochaska had a roller-coaster of a season in 2012. It seems as though those types of years are becoming the norm for the South Haven, Michigan driver. Vochaska is always fast, and always a threat to win, but it seems like Lady Luck deals him a bad hand more than most.
WHAT WE KNOW: Vochaska has switched to a Clements power plant this offseason, which should compliment his MasterSbilt and Bloomquist cars nicely. The MasterSbilt will once again see the majority of the action with Vochaska tentatively committing to 90% of the Fairbury, IL schedule in 2013, a tow that will find him traveling a 400-mile round trip every Saturday night. His season will once again get kickstarted at Florence, KY's Spring 50, possibly Moler's opener the night before. He's added the Lucas Oil show at Hartford and the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake to his "must have" list for 2013.
WHERE HE'S GOOD: He seems solid on big tracks. That might be because I've seen him have a few good runs on Hartford, MI's monster half-mile, or it might be because he's got his program dialed in on tracks such as that. Alan's also sharp when it comes to car smarts, primarily because he (as he puts it) is the "shock guy, set-up guru, and maintenance man".
WHERE TO IMPROVE: Consistency. Vochaska will be the first to tell you that he'd like to have more top fives in his diet. That could be tough to do running against the stout weekly competition Fairbury has to offer, but taming that track will almost certainly up anyone's game.
DRIVER'S THOUGHTS: "A good friend once told me, 'Confidence is worth two tenths. Overconfidence puts you in the fence'."
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| (Stacy Holland photo) |
1) The Sunoco ALMS schedule was released and it was announced that the organization will now feature an East and a West series. In speaking with various drivers, the reviews are mixed with the biggest complaint being that the East series races include too many Illinois races overlapping into the eastern schedule. The West schedule, on the other hand, is a nice addition and seems to somewhat take the place of the now defunct NALMS Series. (NOTE - the Aug. 3rd ALMS East race is at Oakshade, not Eldora as the previously released schedule suggests)
2) Bill Lewis announced that he will not be back behind the wheel of the Rob Rouch owned #26. Wapakoneta, Ohio driver Scott Bowersock will take over that ride in 2013.
3) John Brooks, who's back-to-back rollovers kicked off the 2012 season at Eldora, won the track's UMP Modified Hard Luck award. In taking the microphone after accepting his award, Brooks had the capacity crowd in stitches with an inebriated speech that included the gut-busting phrase, "If you're gonna drink all day, you gotta start in the morning."
4) Rick Delong announced that he will once again field a car for Matt Miller this season with, basically, the same schedule as last year. The team plans to run all Eldora races as well as select events at Attica and Oakshade.
5) One minor tweak to the previously released Eldora schedule is the addition of the BOSS non-wing sprints to the season-ending UNOH Sprintacular, which also features the All-Star Sprints and the NRA Sprint Invaders.
OVERVIEW: A successful open wheel Modified driver, Justin Coulter made the jump full-time into Late Models in 2012. He was able to pick and choose events to run, easing into the seat of his car, in making the transition from Mods to Late Models.
WHAT WE KNOW: Coulter, a second generation driver, will be racing every single weekend in 2013. No more picking and choosing. No more taking weekends off. When Mother Nature cooperates, the #555 will be at a race track somewhere. The plan is to open the season at Brownstown's Indiana Icebreaker on March 23rd, or possibly Attica's opener the night before. From there, Coulter will be follow the Michigan Dirt Cup for both the driver's and the series' Sophomore season to dabble in the Late Model ranks. Armed with a brand new MasterSbilt Gen X powered by a Jay Dickens motor, he'll also hit as many ALMS shows as possible, in addition to running some regular races at Oakshade and Attica.
WHERE HE'S GOOD: The likable Leamington, Ontario driver has some nice backing, which always helps, and a solid crew chief in Jason "Cheese" Baltazar. Coulter improved throughout 2012, especially at Oakshade, showing how important it is to get seat time in a Late Model no matter what your racing history is. Now, with the new MasterSbilt/Dickens combo, the foundation has been laid for Coulter to get his first Late Model win in 2013.
WHERE TO IMPROVE: Coulter is on the right track by aiming for more seat time this season. The more he races, and the more tracks he races at, the more well-rounded it will make him. He may not notice it at first - any driver will tell you it can be a trying process to venture out a little - but he'll gradually see a difference in his game, especially at the tracks he's most comfortable at like Attica and Oakshade.
DRIVER'S THOUGHTS: "This will be our first time to follow a points deal. We have never committed to any points before, so it'll be all new to us. I'm really excited to give it a try!"
Today's Thursday Throwback is a June 1993 pic of Ashland, Ohio's Ryan Markham at Muskingum County Speedway.
OVERVIEW: Anybody who knows me or follows my blog knows that I'm a fan of Oakshade Raceway. The small, 3/8-mile track doesn't boast fancy facilities, high-dollar luxury suites, or big-name corporate sponsors. Instead, it does what a race track should. Oakshade offers top notch, side-by-side racing and a well-run program for an affordable price. They typically get over 30 UMP Late Models for their regular shows and admission prices do not change throughout the year. Located in rural northwest Ohio, Oakshade marches to the beat of their own drum and does just fine in doing so.
WHAT WE KNOW: "Status Quo" best describes The Shade in 2013 as they will open on Saturday, April 27th running all divisions except Late Models, who will join the cast the following Saturday. The track will once again host four Sunoco ALMS races, the Barney Oldfield Memorial (paying $4,900 to win this year), and the highly-coveted UMP Summer Nationals finale, which shifts back one week to Saturday, July 20th. For those running Oakshade weekly, the UMP Late Model track championship will pay a whopping $8,500 to win. And drivers and fans alike will be happy to know that Oakshade's admission prices will once again be the same as they were in 2012 and will not increase for any race.
WHERE THEY'RE GOOD: Oakshade's good in a lot of areas. Not only are the admission prices affordable, but so are the concessions. I'm constantly bragging about their dollar hot dogs and fifty-cent cans of soda. The racing, more times than not, is excellent and the car counts are high. The program starts right on time and is efficiently and effectively run. The intermission entertainment ("The Links Zone") is fan-friendly and kid-oriented. Overall, Oakshade has pretty much everything a fan could want.
WHERE TO IMPROVE: The biggest ding folks can find on the Wauseon, Ohio track would be the facilities. You're not going to find new bleachers or fancy restrooms at this place. My thought has always been that facilities do not dictate the real reason a person goes to the track...which, of course, is to see good racing. And on that side of things, Oakshade has seen small splashes of inconsistency, but nothing to get too worked up over.
PROMOTER'S THOUGHTS: As is the case with all tracks, ideas can sometimes be bigger than budgets. Such is the case with Oakshade. "There is plenty we would like to do...just depends on money and time," says Chrissy Henricks.
