Is it Really a Dirt Track Race if you Don't Get Dirty?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Damn, I missed a good race the Saturday Night at the Knoxville Nationals.  How did Lasoski go from the back of the B Main to 4th in the A Main?

Photo:  Brian Bahr/ Tonystewart.com

A couple weeks ago, I debated with other racing fans whether attending a dirt track race and sitting in a suite where you didn't get "dirty" qualified as actually attending the race.  The Dirt is everything in my book.  Fortunately, most dirt tracks do not have suites to create this dilemna. 

Perhaps growing up on a farm and knowing the value of good soil predisposed me to loving dirt track racing.  Regardless, with each dirt race I attend, I become less and less enamored with pavement racing. 

I'm not sure pavement fans get it.  I've watched people recoil in horror at the thought of getting dusted by dirt at a track.  I was covered with rubber, dirt and beer (not my own) after the last Nascar race I attended.  So, moot point in my book.

Racing on dirt is fascinating to watch.  For the dirt track novice, you will not believe how the cars slide into the corners.  With each corner, you are certain that at least half the field will end up in the wall.  Sometimes they do.  Most of the time, they don't. 

Passing is a chess match.  Is the low line working better than pushing the cushion?  Is lapped traffic going to slow someone up coming out of the corner? 

The heats, which usually determine the main line-ups, are short races.  How short?  Seven to twelve laps, depending on the track.  Everyone is trying to race/time into the A main - the feature event.  If you start in the C Main, you must finish in a transfer spot (top 2 or 4 etc) to get into the B Main.  Similarly, the B Mainers are trying to finish in a transfer spot in the A Main.  Oh, and if  you transfer into the next Main, you start at the back.  For example, Danny Lasoski started at the tail of the B Main during the Nationals.  He raced his way past 16 cars to transfer into the A Main.  Then he started at the tail of the A Main, and had to pass another 16+ cars to finish 4th.  If you do not transfer into the next Main, you load up to go home. 

The best part about the dirt track race is this:  When it is over, the pits are open to anyone who wants to look at the cars, talk to the crews, drivers, owners or whomever else is there.  Try that at the next Nascar you attend.