I survived my wild racing vacation! After 9 days/ nights of racing, I'm already planning my next adventure... But first, a brief recap...
My first stop was Eldora, in Rossburg, Ohio. The World of Outlaws were racing there - and I was excited to see that series as they would all be at Knoxville for the The Nationals at the end of my vacation. Eldora is the quickest dirt track around - and the fans love racing. The crowd at the WoO event was fairly laid back - but the next night's Dirt Big Block Modified fans were even more so. in the Friday WoO event, Joey Saldana made a fantastic last lap pass to steal the win - and car owner Kasey Kahne was on hand to attend the victory lane celebration. On Saturday, Tim Fuller won the 100 lap Dirt Modified feature - leading all the laps.
The next day, I went to qualifying at the Brickyard, racing's holy grail. I actually sat in the infield to see the qualifications. Afterwards, I went into the IMS museum. There are lots of race cars, motorcycles, and memorabilia. A quick tip - ask the museum attendants questions - you never know who you may be talking too.
For the Brickyard 400 I sat in the Paddock area - which was great because I was in the shade and I had a wonderful view of pit road. I always forget how big the track is. In many ways, it is not the race to take new fans too as you cannot see all the action around the track. But in terms of the history of the track, and the spectacle of racing, it is fantastic.
This is Jimmie Johnson stalling out the car before his burnout. I wasn't sure he would get it fired again when it stalled. While I knew Kasey Kahne had crashed, I didn't realize how flat the front of the car was until I saw the news later that night. As fun as the Brickyard and the tailgating was, I had to get out of Indy and head back to Iowa for a week of dirt track racing.
Monday night and Tuesday night were spent at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. Rain threatened both nights, but the races got in before the storms broke. Kasey Kahne traded his Nextel Cup car for a ride in his winged sprint car.
Kasey finished the race in fourth and stayed late in the pits signing autographs for the fans.
On Tuesday night, it was the non-winged sprint cars chance to shine for the fans at Osky. Jerry Coons Jr. passed Brian Clauson for the win. Tony Stewart didn't race, but was in the pits wrenching on Levi Jones' sprinter. Most of the fans didn't even realize he was there. I watched the race from the pits - the first time I had done that. It was quite an experience - the trick is to stay out of the way, not get run over, and don't fall in the mud. Oh, and be careful who you are standing next too - you may not recognize the car owner, crew chief or other driver until you've said something stupid.
Wednesday night brought the first night of qualifying for The Nationals. Over 120 cars were entered. The first night, Steve King crashed in turn three and died the next day.
The format for qualifying for the Nationals involves passing points, qualifying times and heat races. I won't try to explain it - but it is fun to watch.
Thursday night was night 2 of the qualifications, with the rest of the field getting the chance to race. Passing was better on Thursday night, but some big named drivers had problems. Drivers such as Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Danny Lasoski, Jac Haudenschild and Brooke Tatnell had problems.
Friday night brought the last chance races for non-qualifiers and the World Challenge for invited drivers.
Then Saturday brought the main event - the Nationals. The Nationals are a big deal - the payout for the winner is $140,000. Second pays around $70,000. To put it in perspective, the winner of the King's Royal at Eldora won $50,000.
Danny Lasoski, a multi-time winner at the Nationals, started from the back of the B Main, but charged toward the front. He bumped Kerry Madsen, who crashed, and proceeded on to race his nephew for the fourth and final transfer spot into the A Main. Lasoski & his nephew Brian Brown banged together several times - with Lasoski spinning. The spin brought out the caution, but Lasoski got his spot back when he was able to continue on. The crowd would have preferred he be sent to the tail. Lasoski & Brown banged together several times under caution, and Lasoski eventually took the fourth spot.
In between the A & B Mains, Lasoski & his Dad had a loud argument about the incident with Brown - it took several people to separate them. The Crowd by this time had decided Lasoski was the villian of the night and booed him every chance they got.
In the A Main, Lasoski & Steve Kinser raced from the tail to the fourth and sixth spots, but Donny Schatz, a four-time bridesmaid at The Nationals, finally won.
Whew, that's a lot of racing - and I haven't even gotten to comment yet on all the silly season news. I guess I'll save that for tomorrow. And I've got to make my new vacation plans...
