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See You At The Races!!! |
| Border Wars battle breaks out this weekend by Kirk Spridgeon |
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April 24, 2005....With a very important weekend in the USAC
sprint picture for the season looming just a few days away, it is
time for a short preview of the first two National dirt shows along
with a summary of what has happened to start the wingless racing
season. With Winchester’s re-opening being postponed until
October, just one race has been run under USAC’s National Sprint
sanction, and that was a very vague indication of who will be
strong, as it was at Anderson. With two important dirt races over
the weekend, it will quickly become apparent as to who will be vying
for a USAC championship and what drivers will be the top contenders
at the local level. As this past weekend’s races were a complete
washout, only two tracks in Indiana have opened up their season of
regular shows, and the Midwest Sprint Car Series has sanctioned
three shows in three states already. Two Indiana drivers, Dave
Darland and Dickie Gaines, already have two wins to bolster their
early season résumés
. Other wingless warriors with wins include Cory Kruseman,
who should be in attendance at Gas City, Damion Gardner (both of
whom have two wins), A.J. Brun, Rickie Gaunt, Mike Kirby, Dave
Steele, Rip Williams, and John Wolfe. Gas City’s USAC race will be their second of
the season. Wolfe completed a comeback from serious arm injuries to
climb from sixth-starting spot to win. Wolfe’s new ride, coming
from Scott Benic’s compound in Fairmount, is a new attempt at a
more specifically non-wing car. Joining Wolfe in Maxim-affiliated
cars were Benic’s own driver, Levi Jones, Scotty Weir, and Marc
Arnold. Arnold, who won Rookie-of-the-Year at the Grant County track
last year, has upgraded equipment in hopes of branching out more in
his sophomore season. Devin Race Cars (DRC) were a very hot commodity
in the opening weekend of dirt action. Brandon Petty took second to
Wolfe in Rodney Reynolds’ car, which has gone away from Gamblers
with Hank Byram no longer in the picture. The most interesting new
DRC at Gas City may have been Critter Malone’s new effort to
alleviate problems he’s had in the past with unstable ride
opportunities. Yes, Critter has gone on his own, with a few
partners, to form 7, Inc. Providing himself with an opportunity to
race more often and where he wants, look for this team to be tough
on the Indiana ovals along with being a factor in USAC dirt races.
There’s never been a doubt about Critter’s ability in sprint
cars, and now with a solid car underneath him for every show he
wants to run, he’s excited about the expansive schedule they have
put together for the 2005 season. While DRC put two in the top six at Gas City,
along with a top-ten run from Daron Clayton, they dominated the
front of the field at the 2nd annual Elliottbrand Clash
at Bloomington on the same night. Dickie Gaines’ Popeye’s
Chicken number 70 may have been the most expected car and driver on
the podium, but he had to come from 12th to take the win.
Jay Drake’s surprise ride in the Fox Construction 56 resulted in a
near-victory until problems at the end relegated him to the
runner-up slot. Jon Sciscoe is hoping to break what became a plateau
season for him last year. His strong opening run in the new DRC
should serve notice that he will be a guy to beat at Bloomington
this season. The early season has seen a few other hot
commodities already. Although he was taken out of a chance to win at
Spoon River’s DQ Clash, Shane Hollingsworth put together two quick
top-fives at Bloomington and Florence. With his affiliation with the
Baldwin Brothers leading to a season chock full of sprint, midget,
and champ car racing, this may be the year that Shane puts it all
together and wins a bunch of races. He already has had success, but
he now has steady, potent rides to combat against the best of USAC
and on the local circuit. With a silver look to the 85 cars this
season, it appears he’ll contest the USAC dirt shows with the
exception of Beaver Dam, probably after experiencing a tire tester
on last year’s Wisconsin trip. Even after climbing very high in the USAC
sprint car points last season, Josh Ford will still be considered a
dark horse in the chase this season. Earning some valuable pavement
time last year, he seems primed to do battle in the Midwest after
racing extensively near his West Coast home already this season.
With more than ten sprint car shows in the books for him, he has put
together two top-fives and four top-tens with CRA. His new teammate
this season will be Darren Hagen, who narrowly missed a new track
record on Bloomington’s Elliottbrand night. With a lot of
experience of his own last year, Darren has learned under Jack Yeley
and now moves to the Keith Kunz stable in a red number 71. Hagen may not be eligible for the Rookie of the
Year award after running a fair amount of races last season, but
there is still a healthy crop among the USAC contingent. Of those
running both surfaces, Kyle Nicholas has the early advantage after
his Anderson operation. Jesse Hockett bypassed a chance to run for
Kasey Kahne all over the country. Donnie Adams, Jr., Lee Boss, and
Cameron Dodson all fell short of the feature event on the tight
quarter-mile, although Adams, Jr. pushed Bud Kaeding for a transfer
spot in his heat race. Brad Sweet and Daron Clayton will likely be
the strongest rookies who will not add pavement time to their dirt
slate. USAC’s show at Anderson did reveal some new
combinations on pavement and some beautiful new race cars. Aaron
Fike returned for what seems to be a recurring theme of two or three
pavement races for him a year. Bud Kaeding’s cars appeared the
same as his pre-Jason Leffler battery. Leffler Motorsports and Team
ASE were only applied in decal form. Jonathan Vennard jumped at the
chance to replace the departing Hockett in Lynn Reid’s potent
equipment, running it into the top-ten on the tar at Anderson. After
rain spoiled a birthday weekend (Apr. 23rd), he is very
anxious to try Reid’s F5 in dirt competition with USAC, especially
at Eldora. Mat Neely’s new number six might be what he
has been missing. Finding the way around Anderson to a top-ten, he
nearly stole a win from Dickie Gaines on the Florence half-mile. He
is another pilot trying to come back from a bit of a sophomore
slump. After a broken race car at Bloomington and a sub-par pavement
performance, Dave Darland has to be looking forward to Gas City and
Eldora, two places where both he and new owner Jeff Walker have had
success. Although Jason Blonde filled in for him at Anderson, John
Scott should be back and raring to go at Gas City on Friday after
recovering from a shattered wrist. Hopefully, he will be back in
form very quickly after finding enough luck to get a Winchester date
postponed until October. Levi Jones will race close to team owner Scott
Benic’s Fairmount shop on Friday, a place where Levi picked up a
win last fall during a regular show. This is another team that has
the components to compete for a title with the Stewart cars, Dave
Darland, and Bud Kaeding. Jon Stanbrough and Bryan Stanfill both
found the going rough in their new deals at Anderson. Stanbrough’s
pavement experience had a tough time staying straight, and Stanfill
also dropped from the B Main in Steve Stapp’s J&J. It will be
interesting to see if Stanfill and Stapp stay together, and if
Stanbrough’s pavement experience pays off in the end. When it comes to the dirt side of the USAC
coin, however, it has become increasingly wide-open at the front.
For the Gas City show, it may be just as important to inspect the
local cars when talking of a winner. Shane Cottle’s qualifying
prowess leads to great possibilities for him at the quarter-mile.
Michael Burthay was not a factor in the track’s first regular
show, but he is usually good in the early season. Shane
Hollingsworth is always a contender, and he seems to step up his
game when the bigger shows arrive. Last year’s winner at Gas City, Tracy Hines, is not slated to be in attendance. His winning ride is, however, and the driver will be Jerry Coons, Jr. He automatically becomes a favorite. Drake and Levi Jones took top-fives last year, so look for them to be near the front as well. Things have re-arranged themselves some since
that race, though. Josh Wise is no longer in the Kunz 67, which he
drove to 6th place last season. Cory Kruseman will pilot
that car at Gas City, but he must head home on Saturday for a CRA
points race. If Kunz picks a driver for Eldora’s contest, who will
he put in the 67? Wise switched with Kruseman, running a TSM Eagle
chassis. He will definitely be on the gas and exciting if the track
isi tacky. Dave Darland ran 7th last year for Lynn Reid,
but that will now be Jonathan Vennard. Vennard attended Gas City’s
opener to regain some of his form there after not running much dirt
lately. Darland replaces Tony Elliott, and Elliott may show up
Friday in Jason Goacher’s F5. Although he has All-Star commitments
for Saturday, he may be lured into a track that has always been good
to him, and Goacher has to be chomping at the bit to get his car out
on the track after being very fast in the latter half of the 2004
season with various drivers. Brian Hayden took a top-ten out of Gas City
last year, but he has subsequently retired from the sport. Jon
Stanbrough was still with Paul Hazen early last year, but he will
still be a very potent Gas City warrior. Hazen has updated equipment
and will enter the fray with Casey Shuman and a brand new Stealth
chassis. Dickie Gaines struggled there in the Hoffman’s second
entry, but he’ll be in his own equipment this time around, and
with a newly-refreshed bullet under the hood. Dickie does not count
Gas City as one of his favorite tracks, but look for him to be up
front at Eldora on Saturday. Brian Tyler and Boston Reid were also
in last year’s Gas City feature, but they have changed their focus
to other avenues and will not be present, opening up even more slots
for drivers to shine. Look for some of those shining drivers to be Kyle Wissmiller, A.J. Anderson, Justin Marvel, Brandon Petty, Scotty Weir, Critter Malone, and Bart Grider, whose affiliation with the Crites 82 has led to consistently strong runs. It takes a very different breed to excel on the high banks at Eldora. After a week with some rain (and maybe even some on race day), the half-mile could be extremely fast. Seeing hot laps during last year’s Four Crown made me realize just how fast they can get around there. Newcomers rarely do well on the Darke County oval. It would be a safe bet to go with veterans, including Jimmy Stinson. Stinson will try a whole year with the Simon family after running at the front of the Four Crown feature before being bounced in a restart mêlée. Mike Brecht is scheduled to run an All-Stars show, but he is another that has a lot of experience running the wall. It is hard to go against the usual suspects in this race, namely Jay Drake, Dave Darland, Kevin Huntley, Dickie Gaines, Bud Kaeding, Rob Chaney, and Jon Stanbrough. Matt Westfall and Shane Cottle would be my dark horse candidates after running very well in their last few races at Eldora. The last two years, a regular USAC sprint show featured between 45 and 50 sprinters, and I would say this edition shouldn’t be very different. There is a definite influx of new cars to run the USAC shows, but there have also been a few lost to various ventures. With this being the first opportunity for guys to run Putnamville, Paragon, and Lawrenceburg, that may also take away a few cars. My gut prediction would be 48 cars at this show. When it comes down to it, I must make a
prediction. For Friday night’s show at Gas City, I’m predicting
a great show with a big battle at the front. When it’s all said
and done, I see Jon Stanbrough taking the victory with Shane Cottle,
Jay Drake, Dave Darland, and Shane Hollingsworth mixed in behind
him. Look for a quick time coming in the 12.3 to 12.5 range. For Saturday, I’m thinking it will be wet
early on, and bravery will be the key. As the night wears on and the
track slicks off, it invariably becomes a driver’s track, with the
more experienced Eldora chauffeurs finding the way around. Dave
Darland will come home with this victory, leaving Dickie Gaines, Jay
Drake, Jerry Coons, Jr., and Bud Kaeding to settle the top five
spots. To be honest, I just can’t wait to see it. Forget whatever the weather reports say as I just can’t wait to go racing……… |
