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See You At The Races!!!

About 50 cars were already there when I entered the pits, and a little while later, Dickie Gaines became the fifth-fourth car, and he usually is the last racer to make it to the track. Knowing we would have six stacked heats on tap for the night, I was interested to see the draw for the night. Interestingly, Bill Rose’s night had been rained out at Eldora, so he would be a late arrival. This fifty-fifth and final car found himself scheduled to be on the pole of heat six.

The Paragon pits offer an interesting mix of young and old. Learning drivers such as the Beliles brothers, Nick Mosier, Chris Babcock, Ty Deckard, and Chris Windom were joined by a few drivers in the twilight of their driving careers. The first heat saw Paragon regulars Rocky Thickstun(in an eye-catching Avenger chassis), Dennis Rose, Johnny Johnson, Bruce Berry, Ralph Yagle, Adam Beliles, John Johnson, Jr., and Dusty Wright. Thickstun was easily the best of this group, but he could not hold off Kevin Briscoe, who started sixth and took the win. I expected Wright to charge from the rear, but he could never find his way forward. The track played a part in that as the top groove was the only groove so far, but they could squeeze in to make it two-wide. The bottom was still very greasy during the heats, and anybody who got too low on the racing surface would push right up the track. Dennis Rose’s Buick-powered number 270 claimed the third transfer spot when a wild Bart Pletch could not quite slip past Rose.

Jon Sciscoe benefited from a front-row starting spot to check out on the second heat. Scott Townsend displayed his expertise in circling Paragon Speedway, charging by A.J. Clark, Gregg Cory, and Muff Cody to take second. Tony Reed followed him by Cody to get the final transfer. Reed is a former midget racer who frequented 16^th Street Speedway, and he featured some of the better-looking equipment among the Paragon regulars. Townsend has always been one of the best at Paragon, noting that he is racing sprint cars just to have fun, and the high chance of him winning at Paragon makes it more enjoyable. There is no doubt, though, that Townsend is a good sprint car racer, Paragon or not.

As light as the first heat was, the third heat was absolutely stacked. Unfortunately, only three would transfer from the heat, and since all those who did not transfer would find themselves in the same B Main, only five cars would even have a chance of finding the A Main from each heat. Heat three had seven solid cars, and Casey Shuman and Josh Cunningham would eventually find themselves as the odd men out after starting in the last two positions of the heat. Brad Sweet was steady in his win while Kent Christian attacked the middle, going in hard and sideways. It was a track that suited Christian’s style. Jonathan Vennard used lapped traffic to grab the transfer spot from A.J. Anderson. In the biggest story of the race, Dave Darland was left out of a transfer spot, forcing him into the third row of the B Main.

John Wolfe charged to the front of the fourth heat, and Justin Marvel came from the tail to second. Jake Scott would not relinquish third to sprint car rookie Jeremy Warren. Front-row starters Doug Rolison and Nick Johnson waged a wheel-banging battle with Jim Dugan for the last three spots in the race.

While Dickie Gaines was checking out to a huge lead in heat five, Jon Stanbrough and Mat Neely tried to scale from row four into transfer spots. Dustin Beliles was impressive as he ran second, and both Stanbrough and Neely took advantage of a Chris Babcock mistake to move up at the end. Neely would still have to visit the B Main.

Heat six got off to a ragged start as some wheel-banging between Jeff Miller and Chris Windom resulted in Miller tumbling through turn one. He almost landed right on top of Rob Botts, who moved up a row from his third-row start. J.T. Imperial also left the track early, but the battle for the win between Bill Rose, Doug Heck, and Buddy Cunningham was easily the best of the heat races. Heck looked like Darland’s teammate, wheeling a 2004 Jeff Walker F-5 without any modifications to the design on the car. Heck moved past Rose, and Cunningham got by on the last lap as Botts and Scotty Weir were also within shouting distance.

Eric Zellner mounted a huge charge through the first B Main, getting a good look at the battle for transfer spots that were eventually taken by A.J. Anderson and Dave Darland. Mat Neely’s misfortune left him on the sidelines of the A Main, coming home third. Shuman was fourth, just ahead of Zellner. Eric Edwards took a nasty spill through the fourth turn, just in front of my new favorite vantage point at Paragon, courtesy of Greg Koons master race-watching abilities!

Noblesville High School senior Jeremy Warren tried to hold off Kyle Cummins and Scotty Weir, in succession, but he was unable to hold the transfer spot. Eventually, Weir worked to the inside of Cummins and took the win. The battle for fourth to eighth was worth watching, with some great side-by-side action and a little contact here and there.

The first start to the feature had consequences for guys at the back of the pack. Unfortunately, at Paragon, that first turn comes quickly and the field seems to stop when they get there. Scotty Weir climbed the back of Jonathan Vennard, leaving Vennard with a flat left rear that he was not allowed to change. Weir found himself with a bent front clip. Dennis Rose also retired at this time when he collapsed the front end of his car. Tony Reed was spun in this fiasco, and he would be done quickly when he spun soon after the restart. Buddy Cunningham quickly dropped from his front-row starting spot, and he decided to take it to the pits.

Early movers in the race included Dickie Gaines and Dave Darland. Both utilized the top shelf of the track, which had a thin cushion encircling the outer parameters of the speedway. They were able to make it work mainly because the cars running the bottom groove were bottled up, leaving them to nearly stop when someone’s front end washed up the track due to the wetness of the track.

The track was suited perfectly for Kent Christian’s style. With the fast line on the bottom and requiring an extremely aggressive driving style, Christian’s car was working flawlessly. Early in the race, Christian was able to get within striking distance of Marvel, and he actually was completing the pass when a caution flew. Finally, in the 19^th lap, Christian got under Marvel when the silver 47 pushed up the track in turn two.

Behind them, the contenders were being separated from the rest. Dickie Gaines was already up to 5^th on the top groove when John Wolfe slid up into him, putting Gaines over the bank and leaving him sitting on the sidelines. Jon Sciscoe was slowly moving from his 10^th starting spot, but Darland was charging much more quickly. Still using the top, Darland’s passes were more infrequent, but he still reeled in Marvel but could not pass him before the checkered flew.

It was a big win for Christian, keeping the momentum flowing for a season that rivals the best numbers put up by any traditional sprint car driver this season. With ten top-fives and fourteen top-tens, could he be a dark-horse candidate for Indiana Sprintweek victories and/or the championship? He is qualifying well and is very aggressive, and his home-built chassis and overall lesser-funded team make him a crowd favorite.

While driving Darland back to his Lincoln, Indiana home, it was interesting to hear him discuss his racing career as it is now. Hearing him talk about what a relief it is to have a car owner who will race as many races as possible made me realize that he has not had a stable sprint car ride to race at both USAC and local shows in quite a while. Knowing that last year’s sprint car collaboration with Lynn Reid was the most I had seen him smile in a while, I was not surprised to hear him say that driving for Lynn had rejuvenated his career. Although he wanted to win a race for Lynn that never came, it is obvious that their effort last season worked well for Darland and proved that Reid’s car was capable of winning races.

I had actually considered skipping Paragon after going to Gas City the night before, mainly because of the intense heat. Let’s just say that I was happy with the late decision to head south, and part of that decision was due to the help of my friend Rob Stout. It was one of the better racing surfaces I have seen this year, and the racing was both competitive and interesting to watch all night long. Paragon Speedway was truly an impressive venue on Saturday night……

I-69 Speedway was also a fantastic bit of entertainment on Friday night. With a field of 36 cars, the field was full of quantity though it was not overwhelmingly large. The track was not in the best shape at the beginning of the night, but it never really deteriorated. With a quick session of track work before the feature, the 25-lapper was fast and furious.

Brandon Petty, who won his fifth race the next night at Lawrenceburg, could not make a higher line work after starting on the front row. John Wolfe got his Ultramax working and moved underneath to take the lead. He appeared to be the class of the field, but following a late caution, Shane Cottle found a little extra to get by Wolfe on the inside after some tinkering with cockpit adjustments.

Besides that, the racing was great all night. The third heat turned into a war of attrition, especially when Danny Stratton’s first chance in the Hajduk sprint car went south with engine trouble while riding in a transfer spot. Chris Kopczynski made a great move to take the final transfer spot from Jeff Martin. Kopczynski’s night did not end well, but for the weekend as a whole, it showed the vast improvements Kopczynski has made. Qualifying solidly into the invert of heat races at Gas City, he was riding in 7^th during the feature when a lazy spin by A.J. Anderson left him with nowhere to go, breaking his front end. Sunday’s race at Kokomo found him in the feature again, riding the cushion late and seemingly learning a lot throughout the course of the race.

Along the lines of improving sprint car racers, Rex Norris III did not travel with the Midwest Ford Focus series over the weekend after an accident at the Speedrome on Thursday. What he did, instead, was make two more features in Indiana sprint car battles. For the season, Norris has made 13 of the 17 features he has attempted, and his first top-ten on the season came after starting 20^th in the field on Friday night. He lost 9^th on the last lap to Daron Clayton, who was fast and wild again, having some trouble early only to find the sweet spot in the last few laps and salvage a top-ten.

Although Weir’s weekend took a wrong turn Saturday, he was a man on the move at Gas City. Already moving up to 6^th from 13^th mid-way through the race, Weir went over the bank in turn four and dropped back out of the top-ten. With another late-race charge, he worked back up to 6^th but could not move by Jon Sciscoe to grab a top-five. Sciscoe went ninth-quick and had to run the B, but the failure of Ted Hines to make the feature moved him to the pole. It was an impressive race for the Bloomington regular, and his weekend as a whole was a success.

Scott Martin was a sidelined racer enjoying a race as a spectator on Friday. He has not had the time to ready his Competition Welding sprinter for action just yet, but he should be out in the next few weeks. This adds yet another competitive car to the local scene, especially once he finds his groove again and hits more races. Martin is one of my favorite local drivers and I cannot wait to see his car out on the track again.

Once again, kudos to the staff at Gas City for providing a great racing surface on a night when there was certainly an excuse for it to be sub-par. Speaking of surfaces, Kokomo again had a huge cushion to surround the re-configured quarter-mile. The bottom and middle grooves do not appear to match the high speed of the tricky top groove, but there were options on where to race, at least. Darland’s move to the lead came on the bottom, but he quickly moved to the top, and no one could catch him. Levi Jones tried both grooves to hunt him down, but it would not happen. The Walker Racing team had a long night that included an engine change to get him ready for the B Main, but they proved to be the team to beat on Sunday night.

Kokomo Speedway has to be happy with the 35 cars that rolled through the gate on Sunday. The weather did not cool off at all, and I had a rough time staying cool all day Sunday between racing at the Kokomo Quarter Midget Club and the sprint car race. Part of Edison Motorsports came down the street to witness the quarter midget races, including driver Shane Cottle. Jake Argo was in attendance, back from Richmond, to help the Fitzpatrick brothers. Midget master Mike Streicher assisted his Hawk chassis customers all day. I respect anybody who endured the entire weekend out there at the quarter-midget races…….it was definitely a hot one!

Union County MSCS winner Zac Osborn was solid with an eighth-quick qualifying lap, but he found the wall in turn two during his heat, tearing up his front end and ending his night early. While he only beat eleven other cars in the MSCS feature, one of them was Daron Clayton, who worked the cushion at Kokomo, as expected. He found the wall in turn one during his heat, thrashing in order to compete in his B Main, making a late move around the top to take the win. Corey Smith had led the B Main, but he moved to the bottom ahead of a charging Brent Beauchamp. Clayton flew by both, and Beauchamp did not have enough to make the show and back up his runner-up finish at Lawrenceburg the night before.

Brad Sweet was another racer who found the wall. After running 6^th at Paragon, he nearly held onto quick time at Kokomo until Levi Jones hit the track. Starting the feature straight-up, Sweet dropped a couple spots before trying to knock the wall down in turn one. Of course, seeing his stature when exiting the car prompted another priceless quote from “Wise Old” Merrillville Al Longiny, saying, “I guess if this sprint car racing deal doesn’t work out, he can always take up horse racing.” It will be interesting to see the opportunities arising for young Sweet, who is a hard-worker and is certainly brave. Unfortunately, he has already seen his share of Indiana car owners.

Brandon Petty was a flip victim in the feature, finding the tractor tire on the inside of turn four and performing the epitome of a “tommy tipover.” With Butch Wilkerson driving the hauler back home and Pete Abel also assisting on the crew, I warned Petty to make sure he did not continue on like he did at Kokomo or he might find himself as the third-best driver on the Reynolds Racing team. Also worth mentioning are Petty’s 13 top-fives, better than any other wingless sprint car driver in the nation.

Enjoying the Kokomo action was Stephanie Mockler, straight from a Focus weekend that found her 6^th and 3^rd, but she is not making up any ground on Tate Martz for the lead in points. Her big news for the weekend was the introduction of brand-new shirts, which look good and are a great buy for those people who want to buy more obscure shirts, like me. With a ride in a sprint car last week, Mockler is an exciting young racer who takes things seriously and has already proven she can get it done.

After winning Friday, the box score may not have revealed how hard Shane Cottle worked to finish 4^th after starting there. He actually was all the way back to 11^th before moving back to the front. He tried valiantly to get inside Clayton while exiting turn four, but he could not gain enough ground to complete the pass. Clayton found his rhythm late in the race and almost tracked down Jones for 2^nd. Corey Smith, Bart Grider, and Casey Shuman were in the middle of the top-ten, but all three looked solid throughout the race. Justin Marvel’s rampage did not translate to a good qualifying time, but he made some great moves in moving from 15^th to 8^th. Kent Christian worked hard for a top-ten, scaling from 18^th to grab the final spot in the top half of the 20-car field.

With such a competitive race, it is obvious how much the racers in Indiana have stepped up their programs. Michael Burthay, former Gas City track champion and always tough at Kokomo, could go nowhere on Sunday and found himself 12^th at the end after a 15^th on Friday. Bill Rose made the feature each night, but his only top-ten was at Gas City on Friday. He barely hooked the invert for the heats at Kokomo, holding onto a transfer after starting on the pole. I love watching Bill race, though, and I am sure he will find more success against the Indiana locals.

Heading into a weekend that will find me at Bloomington, Terre Haute (KISS), and Kokomo, I would like to try something new to wrap up my six pages of drivel. Knowing that voting for Non-Wing Sprint Car Driver of the Year is always controversial, here are my top 25 racers so far in 2005.

1. Damion Gardner – 16/17 features, 7 wins, 10 top-fives, 12 fast times, 2^nd in CRA

2. Dave Darland – 26 races, 5 wins, 11 top-fives, 19 top-tens, 2^nd in USAC points

3. Brandon Petty – 20 races, 5 wins, 13 top-fives, 1^st in Lawrenceburg points

4. Rip Williams – 17 races, 1 win, 11 top-fives, 16 top-tens, leading CRA points

5. Dickie Gaines – 15/16 features, 5 wins, 9 top-fives, 12 top-tens

6. Jay Drake – 12/13 features, 2 wins, 6 top-fives, 8 top-tens, 1^st in USAC points

7. Cory Kruseman – 19 races, 3 wins, 8 top-fives, 13 top-tens, 3^rd in CRA points

8. Mike Kirby – 17 races, 1 win, 11 top-fives, 14 top-tens, 4^th in CRA points

9. Levi Jones – 15/17 features, 2 wins, 9 top-fives, 2 fast times, 3^rd in USAC points

10. Kent Christian – 17 races, 2 wins, 10 top-fives, 14 top-tens, 1^st in Bloomington pts.

11. Shane Cottle – 10/11 features, 3 wins, 7 top-fives, 9 top-tens, 2 fast times

12. Rickie Gaunt – 15/16 features, 3 wins, 6 top-fives, 9 top-tens, 6^th in CRA points

13. Kevin Briscoe – 11 races, 2 wins, 8 top-fives, 1 fast time, 2^nd in Bloomington points

14. Mat Neely – 16/18 features, 2 wins, 5 top-fives, 9 top-tens, 6^th in USAC points

15. Charles Davis, Jr. – 17 races, 8 top-fives, 13 top-tens, 5^th in CRA points

16. Bud Kaeding – 14 races, 5 top-fives, 9 top-tens, 4^th in USAC points

17. Bryan Clauson – 12/16 features, 2 wins, 5 top-fives, 7 top-tens

18. John Wolfe – 14/16 features, 1 win, 6 top-fives, 10 top-tens, 2 FTs, 1^st in G.C. pts.

19. Justin Marvel – 17 races, 5 top-fives, 11 top-tens, 1 fast time, 12^th in USAC points

20. A.J. Anderson – 17/19 features, 6 top-fives, 11 top-tens, 1 fast time

21. Josh Wise – 13/14 features, 4 top-fives, 9 top-tens, 5^th in USAC points

22. Dave Steele – 5 races, 2 wins, 4 top-fives, 1 fast time, 9^th in USAC points

23. Daron Clayton – 15/16 features, 3 top-fives, 9 top-tens, 2 fast times

24. Scotty Weir – 11/18 features, 1 win, 5 top-fives, 8 top-tens, 2^nd in Gas City points

25. Mitch Wissmiller – Only 9/16 features, but 4 wins already

      Doug Heck – 13/14 features, 4 wins (Paragon and Lincoln, IL)

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