Knowing that each track will be putting forth new levels of effort to ensure great racing, I am excited to see what is in store for us fans all weekend. The fields will no doubt be stout, as the best in dirt midgets will be taking a chance to win under the USAC banner. The addition of a scoreboard at Terre Haute will make things much easier on the fans. I can’t wait for Thursday to come!

Even though the upcoming races are quite exciting, the last week and a half has been filled with racing and adventure. While visiting Lawrenceburg, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Eldora, Kokomo, Oskaloosa, Bloomington, and Salem, I saw some great racing and had some great experiences along the way. The dirt shows of Kokomo and Bloomington topped the list, but each race had its interesting moments.

Perhaps the most interesting was the experience of Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. Monday’s events were quite different from my normal routine at the race track, as the racing came secondary to the insane partying taking place in the infield. I had fun, but it was weird to be at a race track where people were virtually indifferent to what took place on the track. On Monday night, we also came to the realization that things would be changing on account of my Jeep suddenly not working. A Tuesday diagnosis of a bad fuel pump put me in an awkward position, but the folks in the racing community again helped me to recover from the hardship.

First of all, the whole Walker team did everything in their power to help find the problem. My good friend Mat Neely offered to bring my Jeep home in his spacious trailer, alleviating the pressure of paying $560 to the owner of a local garage to change my fuel pump. Neely and roommate Denny Knight not only provided a ride home but also a place to stay while I was out of commission. Ultimate Challenge champion Levi Jones made a generous donation to help me through my struggles, and Indiana car owner Tom Miller ultimately remedied my problem in his Brownsburg garage. Thanks to these folks who helped out, and also to everybody who offered their help. It is amazing how caring the racing folks are.

Before my misfortune, the trip had gone like clockwork. During a send-off visit to Kokomo on Sunday, Darland found himself victorious in his first try with the Brad and Steve Fox sprint car. Darland beat his Silver Crown teammate, Jon Stanbrough, after Stanbrough and John Wolfe made contact while battling for the lead. The controversy over the Wolfe/Stanbrough incident was heated, and Darland took away Stanbrough’s chance for a victory when he powered underneath into turn one and slid up in front before exiting turn two. I think Stanbrough could have made the pass much more easily had he waited for turn one, but Stanbrough is not a dirty racer. He put Wolfe in a difficult position, but I hope they can get past any problems and continue to race hard each time they are on the track.

Blake Feese made a surprise return to sprint cars at Eldora, Oskaloosa, and Knoxville. While his results were mixed, Feese surely enjoyed himself away from the NASCAR scene. His cousin, Mitch Wissmiller, was better than he has even been at Eldora, but his Oskaloosa experience ended early when contact with Johnny Herrera during hot laps put him into the fence and upside-down, severely bending the frame on his F-5 chassis.

Also fleeing from “Down South” were Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart. How cool is it that two graduates of sprint cars come back to race during the biggest week of sprint car racing? Kahne’s performance was not the best, but Stewart was quite impressive while running in the top-ten on Tuesday before going pitside.

Charges through the pack by Dickie Gaines and Johnny Herrera made the Ultimate Challenge worthwhile. Gaines, who started 21^st, had passed Herrera and was in the process of driving by Jac Haudenschild for fourth when he touched the 83 car and spun harmlessly into the infield. Haudenschild’s return to an Outlaw victory lane on Friday at Eldora was vintage Haud, up against the wall and distancing himself from the field to garner the checkers.

Bloomington’s Sheldon Kinser Memorial was another Indiana success as Dickie Gaines nipped Shane Cottle at the line after forty laps of great action. Cottle did not find lapped traffic to his liking, so he rode behind the lapped cars on the bottom groove for quite a few laps near the end. The higher line was not any faster, but Gaines was finding his rhythm to gain enough momentum to pass Cottle. In the final lap, Cottle looked high in turn one, but he went back to the bottom behind Kent Christian while Gaines was smooth in the middle of the track. The result was a photo finish.

Watching the ever-improving young drivers was another interesting story on Friday. In on heat alone, three juveniles fought for the final transfer, and Marc Arnold came out on top over Chris Windom and Brent Beauchamp, neither of whom have driver’s licenses. Bryan Clauson is getting back on track, and he was patient throughout the feature, gaining third in the latter stages of the race. He was catching the leaders as they encountered lapped traffic, but he ran out of time to get close enough to make a move. The hard charger on the night was sprint car rookie Brady Short, noting that this was the first night where he effectively ran the very bottom of Bloomington Speedway. Short was still moving forward at the end of the race, but only had time to find eighth at the end.

Congratulations to all winners in the last two weeks. In particular, a pat on the back goes to Rob Chaney for his win at the Mopar Thunder. I also want to thank the staff at Eldora Speedway for putting forth a commendable effort to create a great surface, at least early in the night, for a big sprint car race. Watching 28 cars qualify in less than sixteen seconds was very cool, and a new track record was finally set. Hopefully, I will see the day when a wingless sprint car circles the “Big E” in less than fifteen seconds.

Also, I hope everyone will continue to pray for the family of Kevin Doty. Considering myself a friend of Kevin’s son, Kevin, Jr., for quite a while, I can only imagine what he must be feeling right now. The two were very close, and they really seemed to enjoy going to the races together more than anything. As tough as it may be, I hope “Little Doty” can make it to a few races. Kevin was the epitome of what a midget racer ought to be, and I hope to see some special things done at the upcoming midget races to honor Doty. Rest in peace, Kevin!