What is traditionally one of the busiest "specials" weekends of the season turned into one of the wettest. While the area racing schedule was jam-packed with a number of post-season attractions this past weekend, Mother Nature, as she has done all season, released her fury once more.
I was one of many who chose to be front and center on Saturation Saturday as I was in Burlington over the weekend for the 19th annual Pepsi USA Late Model Nationals at 34 Raceway. While the Friday night portion of the two-day show was successfully run, the final night of the last installment of the 2010 Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models was canceled for the first time in event history.
I spent Friday in the crow's nest with fellow Positively Racing blogger Jeff Broeg. While he handled the blogging duties on Friday, I planned to write a complete recap of the event in his absence following Saturday's finale. Yeah, that didn't work out so well as Saturday's event was postponed until Sunday which, in turn, was washed out after steady rains throughout the weekend forced track officials to pull the plug early. Jeff summed up Friday's events quite well over on the Back Stretch, so be sure to check out his thoughts there.
Rather than repeating the same thoughts asnd observations (seriously, at times I think Jeff and I share a brain... feel free to insert your own classless joke here), I'll use a few moments here to randomly air my thoughts on the role the weather played this past weekend. Simply put, before Mother Nature unleashed her wrath, this time of year was already saturated with specials.
Just like any other race night, or canceled race night, numerous opinions surfaced in various racing circles. While everyone was disappointed at how the weather forced the hand of officals at 34, some were left upset at the eventual cancellation of the event. Really? Of course there were. Please keep in mind, a vast majority of those who were upset were the same folks who state their opinions as fact. I won't go into detail here on how the all-knowing base their opinions. You can go back to May when I addressed the same question In Staging. Yeah, it doesn't appear as though those race enthusiasts learned much in the last four months.
Instead, I'm going to flip over to the race calendar to see what would serve as a good make-up date for a $10,000-to-win Late Model special. You know, just to throw it in because, by God, we're race fans! We're entitled!
Okay, there have to be a whole slew of empty dates. I mean, it is the end of September and who in their right mind would schedule too many events this time of year? Afterall, seriously, were you even outside today? It was 60 when I went to work this morning and pushing 90 when I got home. Nobody is going to take their chance against those odds! Okay, onto the schedule...
Good grief, I've had second thoughts. I'll pass, thanks. You mean there are that many tracks that even have races in the region, let alone schedule them for September and October? Wow, and I thought it was tough enough to fight for the race fan's dollar during the regular season, but the post-season, too?
Fine, I'll stop with the sarcasm. I'll just leave this topic on a final note... or two. Post-season specials generally bring with them increased purses. In many cases, extremely large purses. With those purses you need a lot of butts in the stands. With everything going on this time of year, it's hard enough to compete for the race fan's dollar, but when you're forced to reschedule an event, that just makes it all that more difficult. You're highly unlikely to draw the same crowd you'd have gotten if you were able to get the show in on the original date. To find another date, a last minute date on the calendar after you've already used your rain date, and you just as well sell the house, give away the dog and live in the car... unless they come calling for the wheels, too. Is it unfortunate that the Pepsi rained out? Damn right it is. Is it anyone's fault? Absolutely not. Is it your money? Nope. Do you want a place to go racing next year? Thought so.
With that said, Friday night was my 60th night of the season. While I reached the goal I set at mid-season, I still have a couple more events on my calendar. The way the weather has been lately, I'll call them tentative dates. Tomorrow night, September 21, is the rescheduled USMTS event at Allison and I plan to be there for Highway 3 Raceway's season finale. After that, I'll be back in Burlington on Saturday for the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour finale. That will be followed by my last projected race of the season - season championships at Benton County Speedway in Vinton on Sunday. I may try to take in a few others in the coming weeks, but I know better than to look too far ahead this time of year...
Thanks for reading. I'll see you at the races.
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