I'm not much of a NASCAR fan. I know, those are not shocking words to read on my blog. It's no secret that NASCAR's national series aren't on my list of priorities to follow during the summer months (or spring or fall or winter). When I heard the "too Hollywood" sanctioning body was implementing some changes concerning its points and procedures for 2011, however, I thought I'd tune in tonight to see why SportsCenter decided to air a live press conference. Afterall, points and procedures are what interest the geek in me.
In the days and weeks leading up to tonight's press conference, there was a lot of talk about NASCAR making some changes to its points system. Check that, it's antiquated, painfully lopsided, senseless points system. Some of the changes I heard discussed led me to believe NASCAR was on the right track. After watching tonight, however, I believe they still fall short.
For the past 4,983 years, NASCAR has implemented a points system that made next to no sense. Awarding a driver 175 or 180 or 185 points for a win (whatever it was until this year) was fine, I guess. What I never understood was how the points dropped per position. Why the difference between finishing sixth to seventh was different than the drop from drivers finishing 17th to 18th or 23rd to 24th (or wherever the breaks happened) never made sense. Regardless who finished where, the guy in front of you finished one spot ahead of you and the guy behind you finished one spot behind you - why would the points reflect anything different?
NASCAR did get one thing right with their new points structure by awarding 43 points to the winner, then dropping by a single marker for each subsequent finishing position. One point per position throughout the entire finishing order... almost. That's where they still don't get it.
I realize that racers compete to win. I really do. But bonus points? Isn't the winner already the recipient of a bonus? Yes, he will already receive an extra point than the guy who finishes behind him. Why an extra three points for a win? Don't tell me the winner of the race gets 43 points for a win, when in actuality he gets 46 points for a win. And a point to lead a lap? Well, it seems to me that if you win a race, you must have led at least one lap. Don't tell me the winner gets 43 points for a win when he really gets 46, no, 47 points for a win. And a point to lead the most laps? Because a driver led the first 50 laps of a race, yet finishes 10th, and nobody else led more than 49 laps you're telling me he gets the same number of points as the guy who finished in front of him... because he wasn't able to hold the lead?
One point... per position... throughout the entire field... no exceptions. Get rid of the bonus points and reward drivers for their body of work, not because they waited an extra lap to get fresh tires to earn an extra "bonus" point. I can probably use new tires on my car... I wonder if my dealer will award me points for waiting to get new ones. Doubtful.
I do applaud NASCAR, however, on the implementation of a much easier to follow, more fluid point structure that allows fans to follow the points race in real time. It will be much easier for fans to know where their driver must finish in order to gain ground on the competition. I honestly feel this should be the norm at all local tracks, as well. For those who want passing points, etc., at their local tracks, I have a hard time believing you'd even understand, let alone like, how that applies in real time at a race track. The guy who finished fourth was rewarded better than me although I won? Perfect! I totally get that! I love it! That, however, is an entirely different conversation.
This whole Chase thing really has me shaking my head, too. How many years has the Chase been around? 10? Less than 10? How many adjustments have been made to it since its inception? At least three that I can remember, maybe more. As it stood last season, the top 12 in points qualified for the chase. It was cut and dry, no questions. Of course, that wasn't good enough so the BCS, oops, I mean NASCAR, decided to fiddle with it again.
In 2011, the top 10 in series points following the first 26 races will qualify for the Chase. In addition to those drivers, the two drivers not in the top 10 in points with the most race wins will be "wild card" Chase contenders provided they are in the top 20 after the 26th race. Yes, I realize Jamie McMurray won at Daytona and Indianapolis last year and didn't qualify for the Chase. While I do like McMurray, I don't think he should have made the Chase simply by virtue of those two wins. NASCAR should take each driver's body of work into consideration when determining those who qualify for the Chase. Two wins in 26 events just wasn't good enough. Gee, I wonder what NASCAR could do to distinguish one driver's body of work from his competitors' body of work when it comes to determining those drivers deserving of competing in the Chase? I think I have it! How about a points system that awards drivers points based on finishing position in each of the 26 races leading up to the "post season"?! What's that you say? Oh, yeah! That's right! They already have one!
Like I said, I understand that drivers compete to win, but in the end, I'll be brutally honest - not everyone can win. There are 43 drivers (43? Yeah, yet another conversation) who take the green flag on any given Sunday afternoon (or Saturday night or Sunday night to compete against your local dirt track... yes, another conversation topic), and it's likely, no, I'd say it's a certainty, that only one of those 43 drivers will win. There are, however, drivers who are strong, consistent competitors who string together impressive streaks of top-5, top-10, top-15 finishes yet are at risk of missing the Chase because some guy couldn't get it together for much of the "regular season" yet was able to put together a couple wins. NASCAR should be rewarding consistency, not victory alone.
To take it a step further, I did a little reasearch and only had to go back a handful of years to find consistent proof that NASCAR is, for lack of a better word, screwing drivers for their consistent finishes. First, consider the 2007 season when the top 12 drivers in points after the first 26 races were awarded Chase positions. By the rules implemented starting this season, Clint Bowyer, who finished 12th, would not be guaranteed a Chase spot despite his 12 top-10 finishes in the first 26 races of that season. Casey Mears, however, who sat 16th in the standings after race #26, would make it into the Chase by virtue of one, yes one, Cup win, despite earning only six top-10 finishes during that same 26-race stretch. Who's more deserving, the more consistent Bowyer or Mears, simply because he won a single race?
In 2008, Matt Kenseth sat in 12th place in series points following the final "regular season" race at Richmond. He made the Chase that season, but would not have made it under the new rules. Despite his six top-5s and 15 top-10s, Kasey Kahne would have made it in since he won two races and Kenseth won none. Kahne, however, was less consistent and earned only half as many top-5 finishes and just 12 top-10s in the first 26 races.
In 2009, Juan Pablo Montoya ran 11th with two top-5s and 12 top-10s while Greg Biffle had eight top-5s and 12 top-10s. Instead, Kyle Busch, the winner of four series races and only nine top-10s, and Matt Kenseth, the winner of two races and nine top-10s, would have made the Chase.
Finally, just last season, once again the 11th and 12th place drivers in points (Kenseth in 11th and Bowyer in 12th) following the 26th race would not have made the Chase under the new rule. While neither of those drivers won races during the "regular season," Kenseth earned 10 top-10s and Bowyer had 14. Ryan Newman, who was sitting 13th, had one series win and just eight top-10s, while 14th place Jamie McMurray had two wins to go along with only nine top-10s. Newman and McMurray would have been that year's Chasers.
I know, I know. who am I to set the bar at top-10s versus wins? What if it was top-5s or top-15s? It really makes no difference where you draw the line - it doesn't make sense. Why give points for the entire field for any given race if wins is all it takes to make it to the post-season? The fact that a points system already in place determines where the drivers stand at the end of the designated regular season should be enough of an indicator to determine who is deserving of a chance to compete in the post-season. Isn't that what a regular season is supposed to do, anyway?
To take it a step further, how many drivers get on hot streaks during various points in a season? By looking at numbers from the last four seasons, every driver who wins at least two races was a lock for the Chase based on the new points system. That virtually means any driver who wins a couple races early in the year (we'll give him a third win, just for insurance) is nearly guaranteed a spot in the post-season regardless when he won them or how miserable his other 23 races may be, provided he holds onto a top 20 position after Richmond. I guess if someone comes out of the gate and has a perfect February, they're set for the Chase regardless how March through August go. I thought the NFL was the professional sport that rewarded mediocrity? Yes, Seattle Seahawks fans, that's for you.
One other change of note concerns race qualifying. Should inclement weather prevent qualifying, race lineups will be based on practice speeds. Huh? What happened to lining cars up by points? You know, those little things you keep track of throughout the course of the year to determine your most deserving drivers?
Right or wrong, I frequently compare NASCAR to area racing since NASCAR's origin came from the grassroots form of the sport. Yes, kids, much like the music industry of the '80s and '90s, NASCAR has become racing's "boy band." It isn't based on traditional stories of success, hard work and reward, it's become a corporate, mechanical, meticulous assembly of cogs, wheels and pulleys. It's hard to believe today that NASCAR got its start in our own backyards. Yes, yet another separate topic of conversation.
I imagined how the changes listed above would affect the programs at local tracks who race on the weekends. For the regular readers of my blog, you may remember promoters Bob and Larry from Getaclue Raceway. If not, to jog your memory, last May I posted how the weather affects a track's decision to race or pull the plug on its weekly show. Well, Bob and Larry are back and they've made a couple more tough decisions on your weekly race program for 2011. Here's what would happen if NASCAR brainwashed our dynamic race directors and promoted your weekly track...
Larry: Well, folks, since here'n NASCAR up 'n decided to change how they done things, we's been takin' a look at our own pur-cedures 'n such 'n decided we was 'bout due to make some changes us selves. Here's what's cookin' fer twenty E-leven. Bob, take 'er away.
Bob: Thanks, Lar. And thank you guys fer takin' time from yer busy off-season 'n spendin' 'n afternoon with us. Fer twenty E-leven, we're gunna change how we give you guys yer points 'n such. I reckon it'll take some gettin' used to 'n all, but we was wantin' to make things easier fer understandin' 'n make it more fun fer the fans 'n such. This year, y'all 'r still gunna git points fer how y'alls finish, but it'll be a bit diff'ernt I reckon. Each feature winner'll get the same number o' points ev'r week pur-vided you lead a lap on the nights you win. That means we's gunna gurn-tee ya fifty points 'n if you lead a lap when y'all win, y'all's gunna git an extry point. What that means fer y'all is that yer gunna git fifty-one points to win, but you can get 52 if you lead the most laps o' yer race. Now we's been thinkin' that NASCAR 'n such counts caution laps 'n we's been thinkin' a doin' that too. I reckon that'll speed up the show so 'n y'all can git on the road at a decent hour 'n such 'n so y'all kin git home to yer wives 'n girlfriends er both er one er the other 'n what not. What all else ya got, Larry?
Larry: Thanks, Bob. If yer leadin' under caution 'n c'n hang on while we're pickin' up the DUH-bree on the track, you're likely countin' on gettin' more points cuz yer bound to lead the most times 'round. Now, if we don't go yella in yer race 'n ya start up front, then I reckon yer almost gurn-teed to get some type o' bonus cuz by the time those other uns git on up there, they ain't gunna have a snowball's chance at leadin' more laps 'n the guy who done started up yonder. Now, Bob, you wanna go into how that all's gunna trickle on back down the order?
Bob: It's possible and downright likely I reckon that the guy startin' in the front row's almost gurn-teed a bonus point so if yer startin' toward back yonder yer gonna be at a dis'vantage from the git go. I reckon it'll prolly mean you may git the same number points as a guy who starts up yonder even though you started back yonder unless'n you can put a car between y'all. Yep, even though y'all busted yer tails and beat the bugger, it'll be the same in the points. Hell, I reckon we may even make it the same at the pay winder.
Larry: Now there's also some scuttle 'bout changes in PROcedure. Y'all 'member last year when it was wet as all git out 'n we called a few 'n got some other nights in by the skin o' our teeth. Well, we got us a back-up plan fer y'all this year. On nights we kin git hot laps in, but it's lookin' like rain, we's gonna change PROcedures. Instead of runnin' them heats, we's gunna go straight ta feature racin' and we's gunna line y'all up based on how y'all look in hot laps. Some y'all don't run hot laps so I reckon it's best if y'all try 'n make it out there if it looks like rain's a comin'.
Bob: That all purdy much sums up all we had fer y'all unless y'alls got questions. Let me remind y'all, we reckon this is what the fans want cuz I'm s'posin' we don't reckon they all's bright enough to just come out fer some good racin'. They had some questions 'bout why their fav'rites didn't do so well last year 'n they want us to change things up ag'in this year. I'm sure we'll all be fer decidin' to change things ag'in next year just cuz these new rules this year ain't gunna be fair in the eyes of y'all's fans 'n such. I reckon we'll cross that bridge over yonder when we's puttin' together rules fer twenty-twelve. Thanks fer yer time, guys. Anything else from you, Larry?
Larry: Yep, one more thing, Bob. I reckon we best let y'all know if ya kin win a feature this year, we's gunna gurn-tee ya a top 12 finish in the points. Don't matter none if ya can't git outta yer own way the rest of the season. We's just gunna reward ya at the banquet cuz those 50-some points you git to win I reckon won't be 'nuff fer the satisfyin'.
In conclusion, I have a few predictions for 2011 into 2012:
* Underdogs David Reutimann and Martin Truex Jr. will battle to the wire in a thrilling NASCAR Sprint Cup season, however neither will win a series championship because BCS officials will step in and change the formula to allow drivers Jimmy Johnson and Kevin Harvick to battle for the championship.
* Boise State will find a way to go undefeated yet again during the regular season, but NASCAR will somehow find a way to keep them out of the Chase for a championship.
* The Seattle Seahwaks will win the NFC West with a 12-4 record, but will be forced to play a road playoff game at Charlotte Motor Speedway against the 7-9 NFC South Champion Carolina Panthers.
Oh yeah, one more prediction... Packers 27, Steelers 21.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Karsyn's Krusaders and Wacky Bowling for Kids' Cancer on January 22
With the arrival of the new year, I've heard a lot of area drivers talking more frequently about getting their racing programs in full swing for the 2011 season. While the action on the track doesn't start in northeast Iowa for another three months, Karsyn's Krusaders is preparing for some off-season fun later this month. As I mentioned in December, Andy and Jessica Miller have organized a bowling night to help raise money to Kick Cancer's Butt and also bring together area race fans and drivers to keep our minds off the winter blahs.
Saturday, January 22, the Karsyn's gang will be at Cadillac Lanes in Waterloo for Wacky Bowling for Kids' Cancer. Details for the event can be found by visiting the Karsyn's web page or by clicking here. Along with unique bowling styles, there will be prizes, trivia and team and individual competitions. Details how to form your team, along with a registration form, are also available on the site.
Throughout the 2010 season, a number of people asked why I supported Karsyn's Krusaders since it was affiliated with a number of area drivers. While I do still possess a number of racing T-shirts I've accumulated over the years, I haven't worn them since I started working as a track official over 10 years ago. I've always felt track officials and employees should show no favoritism toward any driver or racing team. In my eyes, however, Karsyn's Krusaders is different. Yes, Darin Duffy and J.D. Auringer are visible Karsyn's supporters on the shirts, however they are merely supporters of the fight against cancer as much as you, me and anyone else who supports the cause. None of the money raised goes into the pockets of Darin, J.D. or other drivers who proudly support Karsyn's Krusaders. Karsyn's raised over $20,000 in 2010 in the fight against cancer thanks to the generosity of race fans throughout the region and all of that money went directly to support those individuals and families affected by cancer.
When I wear my Karsyn's shirt, it isn't to support any specific driver, it's to help support a cause - something that is very likely to affect all of us at some point in our lives. The busy holiday season is behind us, leaving you time to form your team for January 22. Get some friends together and come out to spend a night to show your support for a cause with meaning to all of us. See you January 22.
Saturday, January 22, the Karsyn's gang will be at Cadillac Lanes in Waterloo for Wacky Bowling for Kids' Cancer. Details for the event can be found by visiting the Karsyn's web page or by clicking here. Along with unique bowling styles, there will be prizes, trivia and team and individual competitions. Details how to form your team, along with a registration form, are also available on the site.
Throughout the 2010 season, a number of people asked why I supported Karsyn's Krusaders since it was affiliated with a number of area drivers. While I do still possess a number of racing T-shirts I've accumulated over the years, I haven't worn them since I started working as a track official over 10 years ago. I've always felt track officials and employees should show no favoritism toward any driver or racing team. In my eyes, however, Karsyn's Krusaders is different. Yes, Darin Duffy and J.D. Auringer are visible Karsyn's supporters on the shirts, however they are merely supporters of the fight against cancer as much as you, me and anyone else who supports the cause. None of the money raised goes into the pockets of Darin, J.D. or other drivers who proudly support Karsyn's Krusaders. Karsyn's raised over $20,000 in 2010 in the fight against cancer thanks to the generosity of race fans throughout the region and all of that money went directly to support those individuals and families affected by cancer.
When I wear my Karsyn's shirt, it isn't to support any specific driver, it's to help support a cause - something that is very likely to affect all of us at some point in our lives. The busy holiday season is behind us, leaving you time to form your team for January 22. Get some friends together and come out to spend a night to show your support for a cause with meaning to all of us. See you January 22.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Resolutions for a race fan...
Now that the end of the year is clearly within our sights, it's pretty common practice for people to reflect on the previous 12 months, only to set ambitious goals for the upcoming year. As race fans, we are not exempt from this practice. In actuality, I think race fans should make the extra effort to make resolutions as the new year brings with it a new racing season.
Over the past few days, I've given thought to how we all can improve upon our behaviors at the track from the past year to make next season better than ever. Of course, some things we hope to happen aren't always within our control while others, although we have good intentions, we know will fall by the wayside the first chance we get to not follow through with them.
With that in mind, I brainstormed a number of resolutions that we race fans, drivers, crewmembers and track officials can strive for in the coming year. Much like the items on my wish list from last year, some are genuine, a few are humorous and others are, well, complete pipe dreams. Keep in mind, these aren't all my personal resolutions for 2011. No, they're things all of us can consider for the upcoming year and racing season.
1a. I resolve, as a race fan, to faithfully attend my local or favorite track every chance I get because I realize it takes the support of race fans to keep our sport alive.
1b. I resolve, as a race fan, to not simply sit at home online asking for feature results from my local or favorite track knowing full well that I'm asking for results before the heat races have even ended.
2a. I resolve, as a race fan, to thank track employees or officials that I encounter throughout the evening for their hard work and dedication because I realize they take a lot of grief in their positions all while sacrificing their weekends to work for a small paycheck.
2b. I resolve, as a race fan, to admit that while I may claim I could do a better job as a track official, I honestly couldn't set my beer down long enough to look up at the corner I'm supposed to be watching.
3a. I resolve, as a race fan, to throw all of my trash into the designated garbage cans because the people who clean up at the end of the night are not paid enough to sift through all of my nasty trash since they're likely to be paid little more than the money they get from refunds for the empty beer and pop cans.
3b. I resolve, as a race fan, that I'll drink all of the contents of the beer or soda containers that I purchase or empty them in the proper place because (see 3a).
4a. I resolve, as a race fan, to sit, watch and enjoy every division at my local track at least one night this season without focusing only on my favorite driver and using other divisions' races to make repeated trips to the beer stand.
4b. I resolve, as a race fan, (on the nights I do make repeated trips to the beer stand at tracks where beer is sold in plastic cups) that I will discard each cup after I consume all of its contents rather than place each empty cup inside of the previous one. By doing so, I resolve to acknowledge that holding onto every cup throughout a given night makes me look like a drunken slob rather than the chick magnet I was misled into believing the 2,954 times I did it before.
5a. I resolve, as a race fan, to leave the four-letter words at home as I realize the races are a place for kids and we need kids at our tracks to keep our sport strong.
5b. I resolve, as a race fan, that displaying my middle finger is not a suitable replacement as a result of cleaning up my language.
6a. I resolve, as a race fan, to sign my name to every post I make on the message boards I visit.
6b. I resolve, as a race fan, to be willing to sign my name to every message board post I make because I am proud in knowing that my post contained positive or constructive comments that are good for the sport of racing and were not intended to slander any driver, official or promoter or hurt our beloved sport.
7a. I resolve, as a driver, to faithfully arrive at the track by the posted check-in time.
7b. I resolve, as a driver, not to throw a fit on the nights I arrive late to the track (even for reasons out of my control) and am relegated to start at the back of my heat race.
8a. I resolve, as a crewmember, to leave any procedural questions to be asked by my driver because I realize it is his responsibility, not mine, to approach a track official with concerns.
8b. I resolve, as a driver, to accept the information presented to me by a track official when I express a concern about a call on the track and understand that nobody actually can see all areas of the track at all times during every race.
9a. I resolve, as a track official, to admit when I made the wrong call because everyone makes mistakes.
9b. I resolve, as a driver, to accept the apology from a track official who tells me he made a mistake because I understand that nobody is perfect and yeah, the view probably DOES actually look different from another angle and vantage point. As a result, as a driver, I additionally resolve to never bring said track official's mother into the conversation because I admit that she had nothing to do with the call that was made.
10a. I resolve, as a race fan, to complain less about track conditions because I admit that the weather, river levels and other conditions do have a tendency to affect them.
10b. I resolve, as a race fan, that I really don't know how to prepare a track better than anyone else.
11a. I resolve, as a race fan, to cheer for my favorite driver when he does well, but not cheer when his competition suffers misfortune on the race track because more sportsmanship in our sport would be welcomed.
11b. I resolve, as a race fan, to applaud when my favorite driver's opponent wins because I realize my favorite driver can't win every night and I believe more sportsmanship in our sport would be welcomed.
12a. I resolve, as an announcer, to stop talking when the race cars are coming out of four and heading down the front straightaway.
12b. I resolve, as an announcer, to allow intermission to be just that - a break - and realize that I don't need to be talking all the time simply because there's a microphone in my hand.
13a. I resolve, as a track official, to be as consistent as possible when officiating a race.
13b. I resolve, as a race fan, to acknowledge that there are exceptions that may result in different calls from one situation to the next and I understand that these results are not favoritism, rather fair officiating given each set of circumstances.
14a. I resolve, as a scorer, to get every car in its correct position prior to returning to green, even if it means the driver running on the track under yellow in 17th should be switched with the driver rolling in 18th.
14b. I resolve, as a driver, to admit that I have absolutely no idea how scorers do what they do and will respect them for having abilities that few people possess and, as a result, I resolve to restart the race where I'm instructed to restart the race without climbing out of my car on the front stretch, doing donuts on the front stretch, stalling my car on the front stretch or extending my middle finger toward the scoring tower.
15a. I resolve, as a driver, that speeding in the pit area is dangerous and completely unacceptable.
15b. I resolve, as the pit steward, that if the driver speeds past me one more time in the pits trying to return to the track before the caution light goes out, the dent I leave on his hood next time will bend the shroud, break the fan and leave his quarter panel hanging on by a Pop rivet, resulting in his DNF.
16a. I resolve, as a race fan, that there are seats in a grandstand for a reason and that I will use them to the best of my ability when a race is on the track.
16b. I resolve, as a race fan, that slipping something into the drink of the guy standing in front of me during the races while he isn't looking isn't the best option... putting my dirty shoes on his seat before he sits down, on the other hand, is appropriate.
17a. I resolve, as the track steward, to take a more assertive approach when trying to realign cars under caution rather than leaving everyone with the impression that I have the uncanny ability to do the Macarena, Electric Slide and Chicken Dance in simultaneous fashion.
17b. I resolve, as a driver, to get behind the car under caution that I know I'm supposed to be behind instead of trying to jump multiple unearned positions before the race returns to green, only to complain that everyone else led the time limit to be enforced and not my stubborn attempt at sneaking positions.
18a. I resolve, as the guy who drives the water truck, that I don't need to empty the water truck on the track each and every time it's full.
18b. I resolve, as a race fan, that I understand watering a race track isn't like watering plants and that I really have no idea how much water to put on a race track at any given time so I'll leave that to the guy who drives the water truck.
19a. I resolve, as the sheepsfoot (yes, the actual sheepsfoot, not the guy pulling it around the track), to accept the fact that not everyone likes me.
19b. I resolve, as the sheepsfoot (yes, the actual sheepsfoot, not the guy pulling it around the track), to accept the fact that it isn't a matter of being liked, rather it's a matter of having an important job when it comes to preparing a track.
20a. I resolve, as a driver, to actually make the car number as big as it's supposed to be on my car, per the rulebook that I didn't bother reading.
20b. I resolve, as a driver, to stay away from the cutesy reflective lettering and cluttered wraps that look fine in a showroom, but terrible on a race track (while still understanding there are plenty of vinyl graphics and wraps that are sweet to see at speed on a race track).
21a. I resolve, as a race fan, to cheer on my driver in a respectable and appropriate manner from the grandstands.
21b. I resolve, as a race fan, to not "talk" to my driver as I cheer for him or tell him the groove he should be running or that someone is closing in on him or that there's a wreck up ahead or stand up and wave him around his competition because I understand he just flew past me at 100mph and can't hear me, nor can he see me in the masses of people because he's simply not looking at me... because he just passed me at 100mph.
22a. I resolve, as a track official, to remain calm when a driver approaches me with an angry tone to protest a call that was made against him on the track.
22b. I resolve, as a driver, to never let my anger force me to resort to using the, "Do you know how many people come here to see me race," line when I don't get the answer I want to hear from a track official after I approach them with a concern.
23a. I resolve, as a promoter, to do my best to offer more fan appreciation specials throughout the season because their support is important to me.
23b. I resolve, as a race fan, to encourage friends and family who may not normally consider going to the races to give it a shot on those fan appreciation nights.
24a. I resolve, as a flagman, to do my best to offer a slight delay before waving the yellow flag when I see a car spinning at the back of the pack.
24b. I resolve, as a driver, to get my ass moving and not bring out the yellow because I'll end up at the back of the pack, or maybe even the pits, regardless what happens.
25a. I resolve, as a promoter, to work with the promoter of the track just down the road who races on a different night because we need to keep the sport strong and give our drivers and fans a reason to come out and support both of us.
25b. I resolve, as driver or fan, to do my best to support those local tracks that work together and try to give me an incentive to race multiple nights and hopefully make it feasible for me to do so.
Happy New Year!
Over the past few days, I've given thought to how we all can improve upon our behaviors at the track from the past year to make next season better than ever. Of course, some things we hope to happen aren't always within our control while others, although we have good intentions, we know will fall by the wayside the first chance we get to not follow through with them.
With that in mind, I brainstormed a number of resolutions that we race fans, drivers, crewmembers and track officials can strive for in the coming year. Much like the items on my wish list from last year, some are genuine, a few are humorous and others are, well, complete pipe dreams. Keep in mind, these aren't all my personal resolutions for 2011. No, they're things all of us can consider for the upcoming year and racing season.
1a. I resolve, as a race fan, to faithfully attend my local or favorite track every chance I get because I realize it takes the support of race fans to keep our sport alive.
1b. I resolve, as a race fan, to not simply sit at home online asking for feature results from my local or favorite track knowing full well that I'm asking for results before the heat races have even ended.
2a. I resolve, as a race fan, to thank track employees or officials that I encounter throughout the evening for their hard work and dedication because I realize they take a lot of grief in their positions all while sacrificing their weekends to work for a small paycheck.
2b. I resolve, as a race fan, to admit that while I may claim I could do a better job as a track official, I honestly couldn't set my beer down long enough to look up at the corner I'm supposed to be watching.
3a. I resolve, as a race fan, to throw all of my trash into the designated garbage cans because the people who clean up at the end of the night are not paid enough to sift through all of my nasty trash since they're likely to be paid little more than the money they get from refunds for the empty beer and pop cans.
3b. I resolve, as a race fan, that I'll drink all of the contents of the beer or soda containers that I purchase or empty them in the proper place because (see 3a).
4a. I resolve, as a race fan, to sit, watch and enjoy every division at my local track at least one night this season without focusing only on my favorite driver and using other divisions' races to make repeated trips to the beer stand.
4b. I resolve, as a race fan, (on the nights I do make repeated trips to the beer stand at tracks where beer is sold in plastic cups) that I will discard each cup after I consume all of its contents rather than place each empty cup inside of the previous one. By doing so, I resolve to acknowledge that holding onto every cup throughout a given night makes me look like a drunken slob rather than the chick magnet I was misled into believing the 2,954 times I did it before.
5a. I resolve, as a race fan, to leave the four-letter words at home as I realize the races are a place for kids and we need kids at our tracks to keep our sport strong.
5b. I resolve, as a race fan, that displaying my middle finger is not a suitable replacement as a result of cleaning up my language.
6a. I resolve, as a race fan, to sign my name to every post I make on the message boards I visit.
6b. I resolve, as a race fan, to be willing to sign my name to every message board post I make because I am proud in knowing that my post contained positive or constructive comments that are good for the sport of racing and were not intended to slander any driver, official or promoter or hurt our beloved sport.
7a. I resolve, as a driver, to faithfully arrive at the track by the posted check-in time.
7b. I resolve, as a driver, not to throw a fit on the nights I arrive late to the track (even for reasons out of my control) and am relegated to start at the back of my heat race.
8a. I resolve, as a crewmember, to leave any procedural questions to be asked by my driver because I realize it is his responsibility, not mine, to approach a track official with concerns.
8b. I resolve, as a driver, to accept the information presented to me by a track official when I express a concern about a call on the track and understand that nobody actually can see all areas of the track at all times during every race.
9a. I resolve, as a track official, to admit when I made the wrong call because everyone makes mistakes.
9b. I resolve, as a driver, to accept the apology from a track official who tells me he made a mistake because I understand that nobody is perfect and yeah, the view probably DOES actually look different from another angle and vantage point. As a result, as a driver, I additionally resolve to never bring said track official's mother into the conversation because I admit that she had nothing to do with the call that was made.
10a. I resolve, as a race fan, to complain less about track conditions because I admit that the weather, river levels and other conditions do have a tendency to affect them.
10b. I resolve, as a race fan, that I really don't know how to prepare a track better than anyone else.
11a. I resolve, as a race fan, to cheer for my favorite driver when he does well, but not cheer when his competition suffers misfortune on the race track because more sportsmanship in our sport would be welcomed.
11b. I resolve, as a race fan, to applaud when my favorite driver's opponent wins because I realize my favorite driver can't win every night and I believe more sportsmanship in our sport would be welcomed.
12a. I resolve, as an announcer, to stop talking when the race cars are coming out of four and heading down the front straightaway.
12b. I resolve, as an announcer, to allow intermission to be just that - a break - and realize that I don't need to be talking all the time simply because there's a microphone in my hand.
13a. I resolve, as a track official, to be as consistent as possible when officiating a race.
13b. I resolve, as a race fan, to acknowledge that there are exceptions that may result in different calls from one situation to the next and I understand that these results are not favoritism, rather fair officiating given each set of circumstances.
14a. I resolve, as a scorer, to get every car in its correct position prior to returning to green, even if it means the driver running on the track under yellow in 17th should be switched with the driver rolling in 18th.
14b. I resolve, as a driver, to admit that I have absolutely no idea how scorers do what they do and will respect them for having abilities that few people possess and, as a result, I resolve to restart the race where I'm instructed to restart the race without climbing out of my car on the front stretch, doing donuts on the front stretch, stalling my car on the front stretch or extending my middle finger toward the scoring tower.
15a. I resolve, as a driver, that speeding in the pit area is dangerous and completely unacceptable.
15b. I resolve, as the pit steward, that if the driver speeds past me one more time in the pits trying to return to the track before the caution light goes out, the dent I leave on his hood next time will bend the shroud, break the fan and leave his quarter panel hanging on by a Pop rivet, resulting in his DNF.
16a. I resolve, as a race fan, that there are seats in a grandstand for a reason and that I will use them to the best of my ability when a race is on the track.
16b. I resolve, as a race fan, that slipping something into the drink of the guy standing in front of me during the races while he isn't looking isn't the best option... putting my dirty shoes on his seat before he sits down, on the other hand, is appropriate.
17a. I resolve, as the track steward, to take a more assertive approach when trying to realign cars under caution rather than leaving everyone with the impression that I have the uncanny ability to do the Macarena, Electric Slide and Chicken Dance in simultaneous fashion.
17b. I resolve, as a driver, to get behind the car under caution that I know I'm supposed to be behind instead of trying to jump multiple unearned positions before the race returns to green, only to complain that everyone else led the time limit to be enforced and not my stubborn attempt at sneaking positions.
18a. I resolve, as the guy who drives the water truck, that I don't need to empty the water truck on the track each and every time it's full.
18b. I resolve, as a race fan, that I understand watering a race track isn't like watering plants and that I really have no idea how much water to put on a race track at any given time so I'll leave that to the guy who drives the water truck.
19a. I resolve, as the sheepsfoot (yes, the actual sheepsfoot, not the guy pulling it around the track), to accept the fact that not everyone likes me.
19b. I resolve, as the sheepsfoot (yes, the actual sheepsfoot, not the guy pulling it around the track), to accept the fact that it isn't a matter of being liked, rather it's a matter of having an important job when it comes to preparing a track.
20a. I resolve, as a driver, to actually make the car number as big as it's supposed to be on my car, per the rulebook that I didn't bother reading.
20b. I resolve, as a driver, to stay away from the cutesy reflective lettering and cluttered wraps that look fine in a showroom, but terrible on a race track (while still understanding there are plenty of vinyl graphics and wraps that are sweet to see at speed on a race track).
21a. I resolve, as a race fan, to cheer on my driver in a respectable and appropriate manner from the grandstands.
21b. I resolve, as a race fan, to not "talk" to my driver as I cheer for him or tell him the groove he should be running or that someone is closing in on him or that there's a wreck up ahead or stand up and wave him around his competition because I understand he just flew past me at 100mph and can't hear me, nor can he see me in the masses of people because he's simply not looking at me... because he just passed me at 100mph.
22a. I resolve, as a track official, to remain calm when a driver approaches me with an angry tone to protest a call that was made against him on the track.
22b. I resolve, as a driver, to never let my anger force me to resort to using the, "Do you know how many people come here to see me race," line when I don't get the answer I want to hear from a track official after I approach them with a concern.
23a. I resolve, as a promoter, to do my best to offer more fan appreciation specials throughout the season because their support is important to me.
23b. I resolve, as a race fan, to encourage friends and family who may not normally consider going to the races to give it a shot on those fan appreciation nights.
24a. I resolve, as a flagman, to do my best to offer a slight delay before waving the yellow flag when I see a car spinning at the back of the pack.
24b. I resolve, as a driver, to get my ass moving and not bring out the yellow because I'll end up at the back of the pack, or maybe even the pits, regardless what happens.
25a. I resolve, as a promoter, to work with the promoter of the track just down the road who races on a different night because we need to keep the sport strong and give our drivers and fans a reason to come out and support both of us.
25b. I resolve, as driver or fan, to do my best to support those local tracks that work together and try to give me an incentive to race multiple nights and hopefully make it feasible for me to do so.
Happy New Year!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Odds and Ends - a look back at 2010
Before I get into what I originally intended to include in this blog entry, I want to mention something that's hot off the presses, so to speak. On Friday, the 2011 World of Outlaws Late Model schedule was released and on it was a date that has led many to look twice to make sure what they were reading was, well, what they were reading. Yes, Independence Motor Speedway will welcome the WoO Late Models to the 3/8-mile oval in 2011 for the first time in track history. The July 12 event will be a part of the series' seven-day Wild West swing. Although the calendar has yet to flip over to 2011, this news has made those of us in northeast Iowa even more anxious to get the new season rolling. The official press release may be found in the Newsroom section at www.independencemotorspeedway.com.
And now, onto your regularly scheduled programming...
It's been a while since I last posted and, while my last actual racing event came in the middle of September, I figured I'd take the time to write a season-ending blog. That seems to be the pattern of late as fellow bloggers Jeff Broeg and Kevin Trittien summed up their 2010s at Positively Racing. I started writing this a few weeks ago when banquet season started, and I've been adding random tidbits to it as time has passed. I didn't know what to call my last article of the year, however, as it will be a hodgepodge of information from the past season and include no specific direction. It reminds me of my days at Hawkeye Racing News when finding interesting information to share with readers during the off-season was frequently a struggle. Those HRN memories brought to mind the late Keith Knaack's weekly column when he never seemed to struggle to find something to share with race fans. As a tribute of sorts to Keith, I bring you Odds and Ends, my final thoughts of 2010.
Although my last race was nearly three months ago (that's incredibly difficult to believe), I did have the honor of emceeing three banquets in the month of November to officially wrap up my season. In addition, the rumor mill is always at full speed this time of year and, sadly, another area racing family lost a member this week.
Tony Marchese, the brother of B Mod/SportMod driver Chris Marchese, unexpectedly passed away of natural causes this week. While Tony was a crewmember on his brother's race team, he was also a member of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour family. In addition to tour organizer Bucky Doren, Chris and Tony, along with announcer Blake Anderson, comprised the traveling crew for each of the series races this past season. The entire HDT family and the rest of your racing family here in the Waterloo area will miss you, Tony. Rest in peace, friend.
The Corn Belt Clash banquet in Independence in mid-November was my first of three straight weekends of emceeing racing banquets. Series director Cam Granger honored the top-10 in series points and also gave the drivers the opportunity to share their thoughts on the schedule and series rules for the 2011 season. While it was a great gesture on Cam's part to open the communication lines with everyone present, I admit I was a little hesitant at the thought of openly engaging the racers in such a forum. Everyone has their ideas and feelings on the state of racing and those emotions can become even more intense when it directly affects those taking part in the discussion. While one Late Model driver and another's crewmember (both of whom shall remain nameless) confirmed my doubts that everyone can and should get along without the necessity of immature outbursts and threatening the other's well-being, it was a worthwhile discussion. Everyone in attendance I talked to had a good feeling at the end of the night. Not only were they pleased to be given the opportunity to share their ideas, they seemed happy with the direction the series is going. My hat is off to Cam for giving the drivers the chance to have their voices heard.
The following Saturday was Independence Motor Speedway's annual banquet. While a fair number of drivers turned out for the festivities, it seems to me that the appeal of racing banquets at the local level has dwindled over the years. Over half of the 50 drivers being recognized were on-hand, along with numerous crews and fans, however banquets just don't seem to have the feel that they used to. They appear to have changed over the years from celebrating accomplishments of champions to discussions about the concerns of affordability, work ethic and how things have changed since the "good old days" of the sport. When the conversation goes from talking about today to talking about days gone by, it's very concerning. Jeff Broeg shares a number of very legitimate concerns in his season review on the Back Stretch.
My final racing-related event of the year was the IMCA national banquet in Lincoln, Nebraska, last month. I had never been to the national banquet before and was honored when Brett Root asked if I would emcee the event with Kevin Yoder. While I was warned ahead of time that the awards portion of the night tended to run long, it didn't really seem too bad to me. Aside from recognizing the long lists of track, state and regional champions, each national champion was allotted time behind the microphone. While some drivers did tend to speak at length (note to Mike Nichols, take the glass of water the next time I offer it to you!), each and every one of them was humble upon accepting their trophy. You hear people talk all the time about racing being a family sport, how drivers can't do it without sponsors and how important support from their loved ones is during any race season, let alone a championship run. Well, the guys on stage that night in Lincoln didn't just say those words, they showed it. There was genuine, raw emotion from each of the champions this year which truly showed how much their accomplishments meant to them and how special it is to be recognized as a champion.
That message was also delivered by Speedy Bill Smith of Speedway Motors. Walking through his collection in the Speedway Motors Museum the night before the banquet was overwhelming. Not only are his collections mind-blowing, they are truly humbling. As race fans, we all know what each other is talking about when we say we share the passion for the sport. To see Speedy Bill's collection is to observe first-hand the passion that exists for our sport. Hearing him address those in attendance at both the museum and the banquet left you feeling that we are truly a part of something special. Thanks to the folks at IMCA and Speedway Motors for inviting me along for a fantastic weekend.
Although it may pale in comparison to other race fans, I hit a personal best 61 races this summer. My goal at the onset of the season was 50 and then made a late-season push for 60 just to see if I could do it. Yes, I counted each day at Super Nationals as its own day, simply because each day deserves it. Hell, the entire week should count for at least a dozen!
I hit 14 tracks this season, with most of those coming at Independence. We raced 17 times at Indee, including 14 weekly shows and specials for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, Deery Brothers Summer Series and Dart Corn Belt Clash Late Model Series. My other 41 stops included 13 trips back home to Benton County Speedway in Vinton, the six days at Boone Speedway for the IMCA Super Nationals and five visits to 34 Raceway in Burlington. I worked four nights at Highway 3 Raceway in Allison and made three trips each to Lee County Speedway in Donnellson and Fayette County Speedway in West Union. Along with two trips each to Cresco Speedway, CJ Speedway and Bloomfield Speedway, I made single visits to Marshalltown Speedway, Davenport Speedway, Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway and Cedar County Raceway in Tipton.
While my dedication (some may call it an obsession) to working at Independence and spending much of my time working on stats, etc. kept my travels limited, I did see a lot of great racing throughout the course of the summer. A few weeks prior to my last race, I posted how many different feature winners I observed throughout the season and how frequently many of those drivers returned to victory lane.
Without updating that entire list here, I can tell you that (not including the numerous winners at Super Nationals), I saw over 140 different drivers earn feature wins in 2010. Topping that list was IMCA SportMod National Champion Austin Kaplan. Granted, he was at over half the shows I went to this year, however he won nearly one-third of the time I watched him race this season. That little statistic got me to thinking, (yes, I know, it's scary, but I've been battling kidney stones lately and the Hydrocodone has me thinking even crazier than normal), what were my best memories from 2010?
A lot of people base success and ability by sheer number of wins, but there's so much more to it than just winning every night out. While NASCAR tries to do everything in its power to reward the most frequent series race winner with a championship in a given season (again, the Hydrocodone will probably lead me to type random thoughts like that), consistency and occasional good luck also play a part in a successful campaign. Granted, luck isn't necessarily a good judge of one's ability, however the good drivers often make their own luck.
SportsCenter not only has its Top 10 every night, but they also recognize the best plays of the year, while your local newspaper probably asks you to vote on the most memorable stories of the year. Heck, Barbara Walters still has her most intriguing people of the year list and she's soooooo 1987. With that in mind, I decided to rattle my memories from the past season, look through my notes and results and compile a list of the most memorable drivers and moments from 2010.
Keep in mind, there was no set criteria used for these selections. Some of these drivers had career years, while others may simply have left an impression in a single race night I attended. Without further ado, in alphabetical order, here are the drivers who provided my top memories from 2010.
Joel Brasch (Late Model) - Joel Brasch has been around racing for quite a few years. While he enjoys winning (who doesn't?), he's truly one of those guys who simply races to have fun. At Independence, Brasch won a few times (and was DQ'd a few more) in the Hobby Stock division in his early days of racing around a decade ago. He moved into the Late Model division a few years ago and hasn't had quite the success since that jump. In fact, Brasch was our Hard Luck Driver award winner at the 2009 banquet. I think he broke in hot laps more often than he saw a competitive green flag lap. He finally turned things around this year when he earned his first career Late Model victory at Independence on July 31. Yes, he started on the pole and he had only two top-10 finishes for the season entering the night, however he proved it was no fluke. Following his win, Brasch reeled off another four top-10 finishes to end the season. Congratulations to Brasch on a great end to 2010 and a promosing outlook entering 2011.
Russel Damme Jr. (Hobby Stock) - In today's world of high dollar racing, it's refreshing to see one of racing's true low budget guys have a successful year. Russel Damme Jr. started racing in the two-man cruiser class at Marshalltown Speedway a few years ago before jumping into the Hobby Stock division just a couple seasons back. He will be the first to admit that his operation is on a shoestring budget, but he's fine with that. Midway through the year, however, it appeared as though Damme's season was going to be cut short after his first top-four finish resulted in his engine being claimed. Not having a spare engine, the rest of his season was in doubt. I even heard rumors that he was nearly forced to use the spare engine for his father's wrecker (whose wrecker service helps out at the track in Independence) to complete the year. Despite not having to go to those lengths, not only did Damme manage to put another engine together for the rest of the season, he made it work about as well as anyone could have expected. He earned his first career feature win at Independence on July 17 and finished eighth in the division's final standings. On top of that, he not only competed in the IMCA Super Nationals at Boone Speedway, but he qualified for Saturday's feature and finished 17th. Great year, Russel, I'm sure we'll be seeing you back up front in 2011.
Joe Docekal (Modified) - I remember a number of years ago when Joe Docekal first started racing. He was in a Hobby Stock at Benton County Speedway and nobody had any idea who he was. What made things more interesting was he finished in the claim area in either his first or second night out. At that point in time, it was pretty evident that Docekal had "it" and would be a familiar face at the top of results and in headlines for years to come. After his stint in the Hobby Stocks, Docekal moved into the B Mod division at Independence in 2004. The division ran unsanctioned for four seasons, during which time he amassed more feature wins than anyone else at Indee. He earned 17 feature wins, more than twice as many as any of his competitors, including a track championship. In fact, he was the only driver in the division's brief history at Indee to win at least one feature each of the four years the B Mods competed there. Docekal moved into the IMCA Modified division in 2008 and spent his time racing in Independence, Vinton and Marshalltown much of the time, although I don't believe he committed to an entire season at any track. Used to seeing victory lane on a regular basis in the B Mod, Docekal waited until July 18, 2010 to earn his first win in the Modifieds. The waiting time for his second career victory was much shorter as he turned around and won the very next week during the Benton County Fair in Vinton. To prove his wins were no fluke, Docekal earned his third career win on September 5 at Vinton. If 2010 is a sign of things to come, "The Trophy Hunter" may be returning to a place he's used to being - at the front of the pack and in the hunt for a championship.
Tyler Droste (SportMod) - We frequently hear of second generation drivers who look to follow in the footsteps of their fathers. Not always does the younger generation fare as well as those before them, yet sometimes the youth enjoys a more successful career than their fathers. And even occasionally, we hear of a racing family that has not only been around the sport for many, many years, but the sucecss spans generations. The Droste family of Waterloo appears to be one of those families. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Red Droste was a well-known Late Model driver who found success at many tracks in eastern Iowa, including Independence. His son, Steve, continued the family tradition and entered the Modified division in the mid-1990s. Steve won his first Modified feature at Independence in 1993 and was a mainstay in victory lane at the speedway over the course of the following three seasons. In fact, he earned three straight track championships at Indee from 1994-1996, one of only three Modified drivers to-date at Independence who can boast such an accomplishment. A couple of seasons ago, Steve's son Tyler looked to build on the successes of the Droste name. Being too young to compete at many tracks, Tyler dialed in his racing skills in a B Mod at unsanctioned tracks in northeast Iowa before becoming old enough to compete in the ranks of IMCA in 2010. Actually, Tyler didn't turn 14 until the middle of this summer, but was permitted to compete at the start of the season, however he could not earn official IMCA SportMod points until his birthday. Quickly one of the most popular drivers at Independence, Tyler reeled off four straight top-10 finishes early in the season. A strong challenger every week, the first IMCA victory eluded the youth until championship at Independence. In what was probably the single most memorable lap of racing at Independence this season, Droste edged ahead of leader Josh Sherbon at the line. His victory brought the fans to their feet as one of the most popular wins in years at Independence came on the final night of racing this season. By virtue of that victory, the Droste family is the only family in track history to possess feature wins on championship night among three generations of drivers. Don't look for Tyler's success to end with his win on championship night as you can be assured the Droste name will continue to make memories for years to come at area tracks.
Josh Foster (Modified) - The standout memory from 2010 involving Josh Foster doesn't have as much to do with the fact that he won, rather what he won. After a lot of off-season talk and speculation about what the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds would offer, Foster put his name in the record books as the first driver to win a feature in series history during the inaugural event at Independence in May. While race fans were very aware of the "big" area Modified names that were expected to follow the series, Foster was a relative unknown to those outside of southeast Iowa. A regular competitor and champion at both 34 Raceway and Lee County Speedway, Foster became a household name to Modified fans in the region with his victory. Coincidentally, not only was Foster the first winner in series history, he was the first to win his second career series feature as he also picked up top honors in Donnellson later in the summer.
Scott Hogan (Modified) - What makes Scott Hogan's season so memorable to me isn't that he won the North Central Region for IMCA Modifieds and finished fifth in the national standings as much as the fact that he wasn't chasing regional points and actually had no idea he was in contention until late in the season. Hogan, the perennial favorite at his hometown Benton County Speedway in Vinton, has also found success on Saturday nights at 34 Raceway. He was positioned to win track titles at both venues, however he hadn't been paying attention to regional points during the season because it wasn't something he had set out as a goal and his computer was down so he wasn't able to get online and allow himself to get caught up in any points chasing. A text message from a friend late in the season tipped off Hogan and his wife Jolyne that they were in the running for a regional crown. Locking up both track titles propelled him to the regional title, but the best part is that none of those accomplishments served as the highlight of his season. Instead, Hogan's fourth career victory in the annual Hogan Memorial at Vinton, an event that honors the memory of his parents, marked the high point of his season. A true family man, congratulations to Scott on a remarkable year.
Austin Kaplan (SportMod) - As I mentioned earlier, I saw Austin Kaplan in victory lane more often than any other driver during my travels in 2010. The Ankeny driver put on a lot of miles throughout the course of the season, making the two-hour trek each Saturday to Independence and to Vinton on Sundays in pursuit of a national championship. Although his first night in Independence didn't go as planned (Kaplan recorded a 23rd place finish after a DNF), he started digging out of that hole early by winning features each of the next two weeks. By July 3 he was atop the points and remained there for the duration of the season. In Vinton, Kaplan's heartiest competitor was Danny Dvorak, who runs up front most of the time at his hometown track. Kaplan sealed the deal late in the season, winning both track titles to lock up the national crown, while over the same weekend walked down the aisle to marry longtime girlfriend Amy McDonald. When ya got it, ya got it.
Greg Kastli (Late Model) - Greg Kastli has been a local favorite longer than many current area race fans have even been alive. (Sorry, Greg, but that was meant as a compliment!) Entering the 2010 season, he sat fourth on the all-time weekly Late Model wins list at Indee with 38 victories. When combining his wins in the Modified and Sportsman divisions at Indee, he ranked third on the track's all-time wins list (out of nearly 450 drivers), trailing only Curt Martin and Vern Jackson. Despite his successful career, Kastli was experiencing his longest victory drought since entering the division some 30-plus years ago. Prior to 2010, his most recent win was on May 27, 2006. That dry spell ended on July 10 when he picked up his first win in over four years, possibly the most popular win of the season at Independence. Just four weeks after that win, Kastli earned his second win of the season, and 40th of his career at Independence, on August 7. He also made the trip to the winner's circle at Highway 3 Raceway in Allison earlier in the summer to collect a total of three wins in 2010. With a return to the top in 2010, race fans are confident that he'll be back for another successful year in 2011.
Josh Most (Late Model) - Similar to one standout event that made Josh Foster one of the most memorable drivers in 2010, a single race propelled Late Model pilot Josh Most onto my list. It was during a late season Deery Brothers Summer Series event that Most made his name known in Late Model racing. Most, who has been known to get in the seat of about anything that has wheels, provided some of the most entertaining and unbelievable racing at Lee County Speedway in September. In fact, it wasn't until late in the race that I realized he was actually in contention and not a lapped car. Early on in the feature, Most made a quick exit to the pits while the race was under caution when he thought he had a flat tire. His crew quickly redirected him back to the track when it was confirmed that all four tires had air. At that point in time, I dismissed him completely from the event. Afterall, with names like Burgtorf, Toland and Guss challenging up front, who thought the guy had a chance since he had to restart from the tail after going to the pits? After making his way through the middle of the pack, Most went to the high side of the track and set sail. He eventually caught race leader Jason Perry in the final stages of the event to inch ahead at the line for an incredible victory. I was in such disbelief that I confirmed with both IMCA and scorer Sue McDaniel if what just happened really happened. It did and it deserves a mention as one of the most memorable events of the season.
Wayne Noble (4-Cylinder) - Wayne Noble is a name many from my area probably aren't too familiar with. To be honest, I don't even know a whole lot about the guy. From what I undersand, Noble, who competes in southeast Iowa in the 4-Cylinder division, has been around racing for many years. What I DO know about the guy is he's 75 years old and he wins. During one of my visits to CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction this season for the Corn Belt Clash Late Models, the 4-Cylinders were also competing. Noble, who always seems to run up front, entered a three-car battle for the lead on this night and left the competition to accept the fact that a septuagenarian just schooled them. What made the win even more impressive to me was the memory I have of Noble from just last season at CJ. Although it was in the 4-Cylinder division (where you don't expect a rollover to top a list of crashes on the highlight reel), Noble took a scary ride off turn three in the middle of the 2009 season. After launching off the back stretch berm, Noble violently rolled end-over-end, then barrel-rolled multiple times before landing on its top in a ravine outside of the track. This type of wreck is scary regardless who's in it, but honestly, that fear is intensified when it involves someone in their 70s. While Noble was out for much of the rest of that season, it was not only great to see him back on the track, but in the winner's circle in 2010.
Chad Simpson (Late Model) - There really isn't a lot to say about Chad Simpson's season that hasn't already been said, documented, discussed and said again. His accomplishments in the Corn Belt Clash Series this season were remarkable in every sense of the word. Not only did he win the first five series races of 2010 and seven of the first eight (at six different tracks, mind you), he earned a total of nine wins in the series 15 events. The points, which were based on a driver's 13 best finishes of the 15 events, were about as lopsided as you could expect. Although only 13 points events counted, each of Simpson's competitors could have counted their 14 best finishes and been given a bonus win just for the hell of it and Simpson still would have won the title. While I didn't make it to all 15 series events this year, I did get to seven of them. Believe it or not, of the seven series races I did see, five of them were among the six nights he wasn't victorious. Despite seeing "only" two of his series wins in 2010, Simpson still deserves a mention on the list of most memorable drivers of the season.
Bill Whalen Jr. (4-Cylinder) - Although Bill Whalen had a pretty successful year in 2010, the reason I'm putting him on my list is because he was everywhere (almost literally) I went this summer. While drivers don't tend to travel as much as they used to, Whalen enjoys venturing to new tracks and simply loves the competition. A weekly competitor at CJ Speedway and Benton County Speedway, Whalen hit numerous tracks this season all to race his 4-Cylinder... and that's not a division that will cover your traveling expenses. From our various chats throughout the season, Whalen stated one of the farthest trips he made this year was to Buena Vista Raceway in Alta. That's quite a haul for a 4-Cylinder driver from Riverside, Iowa, which is just south of Iowa City. Due to his travels to new places, Whalen didn't do much points chasing, although he did keep a very close eye on the All Iowa Points. Where there's a race, there's a strong chance Bill Whalen will be there if one of the many variations of the 4-Cylinder division is on the schedule. A true grassroots racer who competes for the enjoyment of it, chances are pretty high you'll see his #00W at your local track in 2011.
Chris Wiltse (Hobby Stock) - Throughout the course of the season, numerous times I mentioned Chris Wiltse's name here In Staging. A rookie driver from Charles City, Wiltse raced weekly at Independence and also made a few trips to I-35 Speedway in Mason City and Highway 3 Raceway in Allison. Much like Joe Docekal's early success in the Hobby Stock division at the start of his career, Wiltse earned a third place finish in his third night out at Independence this year and actually led the first 12 laps of the 15-lap feature. His first career win on August 21 propelled him to a top-10 finish in the points in his rookie campaign. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, as long as Wiltse has his #69 on the track, he will only continue to get better. Good luck in your sophomore season in 2011, Chris!
While I realize there were numerous other memorable moments of the past season, the 13 drivers listed above provided me some of the best memories of the year. Whether those memories involved a first-year driver getting a quick win to jumpstart their career, a veteran who has remained one of the best for decades or someone who simply dazzled the crowd for a single night, racing needs local stars like these to keep our sport strong.
Compiling this list again launched me back onboard the HRN memory train as it's drivers like the ones listed above whose efforts we remember for years to come. In 2002, the staff at HRN wanted to put to rest the annual "Salute to the Support Classes" issue because we felt there was no such thing as a support class. Sure, some tracks showcase the Late Models as their "premier" division while Modifieds rule at other venues. That may very well be the case, but the Hobby Stocks, Stock Cars, SportMods, B Mods and 4-Cylinder divisions, among others, don't race in support of anyone else. Those drivers and their fans are there to put on their own show, to make their own memories and to reach the same goals and dreams as those in the "premier" divisions. It was for that reason we revamped the support class issue and reworked it into a Hometown Heroes section. We included everything from Late Models to the entry level divisions and all points in between. All of those divisions have their stars and all of those drivers make memories for everyone who takes time out of their schedule to attend the races throughout the season. Thank you to the Hometown Heroes of this past season for making 2010 one of the best yet.
Another group that has had a memorable 2010 is Karsyn's Krusaders. While the racing season has ended, their campaign to Kick Cancer's Butt has no off-season. In fact, the group is putting together a fun way to raise money for the fight against cancer. Scheduled for January 22, a bowling night is in the works to raise money and to also give Karysn's supporters the chance to cut loose at Cadillac Lanes in Waterloo. While the details have yet to be finalized, I'll pass along more information as it becomes available.
While there isn't anything going on this time of year on the track, there are still a lot of things to talk about. I know Kevin Trittien has gotten the stats bug and is working on assembling some interesting numbers from 2010. Be sure to keep an eye on Tapfan's Tours this off-season to see what he's been up to.
I think that'll do it for this entry. While I intended for this to be my last installment of 2010, I may have one more nugget to add before year's end. Last year, I included a holiday racing "wish" list over the holiday season. This year, I have something else in mind as we make our way through the holidays. In the event that doesn't get posted before Santa Claus arrives (we'll see how the kidney stone surgery goes first!), I hope everyone has a safe, enjoyable and Merry Christmas!
And now, onto your regularly scheduled programming...
It's been a while since I last posted and, while my last actual racing event came in the middle of September, I figured I'd take the time to write a season-ending blog. That seems to be the pattern of late as fellow bloggers Jeff Broeg and Kevin Trittien summed up their 2010s at Positively Racing. I started writing this a few weeks ago when banquet season started, and I've been adding random tidbits to it as time has passed. I didn't know what to call my last article of the year, however, as it will be a hodgepodge of information from the past season and include no specific direction. It reminds me of my days at Hawkeye Racing News when finding interesting information to share with readers during the off-season was frequently a struggle. Those HRN memories brought to mind the late Keith Knaack's weekly column when he never seemed to struggle to find something to share with race fans. As a tribute of sorts to Keith, I bring you Odds and Ends, my final thoughts of 2010.
Although my last race was nearly three months ago (that's incredibly difficult to believe), I did have the honor of emceeing three banquets in the month of November to officially wrap up my season. In addition, the rumor mill is always at full speed this time of year and, sadly, another area racing family lost a member this week.
Tony Marchese, the brother of B Mod/SportMod driver Chris Marchese, unexpectedly passed away of natural causes this week. While Tony was a crewmember on his brother's race team, he was also a member of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour family. In addition to tour organizer Bucky Doren, Chris and Tony, along with announcer Blake Anderson, comprised the traveling crew for each of the series races this past season. The entire HDT family and the rest of your racing family here in the Waterloo area will miss you, Tony. Rest in peace, friend.
The Corn Belt Clash banquet in Independence in mid-November was my first of three straight weekends of emceeing racing banquets. Series director Cam Granger honored the top-10 in series points and also gave the drivers the opportunity to share their thoughts on the schedule and series rules for the 2011 season. While it was a great gesture on Cam's part to open the communication lines with everyone present, I admit I was a little hesitant at the thought of openly engaging the racers in such a forum. Everyone has their ideas and feelings on the state of racing and those emotions can become even more intense when it directly affects those taking part in the discussion. While one Late Model driver and another's crewmember (both of whom shall remain nameless) confirmed my doubts that everyone can and should get along without the necessity of immature outbursts and threatening the other's well-being, it was a worthwhile discussion. Everyone in attendance I talked to had a good feeling at the end of the night. Not only were they pleased to be given the opportunity to share their ideas, they seemed happy with the direction the series is going. My hat is off to Cam for giving the drivers the chance to have their voices heard.
The following Saturday was Independence Motor Speedway's annual banquet. While a fair number of drivers turned out for the festivities, it seems to me that the appeal of racing banquets at the local level has dwindled over the years. Over half of the 50 drivers being recognized were on-hand, along with numerous crews and fans, however banquets just don't seem to have the feel that they used to. They appear to have changed over the years from celebrating accomplishments of champions to discussions about the concerns of affordability, work ethic and how things have changed since the "good old days" of the sport. When the conversation goes from talking about today to talking about days gone by, it's very concerning. Jeff Broeg shares a number of very legitimate concerns in his season review on the Back Stretch.
My final racing-related event of the year was the IMCA national banquet in Lincoln, Nebraska, last month. I had never been to the national banquet before and was honored when Brett Root asked if I would emcee the event with Kevin Yoder. While I was warned ahead of time that the awards portion of the night tended to run long, it didn't really seem too bad to me. Aside from recognizing the long lists of track, state and regional champions, each national champion was allotted time behind the microphone. While some drivers did tend to speak at length (note to Mike Nichols, take the glass of water the next time I offer it to you!), each and every one of them was humble upon accepting their trophy. You hear people talk all the time about racing being a family sport, how drivers can't do it without sponsors and how important support from their loved ones is during any race season, let alone a championship run. Well, the guys on stage that night in Lincoln didn't just say those words, they showed it. There was genuine, raw emotion from each of the champions this year which truly showed how much their accomplishments meant to them and how special it is to be recognized as a champion.
That message was also delivered by Speedy Bill Smith of Speedway Motors. Walking through his collection in the Speedway Motors Museum the night before the banquet was overwhelming. Not only are his collections mind-blowing, they are truly humbling. As race fans, we all know what each other is talking about when we say we share the passion for the sport. To see Speedy Bill's collection is to observe first-hand the passion that exists for our sport. Hearing him address those in attendance at both the museum and the banquet left you feeling that we are truly a part of something special. Thanks to the folks at IMCA and Speedway Motors for inviting me along for a fantastic weekend.
Although it may pale in comparison to other race fans, I hit a personal best 61 races this summer. My goal at the onset of the season was 50 and then made a late-season push for 60 just to see if I could do it. Yes, I counted each day at Super Nationals as its own day, simply because each day deserves it. Hell, the entire week should count for at least a dozen!
I hit 14 tracks this season, with most of those coming at Independence. We raced 17 times at Indee, including 14 weekly shows and specials for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, Deery Brothers Summer Series and Dart Corn Belt Clash Late Model Series. My other 41 stops included 13 trips back home to Benton County Speedway in Vinton, the six days at Boone Speedway for the IMCA Super Nationals and five visits to 34 Raceway in Burlington. I worked four nights at Highway 3 Raceway in Allison and made three trips each to Lee County Speedway in Donnellson and Fayette County Speedway in West Union. Along with two trips each to Cresco Speedway, CJ Speedway and Bloomfield Speedway, I made single visits to Marshalltown Speedway, Davenport Speedway, Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway and Cedar County Raceway in Tipton.
While my dedication (some may call it an obsession) to working at Independence and spending much of my time working on stats, etc. kept my travels limited, I did see a lot of great racing throughout the course of the summer. A few weeks prior to my last race, I posted how many different feature winners I observed throughout the season and how frequently many of those drivers returned to victory lane.
Without updating that entire list here, I can tell you that (not including the numerous winners at Super Nationals), I saw over 140 different drivers earn feature wins in 2010. Topping that list was IMCA SportMod National Champion Austin Kaplan. Granted, he was at over half the shows I went to this year, however he won nearly one-third of the time I watched him race this season. That little statistic got me to thinking, (yes, I know, it's scary, but I've been battling kidney stones lately and the Hydrocodone has me thinking even crazier than normal), what were my best memories from 2010?
A lot of people base success and ability by sheer number of wins, but there's so much more to it than just winning every night out. While NASCAR tries to do everything in its power to reward the most frequent series race winner with a championship in a given season (again, the Hydrocodone will probably lead me to type random thoughts like that), consistency and occasional good luck also play a part in a successful campaign. Granted, luck isn't necessarily a good judge of one's ability, however the good drivers often make their own luck.
SportsCenter not only has its Top 10 every night, but they also recognize the best plays of the year, while your local newspaper probably asks you to vote on the most memorable stories of the year. Heck, Barbara Walters still has her most intriguing people of the year list and she's soooooo 1987. With that in mind, I decided to rattle my memories from the past season, look through my notes and results and compile a list of the most memorable drivers and moments from 2010.
Keep in mind, there was no set criteria used for these selections. Some of these drivers had career years, while others may simply have left an impression in a single race night I attended. Without further ado, in alphabetical order, here are the drivers who provided my top memories from 2010.
Joel Brasch (Late Model) - Joel Brasch has been around racing for quite a few years. While he enjoys winning (who doesn't?), he's truly one of those guys who simply races to have fun. At Independence, Brasch won a few times (and was DQ'd a few more) in the Hobby Stock division in his early days of racing around a decade ago. He moved into the Late Model division a few years ago and hasn't had quite the success since that jump. In fact, Brasch was our Hard Luck Driver award winner at the 2009 banquet. I think he broke in hot laps more often than he saw a competitive green flag lap. He finally turned things around this year when he earned his first career Late Model victory at Independence on July 31. Yes, he started on the pole and he had only two top-10 finishes for the season entering the night, however he proved it was no fluke. Following his win, Brasch reeled off another four top-10 finishes to end the season. Congratulations to Brasch on a great end to 2010 and a promosing outlook entering 2011.
Russel Damme Jr. (Hobby Stock) - In today's world of high dollar racing, it's refreshing to see one of racing's true low budget guys have a successful year. Russel Damme Jr. started racing in the two-man cruiser class at Marshalltown Speedway a few years ago before jumping into the Hobby Stock division just a couple seasons back. He will be the first to admit that his operation is on a shoestring budget, but he's fine with that. Midway through the year, however, it appeared as though Damme's season was going to be cut short after his first top-four finish resulted in his engine being claimed. Not having a spare engine, the rest of his season was in doubt. I even heard rumors that he was nearly forced to use the spare engine for his father's wrecker (whose wrecker service helps out at the track in Independence) to complete the year. Despite not having to go to those lengths, not only did Damme manage to put another engine together for the rest of the season, he made it work about as well as anyone could have expected. He earned his first career feature win at Independence on July 17 and finished eighth in the division's final standings. On top of that, he not only competed in the IMCA Super Nationals at Boone Speedway, but he qualified for Saturday's feature and finished 17th. Great year, Russel, I'm sure we'll be seeing you back up front in 2011.
Joe Docekal (Modified) - I remember a number of years ago when Joe Docekal first started racing. He was in a Hobby Stock at Benton County Speedway and nobody had any idea who he was. What made things more interesting was he finished in the claim area in either his first or second night out. At that point in time, it was pretty evident that Docekal had "it" and would be a familiar face at the top of results and in headlines for years to come. After his stint in the Hobby Stocks, Docekal moved into the B Mod division at Independence in 2004. The division ran unsanctioned for four seasons, during which time he amassed more feature wins than anyone else at Indee. He earned 17 feature wins, more than twice as many as any of his competitors, including a track championship. In fact, he was the only driver in the division's brief history at Indee to win at least one feature each of the four years the B Mods competed there. Docekal moved into the IMCA Modified division in 2008 and spent his time racing in Independence, Vinton and Marshalltown much of the time, although I don't believe he committed to an entire season at any track. Used to seeing victory lane on a regular basis in the B Mod, Docekal waited until July 18, 2010 to earn his first win in the Modifieds. The waiting time for his second career victory was much shorter as he turned around and won the very next week during the Benton County Fair in Vinton. To prove his wins were no fluke, Docekal earned his third career win on September 5 at Vinton. If 2010 is a sign of things to come, "The Trophy Hunter" may be returning to a place he's used to being - at the front of the pack and in the hunt for a championship.
Tyler Droste (SportMod) - We frequently hear of second generation drivers who look to follow in the footsteps of their fathers. Not always does the younger generation fare as well as those before them, yet sometimes the youth enjoys a more successful career than their fathers. And even occasionally, we hear of a racing family that has not only been around the sport for many, many years, but the sucecss spans generations. The Droste family of Waterloo appears to be one of those families. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Red Droste was a well-known Late Model driver who found success at many tracks in eastern Iowa, including Independence. His son, Steve, continued the family tradition and entered the Modified division in the mid-1990s. Steve won his first Modified feature at Independence in 1993 and was a mainstay in victory lane at the speedway over the course of the following three seasons. In fact, he earned three straight track championships at Indee from 1994-1996, one of only three Modified drivers to-date at Independence who can boast such an accomplishment. A couple of seasons ago, Steve's son Tyler looked to build on the successes of the Droste name. Being too young to compete at many tracks, Tyler dialed in his racing skills in a B Mod at unsanctioned tracks in northeast Iowa before becoming old enough to compete in the ranks of IMCA in 2010. Actually, Tyler didn't turn 14 until the middle of this summer, but was permitted to compete at the start of the season, however he could not earn official IMCA SportMod points until his birthday. Quickly one of the most popular drivers at Independence, Tyler reeled off four straight top-10 finishes early in the season. A strong challenger every week, the first IMCA victory eluded the youth until championship at Independence. In what was probably the single most memorable lap of racing at Independence this season, Droste edged ahead of leader Josh Sherbon at the line. His victory brought the fans to their feet as one of the most popular wins in years at Independence came on the final night of racing this season. By virtue of that victory, the Droste family is the only family in track history to possess feature wins on championship night among three generations of drivers. Don't look for Tyler's success to end with his win on championship night as you can be assured the Droste name will continue to make memories for years to come at area tracks.
Josh Foster (Modified) - The standout memory from 2010 involving Josh Foster doesn't have as much to do with the fact that he won, rather what he won. After a lot of off-season talk and speculation about what the JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds would offer, Foster put his name in the record books as the first driver to win a feature in series history during the inaugural event at Independence in May. While race fans were very aware of the "big" area Modified names that were expected to follow the series, Foster was a relative unknown to those outside of southeast Iowa. A regular competitor and champion at both 34 Raceway and Lee County Speedway, Foster became a household name to Modified fans in the region with his victory. Coincidentally, not only was Foster the first winner in series history, he was the first to win his second career series feature as he also picked up top honors in Donnellson later in the summer.
Scott Hogan (Modified) - What makes Scott Hogan's season so memorable to me isn't that he won the North Central Region for IMCA Modifieds and finished fifth in the national standings as much as the fact that he wasn't chasing regional points and actually had no idea he was in contention until late in the season. Hogan, the perennial favorite at his hometown Benton County Speedway in Vinton, has also found success on Saturday nights at 34 Raceway. He was positioned to win track titles at both venues, however he hadn't been paying attention to regional points during the season because it wasn't something he had set out as a goal and his computer was down so he wasn't able to get online and allow himself to get caught up in any points chasing. A text message from a friend late in the season tipped off Hogan and his wife Jolyne that they were in the running for a regional crown. Locking up both track titles propelled him to the regional title, but the best part is that none of those accomplishments served as the highlight of his season. Instead, Hogan's fourth career victory in the annual Hogan Memorial at Vinton, an event that honors the memory of his parents, marked the high point of his season. A true family man, congratulations to Scott on a remarkable year.
Austin Kaplan (SportMod) - As I mentioned earlier, I saw Austin Kaplan in victory lane more often than any other driver during my travels in 2010. The Ankeny driver put on a lot of miles throughout the course of the season, making the two-hour trek each Saturday to Independence and to Vinton on Sundays in pursuit of a national championship. Although his first night in Independence didn't go as planned (Kaplan recorded a 23rd place finish after a DNF), he started digging out of that hole early by winning features each of the next two weeks. By July 3 he was atop the points and remained there for the duration of the season. In Vinton, Kaplan's heartiest competitor was Danny Dvorak, who runs up front most of the time at his hometown track. Kaplan sealed the deal late in the season, winning both track titles to lock up the national crown, while over the same weekend walked down the aisle to marry longtime girlfriend Amy McDonald. When ya got it, ya got it.
Greg Kastli (Late Model) - Greg Kastli has been a local favorite longer than many current area race fans have even been alive. (Sorry, Greg, but that was meant as a compliment!) Entering the 2010 season, he sat fourth on the all-time weekly Late Model wins list at Indee with 38 victories. When combining his wins in the Modified and Sportsman divisions at Indee, he ranked third on the track's all-time wins list (out of nearly 450 drivers), trailing only Curt Martin and Vern Jackson. Despite his successful career, Kastli was experiencing his longest victory drought since entering the division some 30-plus years ago. Prior to 2010, his most recent win was on May 27, 2006. That dry spell ended on July 10 when he picked up his first win in over four years, possibly the most popular win of the season at Independence. Just four weeks after that win, Kastli earned his second win of the season, and 40th of his career at Independence, on August 7. He also made the trip to the winner's circle at Highway 3 Raceway in Allison earlier in the summer to collect a total of three wins in 2010. With a return to the top in 2010, race fans are confident that he'll be back for another successful year in 2011.
Josh Most (Late Model) - Similar to one standout event that made Josh Foster one of the most memorable drivers in 2010, a single race propelled Late Model pilot Josh Most onto my list. It was during a late season Deery Brothers Summer Series event that Most made his name known in Late Model racing. Most, who has been known to get in the seat of about anything that has wheels, provided some of the most entertaining and unbelievable racing at Lee County Speedway in September. In fact, it wasn't until late in the race that I realized he was actually in contention and not a lapped car. Early on in the feature, Most made a quick exit to the pits while the race was under caution when he thought he had a flat tire. His crew quickly redirected him back to the track when it was confirmed that all four tires had air. At that point in time, I dismissed him completely from the event. Afterall, with names like Burgtorf, Toland and Guss challenging up front, who thought the guy had a chance since he had to restart from the tail after going to the pits? After making his way through the middle of the pack, Most went to the high side of the track and set sail. He eventually caught race leader Jason Perry in the final stages of the event to inch ahead at the line for an incredible victory. I was in such disbelief that I confirmed with both IMCA and scorer Sue McDaniel if what just happened really happened. It did and it deserves a mention as one of the most memorable events of the season.
Wayne Noble (4-Cylinder) - Wayne Noble is a name many from my area probably aren't too familiar with. To be honest, I don't even know a whole lot about the guy. From what I undersand, Noble, who competes in southeast Iowa in the 4-Cylinder division, has been around racing for many years. What I DO know about the guy is he's 75 years old and he wins. During one of my visits to CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction this season for the Corn Belt Clash Late Models, the 4-Cylinders were also competing. Noble, who always seems to run up front, entered a three-car battle for the lead on this night and left the competition to accept the fact that a septuagenarian just schooled them. What made the win even more impressive to me was the memory I have of Noble from just last season at CJ. Although it was in the 4-Cylinder division (where you don't expect a rollover to top a list of crashes on the highlight reel), Noble took a scary ride off turn three in the middle of the 2009 season. After launching off the back stretch berm, Noble violently rolled end-over-end, then barrel-rolled multiple times before landing on its top in a ravine outside of the track. This type of wreck is scary regardless who's in it, but honestly, that fear is intensified when it involves someone in their 70s. While Noble was out for much of the rest of that season, it was not only great to see him back on the track, but in the winner's circle in 2010.
Chad Simpson (Late Model) - There really isn't a lot to say about Chad Simpson's season that hasn't already been said, documented, discussed and said again. His accomplishments in the Corn Belt Clash Series this season were remarkable in every sense of the word. Not only did he win the first five series races of 2010 and seven of the first eight (at six different tracks, mind you), he earned a total of nine wins in the series 15 events. The points, which were based on a driver's 13 best finishes of the 15 events, were about as lopsided as you could expect. Although only 13 points events counted, each of Simpson's competitors could have counted their 14 best finishes and been given a bonus win just for the hell of it and Simpson still would have won the title. While I didn't make it to all 15 series events this year, I did get to seven of them. Believe it or not, of the seven series races I did see, five of them were among the six nights he wasn't victorious. Despite seeing "only" two of his series wins in 2010, Simpson still deserves a mention on the list of most memorable drivers of the season.
Bill Whalen Jr. (4-Cylinder) - Although Bill Whalen had a pretty successful year in 2010, the reason I'm putting him on my list is because he was everywhere (almost literally) I went this summer. While drivers don't tend to travel as much as they used to, Whalen enjoys venturing to new tracks and simply loves the competition. A weekly competitor at CJ Speedway and Benton County Speedway, Whalen hit numerous tracks this season all to race his 4-Cylinder... and that's not a division that will cover your traveling expenses. From our various chats throughout the season, Whalen stated one of the farthest trips he made this year was to Buena Vista Raceway in Alta. That's quite a haul for a 4-Cylinder driver from Riverside, Iowa, which is just south of Iowa City. Due to his travels to new places, Whalen didn't do much points chasing, although he did keep a very close eye on the All Iowa Points. Where there's a race, there's a strong chance Bill Whalen will be there if one of the many variations of the 4-Cylinder division is on the schedule. A true grassroots racer who competes for the enjoyment of it, chances are pretty high you'll see his #00W at your local track in 2011.
Chris Wiltse (Hobby Stock) - Throughout the course of the season, numerous times I mentioned Chris Wiltse's name here In Staging. A rookie driver from Charles City, Wiltse raced weekly at Independence and also made a few trips to I-35 Speedway in Mason City and Highway 3 Raceway in Allison. Much like Joe Docekal's early success in the Hobby Stock division at the start of his career, Wiltse earned a third place finish in his third night out at Independence this year and actually led the first 12 laps of the 15-lap feature. His first career win on August 21 propelled him to a top-10 finish in the points in his rookie campaign. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, as long as Wiltse has his #69 on the track, he will only continue to get better. Good luck in your sophomore season in 2011, Chris!
While I realize there were numerous other memorable moments of the past season, the 13 drivers listed above provided me some of the best memories of the year. Whether those memories involved a first-year driver getting a quick win to jumpstart their career, a veteran who has remained one of the best for decades or someone who simply dazzled the crowd for a single night, racing needs local stars like these to keep our sport strong.
Compiling this list again launched me back onboard the HRN memory train as it's drivers like the ones listed above whose efforts we remember for years to come. In 2002, the staff at HRN wanted to put to rest the annual "Salute to the Support Classes" issue because we felt there was no such thing as a support class. Sure, some tracks showcase the Late Models as their "premier" division while Modifieds rule at other venues. That may very well be the case, but the Hobby Stocks, Stock Cars, SportMods, B Mods and 4-Cylinder divisions, among others, don't race in support of anyone else. Those drivers and their fans are there to put on their own show, to make their own memories and to reach the same goals and dreams as those in the "premier" divisions. It was for that reason we revamped the support class issue and reworked it into a Hometown Heroes section. We included everything from Late Models to the entry level divisions and all points in between. All of those divisions have their stars and all of those drivers make memories for everyone who takes time out of their schedule to attend the races throughout the season. Thank you to the Hometown Heroes of this past season for making 2010 one of the best yet.
Another group that has had a memorable 2010 is Karsyn's Krusaders. While the racing season has ended, their campaign to Kick Cancer's Butt has no off-season. In fact, the group is putting together a fun way to raise money for the fight against cancer. Scheduled for January 22, a bowling night is in the works to raise money and to also give Karysn's supporters the chance to cut loose at Cadillac Lanes in Waterloo. While the details have yet to be finalized, I'll pass along more information as it becomes available.
While there isn't anything going on this time of year on the track, there are still a lot of things to talk about. I know Kevin Trittien has gotten the stats bug and is working on assembling some interesting numbers from 2010. Be sure to keep an eye on Tapfan's Tours this off-season to see what he's been up to.
I think that'll do it for this entry. While I intended for this to be my last installment of 2010, I may have one more nugget to add before year's end. Last year, I included a holiday racing "wish" list over the holiday season. This year, I have something else in mind as we make our way through the holidays. In the event that doesn't get posted before Santa Claus arrives (we'll see how the kidney stone surgery goes first!), I hope everyone has a safe, enjoyable and Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Remembering Red Dralle
Red Dralle, a northeast Iowa racing legend from Waterloo, passed away early Tuesday morning after suffering a stroke late last week. Below are my thoughts, memories and a few conversations I had with Red over the years. Photos of Red's final feature win and his son Rick's first feature win follow at the bottom.
Racing has always been a sport that people either love or they hate. Generally, if you ask someone if they've ever been to a stock car race, you'll get one of three answers. They'll tell you that they've never gone, that they've gone only once and didn't like it or that they spend their entire summer taking in the sights and sounds at their local track.
As a kid, I felt the passion early and made the 26-mile trek north every Saturday in the summer with my family from our home in Vinton to Independence. We all cheered on who we wanted to win every night. Regardless who you wanted to see win, however, you became familiar with who was hard to beat, who you didn't like and who, for whatever reason, you hoped didn't draw the same heat as your favorite driver.
Over time, you not only became a diehard fan, but you felt like you knew anyone and everyone who rolled out of the staging area and onto the track for that next event. You heard stories about various drivers; some stories you chose to believe and some that you simply wanted to believe because you knew how these guys drove. You knew who was a good driver and who was a dirty driver - who was a good person and who was a bad person - because you watched them in action every summer as you were growing up.
As a kid, racing was somewhat of a mystery. We held our idols on high pedestals and we looked down to our perceived enemies as the villain even though we really didn't necessarily know who we were cheering for or against. We wanted "our guy" to win at all costs and, should anyone beat him, that driver immediately assumed the role of the enemy.
I clearly remember opening night of the 1989 season at Independence Motor Speedway. It was the night before my 15th birthday and I was as excited as ever to get back to the track to watch my favorite Late Model driver, Rick Wendling, win on the first night of the season.
At night's end I was not only disappointed that Wendling would enter the second week tied for last in the points, I discovered a new villain. Red Dralle won the opening night feature that season and, being a kid, immediately I didn't like him. Yeah, I'd seen him race before and knew he was good. That only made things worse for me. That meant Wendling would have a deeper hole to dig out of after just one week. Dralle was the points leader. That wasn't right. From that point on I decided I didn't like Red Dralle.
Being an observant kid, I started to listen to those things I heard about these drivers that I had never met - most notably, Red. The things you heard as a kid, though, and even sometimes as an adult, can only lead you to laugh about them years down the road. I mean, over time, the perceptions you had and the things you heard growing up didn't always match what you came to know. Even if they did, they can still be worth a good chuckle.
Over the years, I heard stories about Red, probably similar to the stories heard by many other race fans in eastern Iowa. I'll never forget one night in Independence when a group of people sitting around my family was talking about Red. It was just after hot laps and Wayde Russell was driving a car owned by Red. The car didn't make it off the track and needed assistance from the push truck. I heard one of the guys sitting around us say, "Russell took too many hot laps, he ran out of gas." I was dumbfounded at this idea since hot laps were only a couple laps long and it was crazy to think anyone would run out of gas. The guy in front of me continued, "Red's cheap. He only puts so much gas in the car for hot laps. He doesn't want to waste fuel so he only wants his driver making a couple laps. If he goes too many, he runs out of gas."
True story? Yeah, I did hear that conversation. Beyond that, no, I didn't know if there was any truth to the accusation about Red being cheap. It did, however, and still does bring on a good laugh whenever I think about it.
There was another time that Red pulled into the pits and signed in to race, but never made it onto the track. Again, people started talking. "All he wants are his show-up points so he can start up front next week. He had no intention of going on the track. Hell, there isn't even a race car in that hauler, it's full of watermelons."
True or not, those are the types of stories we've all heard about Red Dralle over the years.
I started working at Independence in 2000. I had seen Red at various times leading up to the start of that season, but I had never talked to him, let alone had a lengthy conversation with him. I don't even recall if I spoke a word to him that year aside from checking him in every week.
I admit that I was somewhat intimidated by Red based on the stories I had heard, how hard-nosed he was and how he spoke his mind. I've always joked that I'm the type of guy who has no filter - if something enters my mind, it immediately comes out of my mouth regardless of the situation or circumstance. In the end, I may have relief and at other times I may have regret, but I've always felt I've spoken my mind, no matter the outcome. Red Dralle took that to the next level. Not only did he say whatever was on his mind, but with just a few short words you knew where he was coming from, you knew what he meant and you knew there was no regret - ever. Some people may attribute that to personality and, while that may be true, I attribute it to passion.
Red Dralle had a passion for racing that I've never seen equalled by anyone as long as I've been around the sport. He wanted to win and he wanted to win his way. He was good and he knew it, but so did everyone else who bought a ticket or pit pass on any given night. The man won the final race he ever entered at Independence in July of 2003. What more proof do you need than to see a guy go out on top?
Over the years, I got to know Red a little better. We had occasional chats at the track - the basic things everyone talks about... what's right in the world of racing and what's wrong with it... how it's changed for the better, but mostly how it's changed for the worse... remembering the glory days when racing was fun and not a business.
I was lucky this past year as Red stopped by the check-in table on his golf cart every night for the first couple months of the season. On opening night, Red drew his son Rick's number for the heat lineup. Drawing a very low number, you could sense Red's excitement. Every time another car pulled through the gate, he'd say, "How many are there now?" He was excited, he was interested, he was passionate. "We should still be on the front row, right?" He may not have been a driver anymore, but he was still just as big of a race fan as ever.
There was another night when I was walking from the concession stand back to the pits and he stopped in front of me on his golf cart. He asked me where I was going and I told him I was just walking back to the pit gate, that I was fine to walk and he didn't need to give me a ride. "Get on here, you're coming with me." I knew this wasn't a conversation or him asking to do me a favor; Red was simply letting me know how things were going to proceed from there. I laughed and got on the golf cart. He asked how the track was and how many cars we were going to have. It was a pleasant chat until we got back to the check-in table where the scorers were marking down the latest arrivals.
"Here you go!" he said. "Look at this! I'm giving the guy a ride all over the grounds, this has gotta get me something. It's gotta be good for a front row, right?" Red was lobbying for a good starting spot for Rick.
I laughed it off, but Red kept going. "C'mon, that's gotta be good for something. I'd have left you back there if it wasn't going to get me the front row!" With his recognizable half smile, Red drove away.
While Red was known to have a tough exterior, there were moments when he wasn't afraid to show his emotions. I was lucky enough to be present for one of those times. On July 7, 2007, Rick Dralle earned his first career Late Model win at Independence on a night I happened to be doing victory lane interviews. Red was there that night and it felt as though he was in victory lane before Rick even rolled to a stop.
"What did you think of that?" Red was grinning from ear to ear, the happiest and proudest I'd ever seen him. He was the first to congratulate Rick as he got out of the car. The passion of the sport, the pride he had in his son, the years of hard work, it was a moment that helped define who Red was.
One other conversation I had with Red in 2010 stands out above all others. It was following the races on June 19. Rick's hauler was parked right by the pit gate so there was always the chance that Red was going to get a word in before you made it out of the pits. On this night, he made sure he let me know that we made a mistake with the race procedure.
"Hey, get over here!" he yelled before I even turned to exit the pits. "You know what I'm going to tell you, don't you?"
I had an idea, but I wasn't sure. I thought quickly for a moment and decided, no, I better not offer Red what I was thinking. If it wasn't the same thing, I didn't want to give him TWO things to question. I simply replied, "I'm not sure, was it something to do with a lineup?"
"Damn right, you know it was. How many nights can a guy miss before he has to start at the back? If you miss a night, you have to start at the back that second week, right?" Red was upset that one of the other Late Model drivers was given a front row starting spot in his heat despite missing the week before.
As I explained to him that a driver had to miss two consecutive weeks before being forced to start at the tail upon returning the third week, Red stood there shaking his head. "Oh, I thought it was one week. They must have changed that."
As the conversation hit a brick wall and I turned to leave, Red said, "Hey, you know why they have that rule, don't you?" I laughed and said, "You?"
"Damn right, it's because of me. A lot of the rules at these tracks are because of me over the years."
The look of frustration and anger in his eyes seemed to change to pride and honor in the blink of an eye so I said, "It's the same thing about the show-up points, too, right?"
Quick to respond, Red said, "Yep, that's because of me, too. We always knew what we were doing." With that, I laughed and walked back to my car as he returned to Rick's pit area.
Looking back, that was the last conversation I had with Red. I realize now that from our youth through our adult years, some opinions change while others are confirmed; regardless, memories remain with us for a lifetime. In the end, I can say only one thing. I really liked that guy.
Racing has always been a sport that people either love or they hate. Generally, if you ask someone if they've ever been to a stock car race, you'll get one of three answers. They'll tell you that they've never gone, that they've gone only once and didn't like it or that they spend their entire summer taking in the sights and sounds at their local track.
As a kid, I felt the passion early and made the 26-mile trek north every Saturday in the summer with my family from our home in Vinton to Independence. We all cheered on who we wanted to win every night. Regardless who you wanted to see win, however, you became familiar with who was hard to beat, who you didn't like and who, for whatever reason, you hoped didn't draw the same heat as your favorite driver.
Over time, you not only became a diehard fan, but you felt like you knew anyone and everyone who rolled out of the staging area and onto the track for that next event. You heard stories about various drivers; some stories you chose to believe and some that you simply wanted to believe because you knew how these guys drove. You knew who was a good driver and who was a dirty driver - who was a good person and who was a bad person - because you watched them in action every summer as you were growing up.
As a kid, racing was somewhat of a mystery. We held our idols on high pedestals and we looked down to our perceived enemies as the villain even though we really didn't necessarily know who we were cheering for or against. We wanted "our guy" to win at all costs and, should anyone beat him, that driver immediately assumed the role of the enemy.
I clearly remember opening night of the 1989 season at Independence Motor Speedway. It was the night before my 15th birthday and I was as excited as ever to get back to the track to watch my favorite Late Model driver, Rick Wendling, win on the first night of the season.
At night's end I was not only disappointed that Wendling would enter the second week tied for last in the points, I discovered a new villain. Red Dralle won the opening night feature that season and, being a kid, immediately I didn't like him. Yeah, I'd seen him race before and knew he was good. That only made things worse for me. That meant Wendling would have a deeper hole to dig out of after just one week. Dralle was the points leader. That wasn't right. From that point on I decided I didn't like Red Dralle.
Being an observant kid, I started to listen to those things I heard about these drivers that I had never met - most notably, Red. The things you heard as a kid, though, and even sometimes as an adult, can only lead you to laugh about them years down the road. I mean, over time, the perceptions you had and the things you heard growing up didn't always match what you came to know. Even if they did, they can still be worth a good chuckle.
Over the years, I heard stories about Red, probably similar to the stories heard by many other race fans in eastern Iowa. I'll never forget one night in Independence when a group of people sitting around my family was talking about Red. It was just after hot laps and Wayde Russell was driving a car owned by Red. The car didn't make it off the track and needed assistance from the push truck. I heard one of the guys sitting around us say, "Russell took too many hot laps, he ran out of gas." I was dumbfounded at this idea since hot laps were only a couple laps long and it was crazy to think anyone would run out of gas. The guy in front of me continued, "Red's cheap. He only puts so much gas in the car for hot laps. He doesn't want to waste fuel so he only wants his driver making a couple laps. If he goes too many, he runs out of gas."
True story? Yeah, I did hear that conversation. Beyond that, no, I didn't know if there was any truth to the accusation about Red being cheap. It did, however, and still does bring on a good laugh whenever I think about it.
There was another time that Red pulled into the pits and signed in to race, but never made it onto the track. Again, people started talking. "All he wants are his show-up points so he can start up front next week. He had no intention of going on the track. Hell, there isn't even a race car in that hauler, it's full of watermelons."
True or not, those are the types of stories we've all heard about Red Dralle over the years.
I started working at Independence in 2000. I had seen Red at various times leading up to the start of that season, but I had never talked to him, let alone had a lengthy conversation with him. I don't even recall if I spoke a word to him that year aside from checking him in every week.
I admit that I was somewhat intimidated by Red based on the stories I had heard, how hard-nosed he was and how he spoke his mind. I've always joked that I'm the type of guy who has no filter - if something enters my mind, it immediately comes out of my mouth regardless of the situation or circumstance. In the end, I may have relief and at other times I may have regret, but I've always felt I've spoken my mind, no matter the outcome. Red Dralle took that to the next level. Not only did he say whatever was on his mind, but with just a few short words you knew where he was coming from, you knew what he meant and you knew there was no regret - ever. Some people may attribute that to personality and, while that may be true, I attribute it to passion.
Red Dralle had a passion for racing that I've never seen equalled by anyone as long as I've been around the sport. He wanted to win and he wanted to win his way. He was good and he knew it, but so did everyone else who bought a ticket or pit pass on any given night. The man won the final race he ever entered at Independence in July of 2003. What more proof do you need than to see a guy go out on top?
Over the years, I got to know Red a little better. We had occasional chats at the track - the basic things everyone talks about... what's right in the world of racing and what's wrong with it... how it's changed for the better, but mostly how it's changed for the worse... remembering the glory days when racing was fun and not a business.
I was lucky this past year as Red stopped by the check-in table on his golf cart every night for the first couple months of the season. On opening night, Red drew his son Rick's number for the heat lineup. Drawing a very low number, you could sense Red's excitement. Every time another car pulled through the gate, he'd say, "How many are there now?" He was excited, he was interested, he was passionate. "We should still be on the front row, right?" He may not have been a driver anymore, but he was still just as big of a race fan as ever.
There was another night when I was walking from the concession stand back to the pits and he stopped in front of me on his golf cart. He asked me where I was going and I told him I was just walking back to the pit gate, that I was fine to walk and he didn't need to give me a ride. "Get on here, you're coming with me." I knew this wasn't a conversation or him asking to do me a favor; Red was simply letting me know how things were going to proceed from there. I laughed and got on the golf cart. He asked how the track was and how many cars we were going to have. It was a pleasant chat until we got back to the check-in table where the scorers were marking down the latest arrivals.
"Here you go!" he said. "Look at this! I'm giving the guy a ride all over the grounds, this has gotta get me something. It's gotta be good for a front row, right?" Red was lobbying for a good starting spot for Rick.
I laughed it off, but Red kept going. "C'mon, that's gotta be good for something. I'd have left you back there if it wasn't going to get me the front row!" With his recognizable half smile, Red drove away.
While Red was known to have a tough exterior, there were moments when he wasn't afraid to show his emotions. I was lucky enough to be present for one of those times. On July 7, 2007, Rick Dralle earned his first career Late Model win at Independence on a night I happened to be doing victory lane interviews. Red was there that night and it felt as though he was in victory lane before Rick even rolled to a stop.
"What did you think of that?" Red was grinning from ear to ear, the happiest and proudest I'd ever seen him. He was the first to congratulate Rick as he got out of the car. The passion of the sport, the pride he had in his son, the years of hard work, it was a moment that helped define who Red was.
One other conversation I had with Red in 2010 stands out above all others. It was following the races on June 19. Rick's hauler was parked right by the pit gate so there was always the chance that Red was going to get a word in before you made it out of the pits. On this night, he made sure he let me know that we made a mistake with the race procedure.
"Hey, get over here!" he yelled before I even turned to exit the pits. "You know what I'm going to tell you, don't you?"
I had an idea, but I wasn't sure. I thought quickly for a moment and decided, no, I better not offer Red what I was thinking. If it wasn't the same thing, I didn't want to give him TWO things to question. I simply replied, "I'm not sure, was it something to do with a lineup?"
"Damn right, you know it was. How many nights can a guy miss before he has to start at the back? If you miss a night, you have to start at the back that second week, right?" Red was upset that one of the other Late Model drivers was given a front row starting spot in his heat despite missing the week before.
As I explained to him that a driver had to miss two consecutive weeks before being forced to start at the tail upon returning the third week, Red stood there shaking his head. "Oh, I thought it was one week. They must have changed that."
As the conversation hit a brick wall and I turned to leave, Red said, "Hey, you know why they have that rule, don't you?" I laughed and said, "You?"
"Damn right, it's because of me. A lot of the rules at these tracks are because of me over the years."
The look of frustration and anger in his eyes seemed to change to pride and honor in the blink of an eye so I said, "It's the same thing about the show-up points, too, right?"
Quick to respond, Red said, "Yep, that's because of me, too. We always knew what we were doing." With that, I laughed and walked back to my car as he returned to Rick's pit area.
Looking back, that was the last conversation I had with Red. I realize now that from our youth through our adult years, some opinions change while others are confirmed; regardless, memories remain with us for a lifetime. In the end, I can say only one thing. I really liked that guy.
All photos included below are courtesy of Scott Tjabring/Action Track Photography
Red Dralle (4) battles Dale Hackwell Jr. during Late Model heat race action on July 12, 2003.
Dralle battles Greg Kastli during the Late Model feature on July 12, 2003.
The final Late Model feature win of Red Dralle's career came at Independence Motor Speedway on July 12, 2003. Dralle went out a winner as it was the final time he got behind the wheel of a race car.
Rick Dralle's first career Late Model win came on July 7, 2007. His father, Red, was the first person to congratulate him in victory lane.
Red Dralle looks on as his son, Rick, is interviewed in victory lane for the first time in his career on July 7, 2007.
Red Dralle strikes a pose in victory lane following Rick Dralle's first career win.
Red Dralle (far left) was one of many to share a moment in victory lane during Rick Dralle's first career Late Model win.
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