Wi Dirt Racin

With grey skies on the drive down, and some light rain to accommodate, there was doubt. Would we get a night of racing in? Well, the skies cleared up, and racing started on schedule for 3:00. When I got there, it looked like the track had been worked a little bit, but only as much as watering and packing. After the first race it was dry, and some of us were wondering if they should have brought in a studded class as well.

It was messy. After talking with a few drivers during the intermission, some said they had driven on ice with more traction. Watching the first of the two modified B-mains was painful. Kyle Kudick looked amazing, taking off with the lead, and a huge distance to boot. It was still a slow race, probably the slowest mod race I’ve seen yet. Up until the features, it was a one lane track on the bottom. Anybody brave enough to try to topside usually found themselves going backward. There were a few cars that were fast on top, but sliding around the top of the corners only slowed them down. In the features, it started to look better, with a little bit of passing. A few drivers had their cars dialed in pretty good, and made their way to the front, or close anyway. The best racing was found by running the bottom, and if you were faster than the car ahead of you, a little nudge would hopefully move them without a caution.

There were some impressive racers out there. Benji LaCrosse started off the mod race in the front. Coming out of turn 2 something broke, and he slowed down drastically in front of everybody. Before coming to a complete stop, he corralled a couple others into a pile on the back stretch. With himself and Randy Markwardt Jr now out of the race, it was time to start again. With the late models coming up after the mods, Benji grabbed his gear and watched his car get towed off the track, while he walked over the Bob Cullen’s #8 late model, already parked in the infield. Benji would start 9th in the feature, and rise quickly to follow the #74 of Scheffler. Both cars were fast, and Benji did a great job keeping pace, though it was a considerable distance back. Had Benji gotten the opportunity to go side by side with Scheffler, I’d bet on a spectacular race.

Another notable was the #99 modified of Kyle Lentz. A 12th place start after a bad re-draw, and a one spot bump after the first lap incident that took LaCrosse out of the race would place him in 11th to start. Kyle would work his way up in position quickly and methodically, hugging the bottom line, but using any part of the track that was needed. When he finally reach Drexler to battle for the lead, he was tapping the bumper steadily, looking for any shot to pass by. Unfortunately, the battery box broke. Sparks flew from the rear of the car, and that was the end of a great run by Lentz.

Chilton hosted the “World’s Largest Driver Autograph Session” with thanks to Dan Lewis Photography. Dan and Mary Lewis supplied drivers with pictures to autograph for young and old, following a candy drop for the kids in the infield. It was a great sight to see so many drivers, fans, and kids running around on the front stretch and the infield. In a shocking move, flagman Art Siefert offered a one on one session with any driver who wanted to dispute any call he made. There were a few drivers who took him up on that offer, and from what I could tell, all of these conversations were much more civil than those happening during the days races on the front stretch.

Yes, that’s right. Art had to come down on more than one occasion to dispute a call with a driver who didn’t want to leave the track. The most notable was when Lemay (L115 four cylinder) had a dispute with Art. I missed the reason for the call, but made it back for the show. Art came down from his perch, Lemay climbed out of his car, both met on the track. With arms flailing, and heated argument ensued. When it was over, it appeared that Lemay thought he won, with a display of him climbing up on his car and all but begging for the approval of the fans. It was amusing, and it would have been much more amusing had he not flipped the bird to the grandstands. If you want to make a spectacle of yourself, that’s fine. Keep it clean. Vulgarities and obscene gestures don’t help your case. Whether your argument was valid or not, I don’t know. Again, I missed the call in question. But there’s no need for the other stuff.

Congrats to all of the winners on Friday night
Sprints: 64 Thiel
Late Model All Star: 74 Scheffler
Mod All Star: 37 Jerovetz

Saturday night
Street Stock: 8 Drexler
Stock: 17 Simon
Grand National: 69t Thompson
Mod: 8 Drexler
Late Models: 74 Scheffler
Sport Mod: 74 Arneson
Four Cylinder: 28 Lemay
Hobby Stock: 13 Gregorich Jr

Also, congrats to Grand National driver Tim Warner, he won the raffle for the George Scheffler Memorial Rayburn Chassis

Despite quite a few questionable calls, a dry track, and alot of damage, the weekend ended with some good racing. Bob Cullen and his team pulled it together to get the track ready for this, even though the track hadn’t been raced since 2009. Everybody shares their own opinion on how a track should be run, and how a track should be maintained. With negatives and positives, I can say that I would go back there again. The track was smooth, and the food was great. Thanks to Bob Cullen for putting this special event together, and I hope to go again next year. Until then, the best racin is always in the dirt, so stay dirty

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