The Pace Lap - Friday June 9, 2006

Another busy weekend for racing.

- Last night's Jim Eckley Memorial Backrow Challenge was a great show. Lots of passing on a fast track. Mike Boston dominated the first A feature for 17 of the 20 laps, but a late race yellow flag set up a shootout with a fast-running Billy Alley, driving the Mark Burch #1m. Boston held off the Knoxville regular. The second A feature saw a battle between Josh Riggins and former Eagle regular, now World of Outlaws Rookie Justin Henderson, driving the Swenson #24. Henderson took the lead but fell out with mechanical problems just short of the halfway point of the 30-lap finale. Jack Dover challenged after the yellow flag, taking the lead for good on lap 26. Mike Boston charged from 12th to finish second. Third? Who was third...a freak accident sent cars crashing and Riggins sliding backwards through the infield. At the time, he was credited for third place.

- It was great to see the tribute to Jim Eckley, a long-time supporter of 360 Sprint Car racing in Nebraska in the form of the missing-man pace lap. It was also great to see Cori Eckley, Jim's daughter being given a provisional to start the 30-lap final after not qualifying through the second consi.

The sad part was seeing Cori having to pull in early and sitting in the infield for most of the race.

- Today's (Friday) forecast says sunny, hot, windy with a high of 97! I'm guessing Eagle Raceway will be _____ . Saturday however is supposed to be only in the 70's, which I think will change things dramatically.

- It was nice finally meeting Michele Jordan (sprint driver Jay Jordan's wife) and Lori Dover, (Jack's mom). Lori sent me a pic of a wee little Jack and his mini-sprint:
- Retired airline pilot, sprint car driver and all-around good guy Ed Bowes will be in the air over Junction Motor Speedway Saturday night in another great aerobatic display.

- I'll be hanging up the camera early Saturday night and bringing out the laptop as I'm covering the Eagle Nationals finale for the Lincoln Journal-Star. Journal-Star staffer and former Knoxville, IA resident Curt McKeever will cover Friday's show.

- This Saturday, Beatrice Speedway Hall of Fame will feature local legends of racing . The Big Car Association will be on hand to hot lap in their "classics." You can experience the "Beast" racing simulator in front of the grandstand throughout the night also. A BBQ Block Party and live music will follow the races.

- Speaking of the Beatrice Speedway Hall of Fame, a reminiscing thread on Dirtdrivers features a lot of distinguished alumni.

- Tight point races abound. At Red Cloud's Speed Bowl Tim Watts holds a narrow two point lead over Brandon Blochlinger in IMCA Modifieds, Matt Streit leads by just one over Brett Behrends in IMCA Stocks.

- NASCAR Nextel Cup stars Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer will be racing against all of I-80 Speedway's Grand National drivers, including CarlÂ’s brother Kenny Edwards, on July 30. Reserved seating is available. Click here for ticket information (PDF file)

- Last Saturday's Eagle Raceway bus races were a heck of a lot better than I thought they would be. The whole thing couldn't have gone better even if you wrote a script! Rolling a bus, one hitting the wall, and possibly the closest race of the night. Fans were still cheering when the race was replayed on the Jumbotron at Eagle Thursday night.

- Eagle Raceway's Roger Hadan had a lot to say at Thursday's pit meeting. One, the rule regarding the wait for cars in the work area won't be changed this season.

Second, he made no bones about being concerned about World of Outlaws car counts. In fact, he offered any driver who made an honest attempt to compete at either Friday or Saturday's show FREE pit admission for the year. If they ran both nights, they would get $200 on top of that.

Third, he took exception to the recent barrage of message board complaints and stated that anybody representing a team making a post meant to be critical of the track and arouse criticism from others would be fined once the posts reach a set limit. Like it or not, it's not unheard of, many sporting organizations levy fines for public outbursts critical of the organization or sport.

- It could be a busy week next week many Eagle Sprint regulars. Those running for ASCS Midwest region points will be found at Park Jefferson Speedway in Jefferson, SD on Thursday June 15, in Denison, IA at Crawford County Speedway Friday June 16, then back at Eagle for regular weekly action Saturday. Jeff Lowery, Rick Ideus, Doug Lovegrove, Seth Brahmer and Don Droud, Jr. are in the top 10 in ASCS Midwest standings.

That's it for this week. You may see me wandering around in a Heartland Racenews.com T-shirt this week. If you do, say "Hi."

-Jason