The Pace Lap - August 20, 2008

Well, I have a wedding to go to this weekend so I'll miss the potential "Battle Regal of Eagle" if the threatened claim goes down in the Hobby Stocks.

For the record I hate the claim rule and think it has not accomplished its original intent; to control the cost of racing.

Of course claiming's in the rules but the problem with the claim is that it didn't count on human nature (see this example if the first link wasn't enough).

If not accompanied by threats of knuckle-based orthodontics, threats of hard feelings between guys they race side by side with keep others from claiming, which usually results in a loose Gentlemen's Agreement that says, "I won't claim your several-thousand dollar motor if you don't claim mine." Pretty soon that limit goes unchecked save for a few that cherry pick some mechanical gold, only to be replenished by the original owner next week.

The nasty side of the claim is that despite the claimer's new prize, they usually they come out the next week not making much more progress since they couldn't claim the driver's talent...

Proof that the claim doesn't work is summed up in one word: SportMod.

But I waxed on about that in the last editorial.

Let's say something good for once. Forgive me as I bounce from track to track here.

First of all, it's nice to see that Butler County Motorplex promoter Jacy Todd has announced that the Friday show is returning in 2009, with IMCA sanction in all the classes.

This week I watched two good shows, the Tour 'n' Topless Husker Nationals (AKA "the wingless show at I-80") and Eagle's Weekly program. Both had different but equally good tracks. Eagle's track was great, racy-dry with a cushion near the wall that harkened back to the days when Gerloff and Lipsey or Divis and Lowery banked off the turn two rail to make a bee-line down the backstretch.

The I-80 surface Tuesday was fast, tacky and a perfect complement to the wingless sprinter's signature four-wheel, rooster-tail broadslide style.

Oh yeah, I didn't know that was the way the Mods worked, too! I could swear Matt Richards was mimicking Dave Darland each lap out there. The SLMR Late Model feature was also a sight.

Kyle Berck was perfect in his Modified run, Clint Homan made one bobble. That's all it took as the two put on an epic battle in the last half of the 15-lap IMCA Modified contest.

Berck then hopped into a Late Model and snatched that feature as well. Dude can drive. But you'd have to be under a rock for the past 15 years not to know that.

I've begun to REALLY like modified racing - yes, the class has been a heavier weight on the checkbook but these modifieds aren't the modifieds that made their Nebraska debut at Eagle Raceway in 1985. The class has matured significantly and they're damn fun to watch anymore.

Chris Alcorn is the point leader at Eagle, but right now Dylan Smith is the guy to beat. Dylan's won three of the last four A features at Eagle and pulled to within five points of the two-time and defending champion after Alcorn pulled in early during Saturday night's A.

Maybe Dylan's prowess has become too common; what amazed everyone Saturday was not Dylan's driving, but his official magnetic, stick-to-anything-with-a-full-can coozies. A request made over the PA by Eagle officials to deliver a supply of the goods was met promptly when Dylan wheeled up to the pit garage.

Jack Dover picked up his fourth sprint win in a row Saturday, prompting a question of whether or not that's been done before at Eagle. Well, myself and others pointed out that it has, with John Gerloff going five and six-for during his dominance in the late 80's and 90's. Of course what we all missed that the last time anyone won four sprint features in a row was when? 2008 when Mike Boston did it - in fact his four-race streak was broken when Jack started his. Jay Russell and Bobby Becker are the only other two regular season A feature winners this year.

Melvin Densberger deserves a radio call in show. People making quick work of Roger's beer at the post race pit party know why.

It was nice to hear the I-80 announcers work the crowd up. I'm glad some tracks "get it" and go past some littany of stats and efforts to show the crowd how much they know about whatever. Information is important but some announcers just rattle...or worse...just let the people sit with "dead air."

Ok, I can't get by without being a little sour....

Unfortunately, Tuesday's show was marred by an injury when a damaged sprint car lost control and struck the Kenkel 33x late model in the pits. Three were injured, fortunately the injuries weren't nearly as bad as once feared.

My dad, who used to be locked to the racing scene but rarely makes it out anymore and I were talking about the pit injuries and he pointed out something that's and unfortunate yet obvious; all we can do is react - the pits are a dangerous place.

Sometimes people don't see that. I see too many people wandering around pits anymore who have no business being there. They don't work on a car, maybe they're buddies with someone who drives, whatever. They don't have that pit awareness that is not only key to safety, but takes time and conscious effort to develop.

Pit crews, drivers, officials, even long-time pit denizens get it. They know when a truck comes up behind a sprint car, that combination is a one-way missile ready to launch. They know that yellow flags often mean someone's coming up to the pits and often damaged and unable to steer/brake/etc. They know that A feature time usually means some hot cars with intense drivers are rolling in. And, they know at the checkered flag, a parade of vehicles, sometimes mixed in with a mess of cars staged up for the next event means things get dicey.

You can make up all the rules, all the technological changes you want. It doesn't take away from the fact that the pits are probably the MOST dangerous part of any race track.

Five yellow flags in the first 9 laps deserves a time limit on any show - especially on a weeknight. The SLMR race at I-80 should've been thinned down but I understand that it's also a series this year and probably not the easiest thing to do out of hand.

I would add that the rest of the race was pretty smooth.

How Bill Leighton walked away from that Late Model heat race crash amazed me. I haven't seen a car look so...limp...on the track. It's as if someone just knocked it out cold.

The low-20s wingless sprint car count was a bit of a disappointment but the field was thick with talent.

But any issues I had were minor, and were FAR overshadowed by two great shows. All in all this was a fantastic week for me, suffering a drought after not making it to Knoxville for the annual Iowa Speed Week.