Special Fund Created to Help Holliman Heal

(Jason: I want to keep this up at the top for a while - check below for updated content)

Jetmore, Kan. (November 11, 2009) - On July 25,2009 Tadd Holliman, driver
of the #23R 360 Series Sprint Car was involved in a devastating racing
accident at Eagle Raceway in Lincoln, Neb. Holliman, of Beaver Lake, Neb.,
suffered six broken ribs, a bruised lung, concussion, and a broken right
upper arm.

Since the accident, Holliman has been undergoing multiple medical treatments
as well as extensive physical therapy and has been unable to return to work.

To help defray his medical expenses a special fund has been established
within the Steve King Foundation. Any funds donated to the foundation and
earmarked for Holliman will be provided directly to him and his family.

Donations are being accepted through the Steve King Foundation to help the
Holliman family cover the medical expenses. All contributions are
tax-deductible.

Donations can be made online at
www.SteveKingFoundation.org or mailed
to

Steve King Foundation
24583 NW 208 Rd
Jetmore, KS 67854

Please note Holliman on the check.

About Tadd Holliman
Holliman is a third generation driver and was often seen competing against
his father, Terry, at Eagle Raceway, his home track. He was voted the "most
improved driver" at Eagle Raceway in the mid 1990s. His all time favorite
race is the Chili Bowl, each January in Tulsa, Okla. Tadd and his wife
Darla have four children, ranging from 7 to 20 years old.

About The Steve King Foundation
The Steve King Foundation was formed to help individuals involved in dirt
track racing across the country by providing financial assistance to
drivers, pit crew members, racing officials, track operations personnel or
the immediate families of those individuals who are injured, struggling with
a severe illness or die. The foundation, a 501(c)3 will also contribute to
organizations and facilities dedicated to improving the safety of the sport
when additional funds are available.

More information can be found at
www.SteveKingFoundation.org

2010 Thoughts, Pt. II

- Longtime sprint car owner/sponsor Ivan Tracy floated the idea of a limited, 'bare-bones' 360(ish) wingless sprint class, with the idea of complementing existing racing and keeping costs low to promoters and teams. It was promoted in the spirit of the creation of the original "Modified" sprint at Midwest Speedway in the 1980's. For more on the birth of the 360 Sprint, visit Ryan Tunks' Midwest Speedway Preservation Society website.

As nice as it may seem, I'll borrow from the words of the late firearms Guru, Marine Colonel and Historian Jeff Cooper: it's an "ingenious solution to a non-existent problem." Cooper was not talking about racing but rather semi-automatic pistol development, feeling that there was no need for complex modifications of an existing design when with proper use, and mindset, the existing design worked just fine.

But I see the development of yet another class as the same thing. Here's why:

- I don't see any pent-up demand for limited, limited wingless sprint car racing. There have been plenty of calls across the grandstands, pits and message boards for wingless sprint cars but they have all centered on the "real deal:" wingless 410 racing as you see at I-80 each August, and across the Midwest on the USAC trail. The 2007 experiment of wingless 360 racing at Eagle was certainly a 'no harm, no foul' deal, but nobody seemed to care there were no shows in 2008 save for a less than noteworthy WDRL support show. Remember, when the 360's started at Midwest, there was no real sprint racing on a weekly basis. Most of the Nebraska crews were running Knoxville regularly. This filled a niche, and if you've read any of Bob Mays' books, a hole in the SE Nebraska racing community, where sprints/supermodifieds were not just popular, but a part of local culture.

- Again, while it's not designed to compete with the winged 360 class, why wouldn't it? I still feel that these sub-classes draw from the "upper" class, creating mediocre fields in both and experience shows this especially in late models and modifieds. Why, with sprint counts being at a 10-year low, would we want to fracture the class now?

By the way - 305's anyone?

The silence is deafening.

Look, I recognize costs are escalating in 360 racing. A top of the line 360 motor can run as much as a top of the line 410 motor did ten years ago. I get it. But this isn't the solution.

- To that point: If as Ivan said, there are cars sitting idle, why can't they be raced now? Really, since Gambler brought out the downtube car in the late 80's how much has the sprint car really changed? Why, couldn't one get one of these frames and start adding to it? If the car is too old, why race it now under any rules? I don't know how many times I have to say this, but why do people confuse "affordable" with "being able to afford the point champ's equipment?" I have tremendous respect for a guy like Josh LaPage, who, scrounged, scrimped and put a car on the track and ran it against "the big boys." Yeah, he's still green and finding his way, but damn...racing around here could use more of him. This is going to come off as confrontational and maybe it is, especially if the question isn't being answered honestly: how much of the effort to contain cost is a true concern about saving money and how much of it is really just an effort to bring costs to a level where once top ten teams can NOW afford to be able to outspend/outequip everyone else? I'm dead serious about that. Maybe it's my cynical nature, but I rarely believe this is a campaign for the greater good but instead to lower the bar and make the good "great."

- To THAT point: the existent problem in my opinion is not so much money, it's that the field isn't being replenished. In the 80's and 90's the typical path was often race mini sprints at Waverly or Hastings, then get in the big car at Midwest and Eagle. I'm going to miss a TON of names, but here's a few: Divis, Boston, Lowery, Alley, Dover, etc., etc., etc. I'm not even CLOSE to naming half. But you get the point. But consider, especially in the case of Billy Alley and Jack Dover. They didn't stick around long. Enough time to get the feel of the bigger car and then moving on to potentially greener pastures. Before that, the upgrade generally meant they became the permanent veterans of the local field. But in this age of making the big time before 25, most talent doesn't see weekly racing as a long term goal. Many are looking to become the professional racer, not a weekend warrior. Contrary to the time after Jeff Gordon, the dirt track was an acceptable settling point as it was for many names. Champ cars, sprint cars, midgets were perfectly fine ways to "race to live." In a MotorSport magazine (the BEST racing magazine out there) article, Mario Andretti recalls his dirt car days with fondness, even racing them as late as 1974, where he won the USAC championship - five years AFTER his Indy 500 victory, three years after winning the '71 South African Grand Prix for Ferrari, and only one year before departing full time to Formula One!  But it's not that way anymore, and the success of dirt track stars in NASCAR has made it arguably worse for dirt track racing as its stars depart quickly, which in turn, leaves fields smaller and smaller as veterans retire. (Sound familiar, local sprint fans?)

The thing is, I don't see the "farm system" of the 80's and 90's coming back. So for that, we head to the "Everything old is new again" department

- I believe with about 70% certainty that given the economy we'll see the 360 class go the way of the Super Late Models at I-80. While I have NOTHING to back this up, my gut says that most of the sprint races future teams will compete in will be run under the ASCS banner at regional tracks, with - like the SLMR series, several stops at the old "home" track. But, I believe that ASCS purses have to go up (particularly at the back end), and instead of the state fair races of old, there are more big money shows like the $5000 to win Nebraska Cup and $2000 to win 9/11 Tribute at Butler County mixed in. My other feeling is that supply and demand will take over, with less of a supply of sprint races, demand increases with potentially bigger crowds (and bigger front gate takes to build up the purse).

- I forsee, like the late models have been for quite some time, the growth of the 'semi-professional' racer: the person or teams not necessarily racing to eat - but can make time to essentially race at will, at least locally. I'm thinking currently of Billy Alley, Chad Humston, Ryan Roberts and Jack Dover as examples, but many race teams can do that already. Look at how many modified teams hit 2, 3 nights a week regularly? It's not out of the question for many of the race teams out there. If not a personal career, one could certainly make a decent "racing career" as a so-called regional outlaw.

- And as much as I used to say that the ASCS regional series was irrelevant with Eagle's strong show back in the early 2000's (and I still think I was right then), I think the times have changed such that the regional series is the future, with the increase in number of shows rumored for 2010. I believe it so much, that I'm hitching my wagon to that and will devote most of my time to it next year. And before anyone I debated with in the early 2000's says "I told you so," take it easy. You had nothing to back it up and the reason I think this has more to do with the Bear-Stearns collapse or closer to home the collapse of local 410 racing than your insight. I could say Nebraska will win the Big XII this year, and if I lucked into being right, that doesn't entitle me to a place on ESPN, OK?

Having just spent the last page discounting the wingless idea, I'm not writing it off completely.

Part III - coming soon.

Saathoff wins Vegas Duel in the Desert

Saathoff hits jackpot with IMCA Modified checkers
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Duel In The Desert

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 14) – He’s had a lot of big wins during his
IMCA Modified career, but none of them paid better than the one on
Saturday night.

Johnny Saathoff passed Ricky Alvarado on the 36th of 40 laps Saturday
night at Las Vegas Motor Speed way, then held off Terry Phillps to
take the $7,777 Duel In The Desert checkers.

An event record 262 Modifieds, representing 23 states and three
Canadian provinces, were on hand for the IMCA season-ending special
at the half-mile dirt oval. Alvarado, Dominic Ursetta and Scott Drake
rounded out the top five.

Chris Abelson started on the pole but slid high and watched Alvarado
take the lead away on just the sec ond lap. Saathoff, the 2004 race
winner, was quickly in contention from his eight starting spot and
locked onto Alvarado’s back bumper in lap 15.

Bob Moore and Phillps did their best to stay in the chase, but
Alvarado and Saathoff made it a two-car race. The feature passed
midway before the first yellow came out, when Kellen Chadwick rolled
to a stop on lap 21, but the rest of the pack couldn’t take advantage
of the restart.

A spin by Steve Arpin with six to go resulted in a pile-up that
knocked out Brad Pounds, national champion Dylan Smith and Zane
DeVilbiss.

Alvarado got out of line following the ensuing restart, giving both
Saathoff and Phillips the opportunity they were looking for to get
by. Saathoff crossed the stripe three car lengths ahead of Phillips.

Winners of 12 last chance races on Saturday joined top four finishers
from two qualifying features both Thursday and Friday in the 28-car
starting grid. The previous event record of 221 Modifieds had been
set last year.

Alvarado took charge on the third circuit and led to the finish of
the Wild West Shootout. That field included top 20 point drivers from
the EQ Cylinder Heads Wild West Northern Tour and Rotating Right Wild
West Southern Tour.

Paul Stone advanced nine spots but ran out of time to reel Alvarado
in and settled for second in the 20 lapper. Lance Mari ran in front
the first two circuits and ended in third. Tyrone Yazzie and Jimmy
Reeves rounded out the top five.

Two drivers kayoed by an early crash when the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars
made their first-ever appear ance at LVMS last year went at it again
Saturday, and a last-lap pass gave Trent Murphy the $777 win over
Kevin Opheim.

Robby Rosselli set the fast pace before giving way to Murphy
following a lap eight restart. Opheim buzzed by on the next lap and
ran at the front while Murphy, Rosselli, Joe Flory and Cary White
jostled back and forth.

Murphy finally got the best of the battle and caught Opheim on lap
19. Rosselli, Flory and White were scored in that order behind the
front pair.

Stephenville Starter Southern Region champion Rex Higgins was sixth.

Feature Results
Modifieds
1. Johnny Saathoff, Beatrice, Neb.;
2. Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.;
3. Ricky Alvarado, Delta, Colo.;
4. Dominic Ursetta, Arvada, Colo.;
5. Scott Drake, Webb City, Mo.;
6. Eddie Belec, Lakewood, Colo.;
7. Bobby Hogge IV, Salinas, Calif.;
8. Jeremy Mills, Garner, Iowa;
9. Paul Stone, Winton, Calif.;
10. Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa;
11. Will Brack, Mead, Colo.;
12. Shane Stutzman, Milford, Neb.;
13. Darrick Klima, Belleville, Kan.;
14. Vern Jackson, Waterloo, Iowa;
15. Jason Brees, Strasburg, Colo.;
16. Brandon Carley, Farmington, N.M.;
17. Bob Moore, Sioux City, Iowa;
18. Steve Arpin, Cornelius, N.C.;
19. Brad Pounds, Bakersfield, Calif.;
20. Dylan Smith, Osceola, Neb.;
21. Zane DeVilbiss, Farmington, N.M.;
22. Sonny Wahl, Mohave Valley, Ariz.;
23. Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.;
24. Jay Steffens, North Platte, Neb.;
25. Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.;
26. Kellen Chadwick, Oakley, Calif.;
27. Justen Yeager, Green River, Wyo.;
28. Jay Noteboom, Hinton, Iowa.

Fourth annual Holiday Horsepower Drive

The fourth annual Holiday Horsepower Drive to provide Christmas presents to the Children at Children’s Hospital in Omaha kicked off on Sunday, November 1 with the “Second Annual Racing with the Stars” karting event at Velocity Indoor Karting in Omaha. This year’s event saw some drivers traveling great distances to participate in the event.

Drivers who participated in the event included: Brian Birkhofer, Kyle Berck, Josh Most, Andrew Kosiski, Bill Leighton Jr., Jake Kaser, Bryant Goldsmith, Jack Dover, Stu Snyder, Tad Holliman, Ryan Kitchen, Dylan Smith, Jake Neal, Mark Noble, Corey Dripps, Al Hejna, Jeremy Tibben, Rick “the Racer” Stephan, Brian Blessington, Chad Fegley, Nate Weiler and NASCAR development driver Kendell Lopez.

The event gave local fans and kart drivers a chance to race against local and regal area drivers. At the end of the night 4 fans and the fastest 4 drivers along with defending race champion Jack Dover would race in a 25 lap feature. That event turned out to be quite exciting with Dover coming from his ninth and last starting position to pass Jake Neal for the win just a couple laps from the checkers.

The drive will continue to raise money and acquire gifts for their annual gift wrapping at Quaker Steak and Lube in Council Bluffs followed by the always heartwarming trip to the hospital which will take place on Saturday, December 19. In three years the Holiday Horsepower Drive has raised over $63,000 for Christmas gifts for the patients at the hospital plus purchasing much needed equipment for the hospital.

If you would like to support the Holiday Horsepower Drive and help make sure the patients at Children’s Hospital have a wonderful Christmas, please call Buddy Ray Jones at (712)-256-5876, (712)-256-5278 or (402)-517-8144. Donations can be dropped off at:

Holiday Horsepower Drive
c/o Joe’s Karting
2121 South 32nd Street
Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501

Tickets On Sale Now For Belleville 100

BELLEVILLE, Kan. (Nov. 4) - The ticket window has swung open and race fans
can now purchase their seat for the Belleville 100 and be a part of history
at a one-of-a-kind event at a one-of-a-kind venue.

Race fans and competitors alike are already looking forward to next year
when the nation's top Modified drivers on dirt converge on the famed
Belleville High Banks for the inaugural running of the Belleville 100.

A century in the making, the three-day celebration of speed and skill will
be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 2-4, 2010, at the "World's
Fastest Half-Mile Dirt Track."

Tickets for next year's blockbuster event officially went on sale Sunday,
and judging from the response from both competitors and fans since the
format of the event was revealed in September, Belleville 100 officials
expect a lot of seats to be "gobbled up" prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Next year on Friday, July 2, the Modifieds take on the Belleville High Banks
with heat races, "B" mains and a 40-lap "A" main carrying a $5,000 top prize
and $500 to start. The top-10 finishers will be locked into Saturday night's
thrilling finale.

Saturday, July 3, will feature another round of qualifying events, followed
by a 15-lap non-qualifiers "A" main with drivers racing for $2,000 to win
and $300 to start. The thrilling conclusion will be the 60-lap championship
"A" main with 30 cars starting three-wide on the big half-mile clay oval
with $10,000 earmarked for the winner and a minimum of $1,000 for each of
the starters.

But that's not all ... the pole sitter for Saturday's championship "A" main
will have the option of starting dead last in the field and a whopping
$100,000 paycheck if he/she can win from the 30th starting position.

Dozens of contingency prizes will also be awarded during the event, plus a
Halfway Leader Award, Hard Charger Award, Hard Luck Award and more.
Attendees can also look forward to a gigantic fireworks display to round out
the Independence Day celebration.

Sunday, July 4, will include a dazzling auto thrill show and other
entertainment suitable for a 100-year celebration of auto racing, including
the Pig 100 - a not-so-light-hearted special event featuring real live pigs
and a shot at $500 for one lucky participant. The Sunday date is also being
held in reserve as a rain date for Friday or Saturday.

Only reserved seat tickets will be offered for the Belleville 100. Tickets
are $33 per night in lots of three nights (single day tickets are not
available). Family/Group ticket packages will also be available to the first
60 groups that order. Fans and/or businesses that purchase at least 10
tickets will be named a lap sponsor for Saturday's 60-lapper, be listed in
the souvenir program, receive mentions by the p.a. announcer and also get
VIP access to drivers and infield prior to Saturday's finale.

As if that wasn't enough, one name will be drawn from the first 1,000 ticket
buyers to win a new high-definition big screen television.

Belleville 100 tickets make a nice Christmas gift or stocking stuffer for
that racing friend or family member.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 402-761-3676 or by checking out the
"Downloads" section at www.belleville100.com on the World Wide Web. Entry
forms, rules and additional information can also be found on the Official
Website of the Belleville 100.

For more information about the Belleville 100, contact Wayne Dake via email
at wayne@belleville100.com or call 402-440-3977.

2010 Thoughts, Pt. I

Thank goodness I'm a football fan or I'd be bored during the off-season. Come February, I'm in a sporting funk. NBA basketball doesn't do it for me, and I quit watching NASCAR after they threw Bill Simpson under the bus following Earnhardt's death. I never felt any need to return to a series that has less flavor and is tougher to digest than a piece of microwaved butt steak. I laughed when NASCAR's bogus "Chase for the championship" registered a colossal FAIL this year for the same reason it was created in the first place - the fact that the other teams can't compete with one driver.

(insert sound of grinding gears here)

While I am born and bred to bleed Husker Red, I'm not as big a college football fan. My interests in college football extend to how it affects Nebraska. Outside of that, it's good for when nothing else is on and the worst college football beats the best of baseball any time. My football interest actually lies with the NFL. I'm a fool for the NFL (though I'm not a fantasy football guy) I read the wires daily; "Every day is like Sunday" and while I'm sure Morrissey had no visions of the pigskin when he penned the song, he seemed to have no problem cashing the check for the NFL Network commercial.

Speaking of money, don't give me any bullsh*t about college football being for the "love of the game." It's about money. Just stand next to Tom's palace at the terminus of Vine Street in Lincoln and tell me it isn't about money. When you see college teams with better facilities than the pros (save for Jerry's World in Dallas), you're damn right it's about money.

Update: the WAC hired a PR firm to make the case for a Boise State BCS trip. I'm sure it was all about school pride...

But I have no beef with that. Just admit what it is. So, it doesn't mean I'm not a Husker fan, it's just I don't buy the NCAA's "amateur" whitewash. At least the NFL admits its cash DNA. You want love-of-the game football? Then go watch a Div III or NAIA game.

But this isn't a rant about college athletics, or the merit of one sport over another. But let me draw some parallels.

Money. Racing wouldn't exist without it.

And, money is the reason the promoters are in the business of even putting these events on.

I'm not the only one to decry back gate promoting. Back gate promoting gave birth to the "support class." And it gave birth to more classes. Pretty soon, a track owner found out it was easier to just add more classes to the program than try to get an increasingly picky audience to come in to the grandstand. Sanctioning bodies found that if their own rules failed to control costs to where there wasn't growth in a class, just add another class, with just a little more restriction. You've created infinite growth, right? Something for everyone!

And hey, it's a hell of a lot easier to just add another class than to take the grief of drivers and owners bitching, much less having to actually drum up fan support, right?

Enough already. I'm not that old, but I'm old enough to remember two classes of stock car: the late model - looking more like today's Pro-Am and the "Street Stock" - like the hobby stocks of today. I'm all for creating classes out of necessity: the 360's and 410 sprints are a good example. The costs between the two were just TOO far apart. I'd argue the same about "Super" and "Limited" or "Grand National" late models. Same reason.

But the one that gets me is the SportMod. The IMCA SportMod, and you know they'll never admit it, is the IMCA's answer to its failure to control costs with the original plan for the IMCA Modified's creation in the 1970's.

Let's go back to the original plan. Wasn't the paltry out of pocket expense of a motor claim supposed to keep other teams from building up motors? Weren't the draconian limits on tires/chassis/suspension supposed to keep those motors from hooking up to the track, if the claim failed, or wasn't enforced due to fears of retribution?  Problem is, that's precisely what happened. 

It didn't work, and IMCA recognized that they might as well make the class more of a race car than a car that raced (to explain the difference, look up the Sport Compact rules) and opened up the rulebook to make the class more like "late model lite" than the original design. Personally, I LIKE the 'new' modified - far from the original creations that took to Eagle in 1985 that often resembled dogs scurrying on linoleum more than racing.

However, now came the inevitable escalation in costs. The SportMod is an attempt to get the cost containment plan right. Instead of a claim, racers can opt to install a claim-free crate motor instead. Other rules keep things in check. It's a good idea.

But...

My first experience with SportMods was as a support class at I-80. I have to confess, I found them, well, tedious. The sound of a pegging rev-limiter just doesn't do it for me. Worse than restrictor plate racing. But that was the big track. Seeing them this year on the 1/3 miles of Butler County and Eagle changed my opinion. Especially the Eagle go-round where a full field of 30+ took the track. These guys moved, throwing it into the corners, sliding out, just like the big brothers that followed them later.

"Which ones are these?" came the question from one of the Eagle officials after the SportMods finished their warmups and the "A" Mods came to the track. The answer back was that one could tell the difference because the SportMods had a spoiler.

The spoiler. That's the difference. SportMod drivers should take that as a compliment. Now, obviously there's a lot more, and the seasoned fan/observer will be able to tell the difference. But the casual fan? It's just more modifieds. That could be good or bad, depending on your preferences.

I've said before, I don't like similar classes running on the same card. I'll summarize:
- it dilutes the field, taking from the "A" group
- one could get into an "A" level modified, for the costs of buying a sport mod (I DIDN'T say you could buy Dylan Smith's or Jordan Grabouski's Modified, I said you could buy a legal A-mod)
- disincentive to move up into the classes, that, in the end are what draws fans that are more than friends and family of drivers. I have yet to see a flow upward to the A mod ranks.
- fan confusion: those few casual fans can't / don't care about the differences as they're too subtle on the outside. Even diehards don't care.

It seems, that Eagle will be running SportMods in 2010 as part of its Saturday night show. I'm not keen on that for the reasons I've listed above, especially as I feel it may dilute what is arguably the most competitive Modified show in the country.

RUMOR has it, from a credible source, that IMCA offered Eagle a monetary incentive to run the "fastest growing class." Even without incentive, 20-25 sport mods at $20/crew person are a quick way to make money...a lot more than the $20 per sprint car crew with a lot more purse payout.

Eagle, which makes concerted effort to speed the program along, has enough time trying to make the 10:30 end time goal as is. The Sprint drivers and fans (and I) have complained that starting first and ending last leaves too much time in the middle. This won't help. So...what's the reasoning here if there's no incentive or if it isn't about money?

Or...is some other change is coming? Maybe I'll figure out why I started talking about the NFL later.

What's Up

Nothing much right now - but I've had issues with email lately. LOTS of spam for some reason. Trying to get the filter tweaked has been a mess.


Bear with me. I've got a few things, mostly just some off-season thoughts.