The Pace Lap - June 15, 2011

I'm going to hit on last week and since I haven't been blogging much, a few things from a couple weeks past...


Flyin' Hi (how many tired flying/bird references can one make with a track named "Eagle?") - This weekend's Eagle Nationals lived up to the billing, with Jack Dover avenging last year's Friday flip and Saturday's second place run to pick up the win after race leader Jordan Boston spun in the closing laps. Dover was gracious to a raucous and well-stocked grandstand crowd after his win.

Boston was nearly the story of the night, as he dominated most of the 35-lap contest. He also wowed the crowd with a heat race win, passing long-time sprint car veteran Jeff Swindell late in the heat. Despite the spin, Jordan recovered the car - his lead having be so great he still hung on for third.

Two things:

One- I think the Friday rainout was a blessing in disguise, at least in terms of Saturday's crowd. Saturday's crowd was good  and while not packed to the rails, it was well above a weekly crowd, as a special should be. I'm guessing about 65-70% capacity. I worked during Friday WoO shows with less in the stands.

Two- The Eagle boys held their ground admirably. Nine of the 24 starters in the A feature raced at Eagle this year. The track went dry, after a few re-workings, with the leaders "knocking down the wall" by midway. Many of the touring stars didn't find getting around so easy. I loved it.  It took me back to the days when the 360's ran small wings, and driver like John Gerloff used to bank off the outside wall and set for a run down the backstretch. It was a bit dusty - but that's what it is.

The best place for an OK race (or: How can I say any of this without p*ssing someone off?) Despite all that was going on over Memorial Day weekend, I only went to one race: the ASCS Midwest show at Junction Motor Speedway. Delmar Friesen, Jessica Stutzman and the whole crew are first class. Despite a blow-up with a certain photographer a few years ago whose name I won't even do the honor of mentioning, I've been treated very kindly and had several nice chats with the people there. I can't say enough nice things.

I'd argue that facilities-wise JMS is - at worst - tied for the best in the state. But what I'd like to see are better support classes for the ASCS shows. I know to some, support classes mean a trip to the restroom or concession stand - but to me, I think it's an important part of the overall show.

It's not that the GOTRA, Outlaw Vintage Lites ("dwarf" cars) and Two-man Cruisers are bad, it's this:

• GOTRAs are an "exhibition" series. Their own rules dictate that it's more scripted entertainment. And that's fine - but I want some drama. 
• Vintage Lites - cars too small for a track too big (I'd rather see them at KAM or Little Sunset)
• Two-Man Cruisers - how they manage to get around is impressive, but there's usually too few, and I don't see it as very competitive top-to-bottom

I realize Delmar is not stepping on anyones toes such as Beatrice by running their classes. And I understand that JMS is a NASCAR track and IMCA and NASCAR don't play well together. But not everyone runs Beatrice. I think that a non-sanctioned support class could work. What about Late Models? On the other hand - how many would show up in the first place and how much more do you want to spend in purse? So maybe, what they do now fills the gaps without the expense. Just kind of a bummer, because I like it there. And, I'll still go regardless. I'd just like them to mix in their good Saturday lineup - there are plenty of drivers there who aren't at Eagle or Beatrice. Yes, it's just me being selfish.

For less than a 20: I've thought that one way to give fans more bang for the buck with short fields is to change the format of the racing. My take has been if you have less than 20 cars in a class - change the qualifying. Instead of the usual heat-race > A feature format, try something akin to the old Sprint Bandits: run qualifying heats, then run again in another set of heats, or qualifiers to determine the A feature. The con of this is more potential wear on the car - but I think the upside is much bigger, delivering more races to the fan.

Dust in the wind - One of the reasons I haven't posted many feature pictures this year is two-fold. Until the first week of June, the track at Eagle was a dry dirty mess. Finally, after taking extra time to pack the middle extensively for the June 4 show, they had a reasonably wet and fast track by feature time. Since I'm posting pictures for purchase, well - those dust spots are pretty ugly in print. Shooting through dust softens up the details considerably - think "Barbara Walters filter." It's not so evident on the web because you can add more contrast. And with the small sizes of pics on the web, the dust spots aren't so evident. In an 8x10 print - they're ugly.

Even when the track is not so dry, it's been tough this year. In its renovation, Eagle added wood chips and ground up drywall to the track, to prevent it from chunking up. That debris gets thrown in the air and essentially creates dust again. Maybe even worse. So most of my A feature pics just have tons of spots in them, unless you shoot early after the start. I keep shooting for posterity's sake, and to catch wrecks, but mostly - that stuff doesn't make it online simply because I don't want someone to buy a print full of dust circles.

That's it for now. I may have a few more thoughts later.

-Jason