Nebraska Cup Thoughts

This Sunday I attended my last race of the season, the 2012 Nebraska Cup. With the fate of the 360’s sealed as a weekly show (done), I felt that I needed to make it out to the race. A nice afternoon with a cool evening led to a fast track and racy track with good races as Jason Johnson three-peated and walked out with not only the winner’s share of $5,000 but every cent of the lap leader money as he mastered all 30 circuits starting from the pole position. It was a good show all around. Some unfortunate accidents as both Don Droud Jr. and Tige Jensen broke axles sending them on rough tumbles. Jensen was dominating his heat race before his crash. Mike Boston got on his head on the opening lap of the A in a nowhere-to-go accident resulting from chaos down the front stretch.

But Johnson put on the proverbial clinic, with Jack Dover taking another Ford-powered sprinter to second, briefly challenging on a late-race restart.

Some thoughts in and around the track:

- Not sure if it’s the last Nebraska Cup featuring the 360 Sprints. I’ve heard that there will be a few 360 sprint races at Eagle, but under the ASCS Midwest banner. The annual Eagle Nationals is also expected to return, probably as another ASCS National Tour event.

- The “50th Anniversary” 305-cubic inch sprinter made several circuits of the track during intermission. While certainly no slouch, and the car will still be the fastest thing on Saturday nights, the difference was evident. Some over the radio made derisive comments mocking the “not a real sprint car” sentiment and stated “I beg anyone to tell the difference!” I could, easily. It was not subtle. They were noticeably quieter and slower. A sprint car, yes. But different. After several months away during the offseason a casual fan may not be able to tell next year, but that night it was very evident. The hype from the paid employees was damped a little when they folks upstairs refused to put the car’s lap times on the scoreboard. But I understand given the speeds set during the heats, which included some of the fastest 360’s in the country, combined with the 305 not in ‘race mode,’ maybe the similarities were best left to speculation. No need to fan any flames.

- That said, I wish the 305’s success next year. I also wish the 360 group success as well, with maybe a little more enthusiasm than II had before. Not being privy to all the details, but meetings with representatives from the ASCS Midwest are pointing to a partnership with the sanctioning body as opposed to a separate touring series. There will be some distinctions and group-only incentives. We’ll find out more.

- I tip my hat to the Hobby Stock and Sport Mod groups. Particularly the Hobbies. They put on a very clean show. For all the bumpin’ and grindin’ they do on the track, they find a way to keep the cars straight come feature time. With Eagle being more of a “rhythm” track, the Hobby Stocks have a NASCAR on the super-speedway quality to them. And generally, that race isn’t decided until the late laps. The Sport Mods have gone past their infancy looking like dogs on linoleum to produce some clean racing of their own. But the pegging rev limiters is something I can’t get used to.

- An observation made by push truck driver, friend and fellow wise-cracker Mike Peterson was very astute: what may have relieved the tensions between the Eagle teams and management was...a rainout. Or a couple of them. Let the misery of the past week die off. But each (hot) weekend, the tempers and bad blood continued to maintain their heat. It was an interesting take because three people, from three different teams said something similar - and unsolicited from me. The constant weekly schedule took a toll on their wallets, their personal lives, their desire to be there. Couple this with the back-gate promoter mentality of needing to have the doors open every week to the pit-pass-paying masses or to the premier class drawing the front gate and you have a grind that takes out even the most serious racer. Another reason I dislike the concept of the back gate nature of the sport. I’m looking at you RPM. I’ve always thought a break would help. It’s getting a promoter willing to turn off that money spigot that’s the problem. On the other hand, burn ‘em out and that well runs dry.

- More talk, but under-the-breath statements suggest there may be more than a few of the local 360 guys willing to run with the 305’s at Eagle, either with restrictors, or going to purchase a 305 motor entirely. In some cases the thought of rebuilding a 360 vs. buying a new 305 is leaning in the 305’s favor. I’m not expecting a mass defection, but there may be more familiar faces at the track than we are led to believe next season. The factor most often cited - and the trump card in Roger’s hand is: they get to race close to home (and their sponsors). We’ll see how it turns out. 

Until the next time. 

-Jason