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"The Infield" by Paul Pittman
Fennimore, WI (Sept 5, 2004): Well, we almost made it a whole weekend without
the wet stuff, but as the old adage goes, almost only counts in horse shoes
and hand grenades.
Lancaster was different this year. With the new promoters in place (Simmons
Promotions Inc) you got the distinct feeling that they had a lot of plans for
improvements but were somewhat frustrated that they didn’t have the time in
2004 yet to accomplish those tasks. Nonetheless, they stood committed to
finish out the racing season and have done a great job at keeping the fan base
intact.
Carrying over an idea from last year to this year was a gamble but seemed to
pay off for everyone. Who ever would dream of running 7 classes of cars along
with the sprints. Well, what if I told you that not only could it be done, but
be done effectively and with less laps on the track as two support divisions.
A fact and the fact that they pulled it off again for the second time in two
years now moves from fluke to proof that it can be done. Being creative comes
in many different ways and this is certainly one. By running only the
features, not only did the track surface stay healthy all night, but the fans
were treated to non-stop action all night. With the planned out order of
events giving teams ample time to work on cars, they were able to have cars
set up for one of the most competitive races of the year. Not only were the
heat races spectacular with close racing wherever you looked, but by he time
the checkered flag flew on the feature, the only complaint that might have
been heard was possibly a stiff neck from trying to watch all the action at
once. It wasn’t like there were a couple cars dicing it out. There was hard
side by side racing from the front to the rear. They also proved, although I
am still not sure how they did it, but you can race 4-wide at Lancaster. On
several occasions, the action was so intense, I found myself simply stepping
back to enjoy it.
When it was all said and done, Joe Roe had managed to hold off Jason Solwold
in a battle that will keep many talking for a long time. Even third place
finisher Brook Tatnell seemed almost in awe at what he had watched transpire
in front of him. Good hard clean racing all night long. Now, this is what were
here to do!
Sunday’s show at Cresco was in hurry up mode from the get go. With a not so
promising forecast, every attempt at moving the show as fast as possible was
made. Time Trials came and went and the first two heats clicked off relatively
without incident and all seemed to be moving along right on pace. Then things
changed. Jason Johnson spun his #44 entering turn #4 and got the car up on the
concrete retaining wall. Metal clasps then sliced the bottom of the fuel cell,
spilling it’s contents onto the track, the wall and the car. Almost
immediately, the fuel ignited in a fireball that quickly got Jason’s
attention. Making a hasty exit, Johnson was met by the Mid West Safety team
who, after checking on Johnson’s condition, went to work promptly on
Johnson’s Eagle. Fire out: now lets get the car off the track and get back
to racing, right? NOT! Here comes the “R” word. Relentless in it’s
efforts to end the evening’s events, Cresco officials finally gave in after
their own battle to save the track and get the show in. It just wasn’t meant
to be. The show was cancelled. Done. Lets move on…
Notes and News From The Infield Jason Solwold’s second place finish
at Lancaster backed up his second place finish at Jackson the night before,
having followed Brook Tatnell across the line there on Friday night. “I
really want to win and this group of guys is about as tough as it gets,”
stated Solwold on Lancaster’s front stretch after finishing second to Joe
Roe. “I’ve heard a lot about the (The IRA) and I believe it.”
Solwold’s heat race win on Sunday at Cresco seemed to sound off that he was
more than ready for another shot at the top spot.
Joe Roe’s win at Lancaster marked a return of sorts for the defending IRA
champion. After being sidelined the past few weeks with engine problems,
Roe’s #61 definitely had the power needed to run Lancaster’s bottom
groove, drag racing Solwold down the backstretch lap after lap. With the
exception of watching Whitney’s early race wheelies, Roe missed most of the
action going on behind him.
I asked Travis how his arms were at Cresco, knowing the answer in advance. You
see, Whitney drove his #9 for nearly a full two-thirds of the race without any
front shocks. “It felt like driving something with only springs on it,”
stated Whitney. “I knew I was in trouble so I just tried to drive it with
the rear wheels, but it was definitely a handful.” Whitney salvaged a top
ten finish for his efforts.
Steve Meyer was on the move Saturday at Lancaster. After a disappointing show
in his heat race which saw him sent to the pits, a victim of the 2 yellow
rule, Meyer transferred through the B after a stout battle with Jason Johnson.
(Did I neglect to say that the racing was just as intense in the Bs as well?
It was!) Meyer stated the A main in the 11th position and by mid race, had
worked up to the top five. Meyer would find himself in forth at the finish,
bested by Billy Warren’s eleven spots improved for the DMI Hard Charger
award.
A weekend that Terry McCarl would like to forget. After being involved in an
incident at Jackson on Friday night, the team was forced to miss Lancaster’s
show on Saturday. Then the rain on Sunday did nothing for the spirits. When
you race for a living, weekends like this can definitely have a negative
affect on the bank book. Look for McCarl and company back next weekend at
compete at the Northern Nationals and then defend his title at the Jerry
Richert Memorial race.
Finally, that was not a mouse or chipmunk I had with me in the tower on
Saturday at Lancaster. After fighting an approaching cold most of the week,
the unthinkable happened during Saturday night as the voice decided to go on
hiatus. Apologies to those who thought I was muffled Saturday. It was simply a
matter of fighting to get words out at all. My thanks to Jerry Mackey for all
his help as well as the folks at Cresco for stepping up to help as well. Fans
do not want to hear these kinds of things when cars are on the track. They
want to hear what’s going on and with all of you guys helping, we were able
to do just that in an informative and, I hope, an entertaining format. Thanks
again guys! Will be giving the pipes a good rest in the next few days so
emails only please. Those emails can be sent to arppix@arppix.com.
Until then, we’ll see everyone from back up North next weekend.
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