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The Outlaws @ Powercom Park: Revisited
The Infield by Paul Pittman
Stevens Point, WI (Sept 26, 2004): The weather in Beaver Dam (WI) this time of
year is as moody as I have been of late. Typical Wisconsin weather. What can
you say? Still, the weather greeting the weary band of nomads known as
"The World of Outlaws" was, simply put, beautiful. It almost served
to raise spirits and make the lack of sleep from the trip from Jackson (MN)
almost bearable. With only the Outlaws on the card, there was a notion that
things could wind up early and, dare I say, beat the predicted cool
temperatures for later in the evening. First clue: Sixty-Five cars signed in
for competition. OK, it could be a little later than originally thought but
hey, no problems. With that many cars of this caliber in the pit area, it
almost seemed like a mini-Knoxville Nationals (minus Knoxville). Oh yeah,
that's right. It was cold then too. Oh well. It was going to be what it would
at this point but one thing was sure. The fans in Beaver Dam welcomed back the
Outlaws in force. They know that there will be a strong contingent of locals
to make things interesting and besides, it's the Outlaws!
The temps weren't the only thing chilly though Saturday night, but that's
another demon I have to deal with personally, but I do want to publicly say
thanks to those who did step forward and relate your support for my recent
lectures. It means a lot and tells me that there really is this sleeping giant
that has been overlooked. Whether or not waking it up is the right thing to do
or not, may not matter because you can bet your bottom dollar, the
"off-season" will see some of these issues disputed and hopefully
resolved. At my expense? Who knows. Doesn't matter to me. I do this because of
my passion for the sport, not to make everyone feel good. As some can attest
to, I gave up a long time ago worrying whether or not I was making people mad,
trying to make everyone happy. It's not going to happen. Certainly not in this
sport.
Back to the Outlaws. The National Anthem ushering the night's events at 8pm
should have been my second clue. Still, it was possible, wasn't it? Reality
sunk in when the first heat headed for the green flag. No sooner then the
start was called back, then Kim Mock found himself on the wrong end of the red
flag again. Time to call the sitter. This was going to be a long night. Mock's
night would be short lived. A broken frame as a result of a very hard track
surface. At the same time, starter Jim Barr was nearly knocked from the flag
stand when a flying object (never identified or recovered) struck the lexan
shield on the stand, shattering it and reinforcing the earlier decision.
"I'm OK" stated Barr when queried about the incident.
"Something just hit it and knocked me down. I've had worse. Let's go
racing!" For the record, Jim has seen worse. Flagging at Angel Park over
the years has seen everything from debris to the occasional "visiting
car" in the stand. The good news here though is that all were ok.
The second heat race lived up to it's name as Brian Paulus' tried a new flame
job on his #28. Some questioned why Brian didn't just shut the car down at the
first hint of fire. The answer for that is that more often then not, a small
oil fire on the headers will extinguish itself and there was no reason at this
point to believe that this was anything but that. That is until the flames
engulfed the cockpit heading down the backstretch. Quick reaction from the
Mid-West Safety team kept further damage to Paulus' mount and a new bullet was
installed before B-Main.
The Outlaw's dashes are their format to line up the field for the A-Main. It's
no secret that it, in most cases, favors the Outlaw teams and whether or not
you like it is immaterial. The fact is, it is a part of their program and like
I said, most of the time. Any time you put racers on the track, you can
guarantee that they'll be racing. With everyone recognizing the track surface
and what they had in store for them, the start would be the determining
factor. Like I said, in most cases, it works and all get through in tact for
the A. Yeah. Talk to Dean Jacobs about that. In an incident similar to the one
at Eldora that saw his mount flipping wildly, Tim Shaffer and Tim Keading
bumped wheels at the start. Nothing new here. Everyone had been playing bumper
tag all night. But you knew it was inevitable. Their contact sent Keading
against the wall and airborne. Terry McCarl, with no where to go, got
collected and the two found themselves twisted in the infield entering turn
#1. Some anxious moments finally saw Kaeding emerge from his wreckage while
McCarl was already pondering just how bad the damage to his car was. Keading
would call it quits for the evening while McCarl resorted to bolting on enough
to take the green flag and pulling in out of harms way, unable to put the
backup car together in time.
"We're still regrouping from Jackson" stated McCarl, referring to
his September 3rd incident that destroyed a car. "That still has to be
one of the hardest crashes I have ever had but this kind of stuff makes you
feel old fast."
Speaking of the B-Main, when was the last time Danny Lasoski, Brian Paulus,
Erin Crocker, Kraig Kinser and a host of others including IRA Champions all
found themselves in the B-Main together? Like I said earlier, that many cars
of this caliber of competition will lead to unusual events. While the B-Main
was lining up, it looked like an A-Main that most promoters would pay big
bucks for.
B-Main done and time for the A. things are moving along fairly well now so
there's still a shot at getting home at a decent time. Cool. Oh, by the way,
did I mention that it was really starting to cool off. Looking into the
grandstands, it reminded me of being at Lambeau field. With everyone huddled
together under blankets in heavy coats, I'll give the fans credit. No one
left! They knew there was still one heck of a race coming. Tim Shaffer's debut
in the Casey's #6 on the Outlaw's first visit to Powercom in 2004 saw him
collected in an incident while leading and on a mission. Picking up right
where he left off, Shaffer used his pole position to jump to an early lead. A
lap #12 red for 3rd place runner Donny Schatz didn't even slow Shaffer up as
he bested King Kinser at the finish. Lonnie Parson's decision to put Shaffer
in the seat finally paid off and got him his 1st Outlaw win of the season. And
better yet, on their way back towards Pennsylvania next weekend after a quick
stop in Michigan on Monday.
Notes and News from the Infield
Travis Whitney had a good run and finish on Saturday night after a
disappointing night at Jackson on Friday. Discussing Saturday's performance,
Whitney related that he had developed engine trouble during the A Main that
resulted in a loss of one cylinder. "We would have liked to have seen
what we could have done with everything right, but in all reality, had we been
firing on all eight cylinders, we more than likely would have burnt the tires
up and had an even worse finish. Anytime you can run in the top ten with these
guys, you did good". Whitney finished 7th as the highest finishing IRA
regular in the field.
Scott Biertzer also had a good run on Saturday. Funny thing about Scott and
he'll probably get mad at me for saying this but it seems that he drives that
much better when someone is trying to intimidate him. Brooke Tatnell tried it
at Superior in the spring race and which resulted in Scott sitting up in the
seat and racing Tatnell and taking the win. Similar situation on Saturday.
Kraig Kinser tries to put a slide job on Scott in turn number two, figuring it
will slow the local down. Wrong! Scott sits up, never lifts and drives right
back by him. Result: Kraig does a 360 and shuts his mount down. Go back and
research it but I said from day number one that this team would come to life
and sooner or later, they will. I think confidence will be a key factor and
from talking to them after the show, it's starting to show. They are now
gaining confidence in their motor program and the more the driver tells
himself that he can actually go out there and drive just like any one of the
visitors, he'll find that he actually is as good as we already know he can be.
Look out!
Speaking of putting a motor program together, Bill Warren also showed well
Saturday night, holding off the likes of Kerry Madsen, Travis Whitney, Danny
Lasoski, Wayne Johnson and Kelly Kinser in his heat race to qualify for the
Dash and the A Main. AS covered above, the dashes are structured for a reason
so just being in the dash was a victory for Billy and a solid finish in the
finale' netted Bill some needed confidence as well going into the IRA's final
event of the season. Doing it in front of a huge home town crowd helps a lot
too!
Summarizing, despite the grumbling and growling heard above the motors in the
pit area, there is a certain level of confidence that comes by running well in
company such as this. I guess it really sums up what I have been trying to get
across lately. You can choose to race at a level that is comfortable to you,
running at the middle of the pack and hoping that luck will find your way or
you can enter the pit area knowing that you have just as good a shot as anyone
else that is there on any given night. A conversation with Ed Gifford left me
with these words. "Racing is 50% mental attitude, 25% pre-race effort at
the shop and 25% performance. If a driver thinks he's beaten before he gets in
the car, he is. I (Ed) hire a driver to go out and drive a race car. I know
what he's capable and I can see when something is wrong." He's right!
Standing in the turn with the camera gave me a chance to really think about
his words and I remembered back to when I would stand and watch a driver
through the lens. Watching their reactions and determination, you can get a
good indication of what might be going on under the brain bucket. Racing is
about the confidence to go out and lay it on the line. It's about finding that
edge and seeing just how far you can push it. It's about walking that fine
line between control and out of the park. Racing is racing and it should never
be anything else.
Next weekend, I'll be at the Sheboygan County Fair Park where the IRA will
finish up the 2004 season. Joining the sprinters (and a high car count is once
again expected as we honor our own, Frank Filskov), will be the return of the
Late Models. Without a doubt, one of the best Fall Classics ever was when the
Late Models joined the program before and SLS has even bettered that for this
year with "Fan Appreciation" motif planned. You'll want to come
early and enjoy the activities as many teams will have their cars displayed
behind the grandstands before the night's events. The sprint car simulator
will be there for anyone thinking they might have what it takes to get behind
the wheel of a sprint car and as a special treat, my Flat Out magazine college
Rob McCuen will have his band, the "White Hot Tizzies" there for pre
race entertainment. For anyone unable to make it for whatever reason that
might be, we'll also be broadcasting it on SCN but you will want to be a part
of this whole thing. Anyone wanting to write to me, I'll be warming up with
some warm tea and reading my email at arppix@arppix.com.
Come early, come late, but just come on out and help send off the 2004 season
for the IRA in style.
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