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"Fall is Fallen"
"The Infield" by Paul Pittman
Stevens Point, WI (Sep 12, 2005): Greetings and welcome to another
week of “The Infield”. Last week, we examined the political side of
sport, believe it or not, through actual politics and despite my pre-column
declaration of what was to come, I STILL got complaints about the
subject. Get a grip guys! Anyway, for those who read through the
sarcasm and figured out what I was getting at, thank you for your
emails! So, this week, I figured I would get back to some
basics.
Traveling North with the family to Superior, my 4-year old daughter reminded
me that it was in fact, fall. Irregardless of what the calendars say,
the trees do not lie! The unmistakable color was a reminder that the
season is indeed, winding down. The Northern Nationals and the Richert
Memorial races always seem to put an exclamation point on that fact and this
year would be no different. Remember the old adage, “save the best for
last?” Well, as it should be, some of the biggest and often times the
best races are reserved for the end of the season. The June visit to
Superior had left a very sour taste in many team’s mouth. I knew
better. Having made the trip up to Superior just a couple weeks earlier,
I knew that Chris and the gang were not about to make the same mistake
twice. True to his words, a surface that defines the Superior Speedway
would treat the fans to what they had come to see. The traveling guys
meet the wondering nomads of the IRA. Kind of has a mystique about it,
huh? Chad Blonde put up one hell of an effort. Trying to make good
on his 14 hour trip, victory was in sight when Neitzel showed him his left
front tire. “I knew once I showed him the tire, that would have to be
it,” stated Neitzel after the show. True to his words, Scotty stuck
right with Chad and the fans got to see two of the country’s finest racing
at full throttle, inches apart for nearly two laps, neither lifting or giving
an inch, and not once coming even close to taking the other out! Now
THAT’S what we all come out to see. Damn! I can hardly wait
until next year!!! How do you follow that up? Easy. Take the
2-hour trip South to the Cedar Lake Speedway and watch the annual shoot out
between the IRA and Knoxville boys, and for good measure, throw in the NOSA
and just for good measure, throw some extra money up for grabs to entice some
outsiders and what you have is a recipe for a one-of-a-kind event that has now
become known as the Jerry Richert Sr. Memorial. In honor of one of the
country’s finest sprint car chauffeur’s, why would you expect anything
less? Now, just to keep things interesting, let’s ship off the winner
of the event for the past two years, along with a guy who desire to win this
one race is paralleled by a chance to win the Knoxville Nationals, to
California. With Terry and Brooke on the Outlaw circuit, it was
open season on victory lane at Cedar Lake.
Wayne Johnson was certainly up to the task. Picking up the first win of
the Masters back in June, Wayne had the FATTFRO #14AJ hooked up and it looked
seriously like it would be a two horse show between him and Justin
Henderson. Justin and Wayne traded slide job after slide job, often
exchanging the lead two or three times a lap. A red and a late yellow
though would be the spoilers though as, you know what they say; “An engine
is ALWAYS faster, right before it blows up” and let me tell you, the motor
under the hood of the 14 was plenty fast. Then BAM! There goes
Wayne, the sportsman he is. Knowing that his chance at victory had just
gone up in smoke (literally), he made every effort to clear the track so the
race would continue under green. As if to say “screw you” one more
time though, the motor would seize up and the car would stop just after
cresting the turn 3 exit. Frustrated, dejected and upset, Wayne retired
to his hauler. But wait, it’s not over yet because Justin’s motor is
running hot. Last year, McCarl said in victory lane that his motor was
so hot that he did not know if it would make it, but he was not about to pull
it off while leading. Taking a page out of the history book, Justin
would duplicate the effort and find victory lane in the 2005 version.
Thirty down: Two to go! With the exception of all of the bent cars this
weekend, it was a good weekend overall. Much as I hate it though, I have
to admit that it is still racing and given the type of racing we do, it will
happen, so with that in mind, lets get to it, shall we?
News and Notes from “The Infield”
• Randy Anderson and Gregg Baker found themselves turning different steering
wheels this past weekend. A victim of circumstances on both night’s,
Randy’s turn behind the wheel of the #17 could have gone better. Gregg
Bakker’s debut at Superior also could have been better, but Gregg and
company bounced back nicely on Saturday night to finish second in one of the
season’s crown jewels. Gregg has stepped into the cockpit of the #1H
as the team has recently reformed. As the #1H keeps plugging away, a 410
victory cannot be that far away as they have now proven to be very fast with
both drivers at the helm.
• Andy Hunt was another victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time
as he found his mount sitting awkwardly on Superior’s surface during the A
Main at Superior. The incident left Andy scrambling for parts in the pit
area. Talking with Andy on Saturday at Cedar Lake, Andy was undaunted
and ready to go racing again. “I can’t say enough about Todd and
Traci at TNT Pools. They have really stuck in there and stuck it out
with me. I know that the season hasn’t gone the way we wanted or
expected, but they’ve really been encouraging and motivating me through it
all. They are real fans. Scotty (Neitzel), Rick (Lemanski) and
everyone at R&H (Enterprises) has also been a godsend.” Andy did
in fact bounce back to finish the Richert Memorial in 14th spot. Not too
shabby for borrowed and used parts!
• Some new faces this past weekend included newcomers Duane Olsen and Ryan
Wilson, both out of Superior (sort of). Duane is a graduate of the
stockers that run at Superior on a weekly basis, living a dream of racing a
sprint car. Having purchased a former Darrell Dodd machine, I have to
admit that I was a bit skeptical watching Duane turn his first laps during the
demo at Superior with Billy Balog. Seat time is everything and after
four shows in the car now, there is definite improvement! Living the
dream: What a concept! Ryan is a UW Superior student who runs his
dad’s 360 out of Grand Rapids, MN. The heavy track surface took it’s
toll on Ryan’s confidence though as it kept him and his dad guessing as how
to keep the car in gear when he gassed it up. Short of rigging up a
come-a-long, Ryan tried his best. I’ll give him credit. Too many
talk a long line. Only a few have the guts to strap in. Living a
dream. Man! We need more dreamers!!!
• Lynton Jeffrey also found himself behind the wheel of a new, yet familiar
car as he and Leonard McCarl made the trip to Cedar Lake, only to load the car
up early after Lynton ended up on his head during the A-Main. Where did
John Vandenburg get too now and why do I get the feeling that it involves four
wheels, a steering wheel and a throttle.
• Do me a favor. The next time you run into guys like Greg Parent,
shake their hand and say thanks! Greg (GRP) put up a ton of his own
money without any prompting to reward not one, but all three clubs’ hard
chargers on Saturday. Then, to top it all off, after telling Greg about
Chad Blonde’s Friday night’s heartbreaking loss to Scotty Neitzel after a
14 hour trip to Superior, a quick thinking Greg came up with a “Long Hauler
Award” to reward the effort. OK, so right now $100 doesn’t put a lot
in the tank, but I didn’t see anyone else making any attempt. We need
more fans like Greg Parent in racing! A heartfelt thanks!
• In talking with Jerry Richert Jr. after Saturday’s race, we went through
the list of those making his dad’s race so special. While that list is
published elsewhere, the one thing that was very evident. Jerry had a
lot of friends and fans. Growing up in central PA, I didn’t often hear
the names of those from the Midwest unless they traveled East for a special
show. Jerry was one that I faintly remember hearing announcers like
Frank Sagi talking about at the Hagerstown Speedway while growing up, but it
just never really registered. Over the past five years, I have really
developed a healthy respect for the Jerry Richert legacy, as well as his
son.
• Scott Young has qualifying down to a science. Of course, I probably
just jinxed that, but I don’t think he’ll mind that either. You see,
Scott has bested the field in time trial three times in a row. Now then
if you think it is a fluke, you’re wrong! Scott did this against the
Knoxville teams that made the trip to Cresco and then after Superior’s
performance, he backed it up in none other then the Richert
Memorial. Throw in a couple heat race wins and Scott is
doing everything he can to stay within reach of point leader Scotty Neitzel.
It is great to have a points deal between these two guys. They are both
clean racers that give it everything they have, every lap of every race.
True championship performances irregardless of the final outcome.
• Speaking of Scotty Neitzel, Scotty’s performance this past weekend was
championship caliber as well. It would have been VERY easy for Scotty to
sit back and follow Blonde across the line for second, playing the
conservative role heading into the final couple of races towards championship
night, but then, if you thought that, then you don’t know Scotty Neitzel, do
you! He’s a racer too and the idea of someone in front of him is
enough to make him sit up in the seat even more. That’s exactly what
happened at Superior and you don’t always win titles by being
conservative. You definitely don’t win sprint car races that
way. Not anymore!
• Along with the heavy tracks and the speed, come the damage and between Tim
St.Arnold and Scott Biertzer, both watched their drivelines snap like
toothpicks. St.Arnold watched his efforts fall to the wayside at
Superior while Biertzer ended up with a bruise from the same scenario at Cedar
Lake. I suppose it wasn’t all bad though for the #4B team. It
could have been worse (memories of The Masters and the tumble down the front
stretch at Cedar Lake). The addition of the Scott Biertzer “Fan Club” at
Cedar Lake was also a nice sight. We need more of these to keep fans
rockin’. I love it!
Well, as I’ve probably taken up too much of your time already, I had better
let you get back to work before the boss has a fit at you, and then me.
If he does, just tell him to relax, there are only a couple races to go
yet! If he still has that look, then invite him or her out to one of the
final shows of the season so then they will know why you are so anxious to get
to leave work on Friday to go racing! Or even worse: Why you are so
anxious to get to work on Monday to read the latest ranting in “The
Infield.” (Self-less plug!) As we head into the final two shows (Dodge
County Fairgrounds on Sept 17th and the Frank Filskov Fall Classic (Oct 1),
the points battle between Scotty Neitzel and Scott Young is shaping up to be
one to watch. It seems like no matter where we are, these two wind up
side by side and by the checkered flag in the feature, they are both right
there. The Rookie of the Year deal is a little wider, but K.J. Skelton
looks like he is going to make a race of that as well. Hopefully he’ll
be able to get something together for these last two shows as I know the team
has been putting everything they have into the program thus far. K.J. is
another racer though and you can bet that as long as there is someone to race,
he’ll do everything he can to race ‘em! After the Cedar Lake crash,
he needs to find that horse to climb back on. Well, you know where
I’ll be over the next couple weeks and throw onto that for good measure, a
World of Outlaw race on Sep 24th at Powercom Park and the Indian Summer
Classic in Antigo (Yeah it’s a late model race but it’s still a race,
isn’t it?) on Oct 7th and 8th, and the end of the season isn’t quite as
far off as it may seem. Just don’t let the trees know!
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