HAWKEYE OVALS

Chili Bowl Rookie

2012-01-16T23:21:00.001-06:00

By Dan Zimmermann
Hawkeye Ovals Chili Bowl Correspondent

I have been home now for 24 hours and have been able to fully digest my first Chili Bowl experience. It is just that, an experience. Sure, there are races going on but the weeklong festivities are much more than just a race. It is a chance to escape the reality of winter for a few days of being with friends from all over the US and beyond. The trade show is large and diverse. It is a great way to spend any leftover Christmas money. The pits are open for those who buy pit passes and I would highly suggest purchasing one. It is the most unique pit experience in racing.

Our hosts for the weekend were Bob McCutchan and Scott Chilcutt. I know I speak for all in our group, we can’t say enough how much we appreciated their hospitality and transportation back and forth from the Quik Trip center. We were able to run into several friends that we normally only see at the Knoxville Nationals or at other racing events during the year. The event has the feeling of a Knoxville Nationals for midgets. Wherever we went, we saw people wearing their racing shirts. Our hotel was full of Chili Bowl fans. One of the best parts of the trip was seeing friends and making new ones.

We left Iowa on Thursday morning with an Arctic blast sending us down I-35. We have only had one measurable snow in Iowa until last week. Of course the second one had to occur the night before we left. Fortunately the 30 mph winds helped blow the snow off of the interstate so we were able to safely arrive in Tulsa. Excitement was at a fever pitch when we arrived in the parking lot. I had an idea of how large the Quik Trip center was but seeing it in person was much more than I could have imagined. The complex the building sits on is also most enormous with a ¾ mile dirt track, water park, baseball stadium, and other pavilions spread around the facility. Inside the Quik Trip center was eye opening to say the least. The track itself sits on about 1/3rd of the floor space. The stands can hold an impressive amount of people. The news estimated 15,000. I’m not sure how accurate that is but I know there are a lot of people there from all over. I was very impressed with a couple other aspects of the Quik Trip center. The place stays very clean, they are very conscious of cleanliness and it was noticeable how well the maintenance crew took care of the facility. The second was the diverse options for eating and drinking that are available there. Prices are similar to what you would pay at a fair. The food was good and you could pretty much find about anything you would be hungry for. I would also suggest paying for pit passes. No place else can you enjoy a beverage of your choice and be front and center with the cars and race teams. There are a few deals to be had on t shirts in the pits. It is a great feeling to add to the racing shirt collection in January!

The racing is the main attraction of course and the Chili Bowl features wall to wall action. To channel my inner Steve Evans, the Chili Bowl is full contact auto racing. The MMA of motorsports and the race track in the Quik Trip center is the octagon. Bumps, spins, crashes, and flips are part of the action. The weekend’s most spectacular flip was performed by Blake Hahn in his Friday heat race. The track was especially tacky in the heats and Blake launched himself off of turn 2 and ended up coming to a stop in turn 3. At one point he completed two mid air flips without touching. The course workers were there quickly and somehow his team miraculously fixed the car in time for one of the C features. Unfortunately for Blake, he would turn the car over in the C feature as well. Joey Moughan went over a right rear and his car tumbled into the catch fence. His roll cage was bent and we hadn’t heard if he was ok. Hopefully he is as it took a while to get his car into a safe position. Before the A main rolled off on Saturday night, 64 cars had gotten upside down. Levi Jones made that 65 on the first lap of the A main after going over a right rear.

Of course great racing is also present and the best races in my opinion were the A qualifiers. The drivers were going all out for those all important starting positions in the A main. The track crew does a great job keeping the track in racing condition. A tractor pulls a sprayer around between heats to keep the racing groves moist and limit the amount of dust that is flying. Earl Baltes would be proud. Wheel banging and bumper crunching slide jobs are part of the excitement. Like any racing, tv can’t really do justice to the amount of action on the track. The cars can reach some pretty serious speed on the Tulsa bull ring. I was impressed by Rico Abreu who was making his first Chili Bowl A main start. I know he had made quite an impression in Australia and he was certainly a hit in Tulsa. He will certainly have a great career in sprint cars and midgets. Fellow Californian and Chili Bowl rookie Richard Vanderweerd was also impressive winning the first B feature. He was the only rookie to make the A main on Saturday night.

Like most big races, the twin B features on Saturday night would feature serious racing for transfer spots and some ruffled feathers in the pits after the races were over. The first B main, Kevin Ramey was running solidly in 2nd place. Coleman Gullick was in the rear of the pack and looped his car in turn 4. Instead of coming to a stop, he tried to do a 360 which went wrong and he drove right into Ramey’s path. Ramey punted him in the rear bumper which caused him to stall. Because he required a push, Ramey was sent to the rear with only a handful of laps left. Obviously upset, Ramey looked to vent his frustrations on Gullick. However the other Klatt entry of Bobby East was in the race and Ramey whacked him instead of Gullick as they had similar tail tanks. The second B main featured similar revenge tactics that were taken up a notch. Excitement was in the air as Jac Haudenschild was on the outside pole. On the initial start, Daryn Pittman stalled coming to take the green. While we were watching that, Haud scattered Indy Race Parts in turn one. Unfortunately he was unable to make repairs and did not make the call for the restart. Brady Bacon and Zach Daum battled for the lead when contact in turn one and two send Bacon on his lid. Back on 4 wheels, Bacon drove into the rear of Daum’s teammate Mike Hess on the restart which sent the 5h spinning and ultimately tipped over. Hess may not have known at the time of the initial incident but he wasn’t going to go quietly. On the next restart he cross checked Bacon in turn 3 sending the Wilke car backwards. Pressure is high to make the A main and it certainly showed on Saturday night.

The A main was a Swindell battle. Sammy gave it his all but could not make a pass for the lead. With 3 laps to go, Sammy got into a lap car down the front stretch that sent his tail end skyward. He fortunately returned the rear tires to the track but that incident eliminated any chance of a pass for the win. The A main was lengthened to 55 laps to honor Donnie Ray Crawford. News of what happened to Donnie started circulating on social media Saturday morning. A sadness was felt by everyone who was part of the event whether they knew Donnie or the Crawfords. Immediately honorariums were put into place. Brian Brown racing contributed $555 for the leader on lap 55 of the A main. The opening ceremonies held several tributes to Donnie. Donna Hahn read a touching poem about Donnie. We were treated to a video of his victory interview from his 2011 Chili Bowl prelim victory. Matt Ward and Blake Hahn carried a banner in honor of Donnie as the driver’s states were being introduced. Matt Ward also drove Donnie’s car in the parade laps before the feature. I can’t imagine what was going through his mind but I know he was very honorable in driving that car. I think all of us in the building carried emotions of sadness during this part of the event. We are all praying for the Crawfords and offer our sincere condolences.

My first Chili Bowl won’t be my last. I think everyone who is an open wheel dirt racing fan should attend this event at some point. Seeing this quality of racing in January is a great way to make winter less painful. The event staff does a tremendous job and being around racing friends whether you know them or not is one of the great parts of the Chili Bowl.

Spicy Hot

2012-01-09T08:37:00.000-06:00

by Hawkeye Ovals Chili Bowl Correspondent Dan Zimmermann

The Bus House Gang is making its first en masse voyage to the Chili Bowl this year. A few of us have made the trek to Tulsa in the past but this is the first year we have a large group headed south out of Iowa. I’ve been attending sprint car races since 1978 but for some reason, this is the first time I’ve went to the Chili Bowl. I’m sure it won’t be the last and I’ll probably be kicking myself for waiting this long to go. For those of us who are rookies, we have heard about what the Chili Bowl is like. We have seen the pictures and watched the races on tv. However, I don’t think we will be able to grasp the enormity of what the Chili Bowl really is. I’ll attempt to bring my view of the Chili Bowl from a first time fan’s perspective including a few photos from our journey. Our gracious hosts for the weekend are Scott Chilcutt and Bob McCutcheon. Hopefully they take some pity on us after their Sooners gave our Hawkeyes a butt kicking in the Insight Bowl. Football is in the rear view mirror now and the only bowl that really matters starts in a handful of days.

The Chili Bowl is a big melting pot, not only of competitors from many racing disciplines but fans from across the country who are dying for some racing. It is hard for me to fathom a racing event with 260+ competitors. I’ve seen the pictures of the pit area with the haulers all parked indoors. I can’t wait to be able to walk through the pit area and soak in the atmosphere. I only wish all my racing friends could be with us on this trip. We know you all will be with us in spirit. The racing at the Chili Bowl is as intense as any race in the world. Luck plays a huge role in a drivers result. The numerous spins, crashes, and flips can ruin an otherwise perfect evening. There will be top flight drivers mired in D, E, F, mains or worse come Saturday night. There will be surprise drivers making the A main and we’ll ask ourselves, how the hell did so and so make the A feature?? I’m excited to see Kyle Larson, Steve Buckwalter, and Tony Stewart wheel their midgets around the bull ring. I can’t wait to watch 10+ hours of racing come Saturday! I’ll try to capture the spirit of the thing and keep things within the boundaries of good taste (had to get a couple Slap Shot references in here). I have made an attempt to rank the top 50 entries coming into the Chili Bowl. Use this information in your fantasy pool at your own risk. To my facebook buddies, I’ll have regular photo updates so check those out. I can’t wait to get the car headed south, lets go racing!!!

BHG Spicy Hot Power Rankings:
1. Sammy Swindell, 2. Kevin Swindell, 3. Tony Stewart, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Kyle Larson, 6. Dave Darland, 7. Jerry Coons Jr, 8. Levi Jones, 9. Michael Pickens, 10. Chris Windom, 11. Steve Buckwalter, 12. Darren Hagen, 13. Brad Sweet, 14. Jon Stanbrough, 15. Cory Kruseman, 16. Tracy Hines, 17. Brady Bacon, 18. Shane Cottle, 19. Brad Loyet, 20. Damion Gardner, 21. Nick Knepper, 22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 23. Thomas Meseraull, 24. Donnie Ray Crawford, 25. Jason Leffler

TGIF?

2012-01-02T20:13:00.003-06:00

I originally wrote this Sep 29, 2011 and it appeared in the December issue of Flat Out. This came from a converstaion I had with a fan during the week of the nationals, and some notes I handed to John McCoy in August. Sounds like he liked my ideas....

Friday night of the Knoxville Nationals has seen a few format changes over the years. Since the race became a four day show in 1975, the Friday show has always been a event for the “non-qualifiers” who were 51st in qualifying points or worse. The idea was to give the slower cars a chance to compete for a little more money, build the car count, and it gave teams a chance to improve their starting position (somewhat) for the Saturday finale. The winner of the Friday Non-Qualifier A-Main has always been award the eleventh starting position in the Saturday C-Main.

But the fans were not happy to pay to see the slower cars only, so tobring more of the bigger names to compete the idea of the Mystery Feature was born in 1979, and then the Race of States was added in 1981. But when some teams refused to race in the special event races in fear of tearing up a car the night before the high paying race the Mystery and States races were tossed aside and the invention of the “Scrambles” was given to us in 1993. The Scrambles was for the top 10 in points of the A, B, and C Mains and gave those cars a chance to “scramble” or improve their starting position on Saturday night by awarding more points and forcing the bigger names to race on Friday. In 1996 the World Challenge was added. This past year promoter Ralph Capatani changed it up again doing away the Scrambles in favor of a Race of Champions. The Champions race was for past Nationals winners, past Knoxville track champions, and champions of other series’ and events across the country over the past year. This was a good event, but with it being a “reverse draw” where you had to give your number to another driver it worked out to be a fun race to watch, but to think those same drivers would be willing to do this again is absurd.

So many race fans complain that the Friday ticket is expensive for only five races on the night and it really has no effect of the outcome on Saturday night and is meaningless. It’s a sham, and a way for Knoxville to force you to see a race that no one cares about. Those are all comments I hear nearly every year throughout the week of the Nationals. And let’s face it, the car count at the Nationals isn’t going to grow, so we don’t even have that many cars to put in to a Non-Qualifiers show. So what does Knoxville do with the Friday show at this point? I have some ideas.

One easy solution is to divide the field up on three nights instead of two. 30-35 cars each night wouldn’t water the field down that much. And you run four heats instead of five each night, we would still see good racing.

A more complicated idea is to lock in a lower number than 50 cars from Wednesday-Thursday in to Saturday. Make Friday night mean something and still reward those who do well on their qualifying night. My idea is to only lock in the top 16 in points for Saturday and reward them with taking Friday night off. Everyone else, roughly 80 cars, come back Friday to re-qualify or maybe race for a new night of points and keeping the best of your two totals. Or you could run a split show. Carry over their qualifying times and sort them into a odd and even program of 4 odd heats, 4 even heats, 2 B-Mains, and 2 A-Mains with the top two in each A-Main transferring to the Saturday A-Main in positions 17-20. This would make good racing as everyone is trying to claw their way into the “big dance” on Saturday night, the carrot is dangling for all who come. And the cars finishing 3rd and on back in the Friday A-Main can determine the B, C, D, E on Saturday by finishing order, or points.

And while we’re at it, let’s make the Saturday C-Main 18 or 20 laps instead of 15 to give some drivers a chance to run the alphabet. The days of Doug Wolfgang passing 20 cars in 15 laps in the C-Main are over.

I personally like the 50 laps for the Saturday championship. I think it would be more interesting if you couldn’t change tires though. Let’s run harder tires that last longer and don’t allow as much horsepower to be transferred to the ground and put more emphasis on the skill of the driver.

2011 Knoxville Raceway 360 Recap

2011-12-18T22:12:00.000-06:00

Clint Garner won his third consecutive 360 track championship this past year in the Boyd and Glenda Fluth owned number 40 sprint car. He assembled 4 wins, 9 top fives, 12 top tens, 5 quick times, in 14 starts. Garner is one of two men at Knoxville to win a 410, 360, and 305 feature (Rim Ridin’ Randy Smith is the other). Powered by his Al Parker engine Garner seems content to compete in the 360 class, but when you’ve won it all and have won two 410 features in the past, why not move back to the 410 class? Garner is clearly the best driver in the 360 class, you can’t take that away from him… until someone beats him.

Chad Humston looked like he was going to be there til the end and kept the points race close until the end of the season. Car owner Mark Burch brought in hired gun Danny Lasoski after the Knoxville season to win some ASCS National Tour races. It’s unclear what the future holds for this team, but Humston has impressed me the past two seasons as one of the best drivers at Knoxville, he has just had horrible luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If a break goes his way in lapped traffic, he probably wins the 2010 360 Nationals as he wrecked while leading. Humston had 12 top tens, the same as Garner, but only one win and 7 top fives, and 2 quick times. Hope this team sticks together as they are the best bet to beat Garner, but will Burch stay with Knoxville 360’s or move to something else?

The 2008 360 track champion Matt Moro battled back this year to third in points after finishing a disappointing eighth last season. He accumulated 1 win, 8 top fives, 11 top tens, and made 13 of the 14 features. Moro is now a veteran at the track and owns his own equipment. He has 7 career 360 wins and 2 career wins in a 410 at Knoxville. Underrated as a driver who doesn’t get much hype.

Russ Hall was fourth in points, up from eleventh a year ago. He also got his first two career wins this year with 6 top fives, and 9 top tens. Hall’s stock is on the rise, looking forward to see what he can do next season.

Jon Agan is a owner/driver and a hometown favorite who finished fifth in points is down one spot from last season. Agan won 2 features, but only managed 3 top fives, 11 top tens in 13 features. He also won 4 heat races which is tied with Larry Ball Jr., and Nate Van Haafton for the most this season. Winning heat races is a indicator of poor qualifying putting you on the front row of heat races and that is where Agan lost the most points, as poor qualifying adds up to starting behind the invert most nights in the feature, and the lack of top fives shows he didn’t quite have the car to make the passes but was strong out front. Part of me wonders how good Agan might be if he wasn’t a owner/driver having to protect his equipment.

Nate Van Haafton comes home sixth and also got his first career win. Known as a kid who tore up a lot of equipment in past years, Van Haafton grew up before our own eyes this year and showed tons of improvement. He had 11 top tens in 13 starts and raced his way to the front in features after poor qualifying times. We’ll see if he can back it up next season.

Dennis Moore Jr. brought the D12 Doc Sloan car home seventh in points. 1 win, 7 top fives, 11 top tens, 13 starts. DMJ is a veteran driver who has yet to win a track championship, but has two 360 Nationals titles. He was ninth in points last season.

My personal awards:
360 Driver of the Year: Clint Garner
360 Most Improved Driver: Russ Hall (11th to 4nd in points, 2 wins)
Goody’s Headache Powder Award: Alan Zoutte. He is a better driver than he can show on the track. Very limited funds and he has been racing for a long time. I don’t know if it’s just horsepower or set-up’s but I think he is a better driver than the results show.

305 Recap
Carson McCarl started the season on opening night with a win (also becoming the youngest driver to ever win at Knoxville) and finished it with him on top of a season long point battle with Jamie Ball, Tasker Phillips, and Mitchell Alexander came on late in the season. The 305 class grew again this year with 15 cars qualifying for points as only 12 did a year ago. I’m still not quite sure why this class is growing, it’s still expensive to race a 305 car and it only pays $400 to win a race. But it’s also (hopefully) becoming a spring board for the future racers in the 410 class. The talent that kids like Tasker, Jamie, and Carson bring to the track, gave us some of the best races all season and I wish their features were longer than 12 laps. I’m very impressed with Carson McCarl. Racing is their blood and I sure hope the resources are there down the road to see Terry, Austin, and Carson all competing in the 410 class at some point.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

2011 Knoxville Raceway 410 Recap

2011-11-08T22:51:00.002-06:00

Danny Lasoski owner/driver dominated the Lucas Oil KCCS (Knoxville Championship Cup Series) by winning three features and had an average finish of 3.5. In 13 regular races The Dude finished in the top ten in every feature, and was in the top five 11 times. Nine track championships is an astonishing number and surely will be a record tough to ever match.

Dusty Zomer in the Derek Ingalls owned 91 finished second in points to Lasoski but racked up four feature wins, more than anyone else. With four wins, 11 top tens, 8 top fives, that would be enough to win a championship some years. After finishing ninth in points a year ago it’s hard not to pick Zomer, Ingalls, and crew chief Jeff Woodruff as the most improved driver/team of the year.

Kevin Swindell in the Big Game Treestands 1s car was a surprise to have at Knoxville this season. After finishing 22nd on opening night and only making three of the first five nights of racing, he completed the rest of the season finishing in the top ten in 8 of his last 9 features including two wins, one of which was against the All-Stars. He didn’t have a strong showing at the Nationals but managed to find his way to win the Friday non-qualifying for a third victory. Although it had been a couple of years since Kevin raced a sprint car with a wing, he quickly reacquainted himself with the machine and showed he could hang with the best in the country as the two time Chili Bowl Midget Nationals winner earned Knoxville Rookie of the Year honors.

Terry McCarl drove the Vermeer 55 to 2 wins, 5 top fives, 10 top tens, and finished fifth in points. The six time track champion had a sub average season by his standards. T-Mac is the Joe Frazier of Knoxville, and Lasoski is Ali. These two men are two of the greatest to ever drive a car at Knoxville and their rivalry dates back to 1985.

Mark Dobmeier in the Lunstra 13 sprinter finished fifth in points, down one spot from a year ago. After two wins last season Mark managed two wins again this year, one of them on his prelim night during the Nationals. He had 11 top ten’s in 12 starts, but the one week he missed cost him valuable points. Definitely one of the fastest cars on the track all season.

Austin McCarl in the family owned 17a car climbed from tenth last year to sixth in points this season. He nearly pulled off the win on twin features night but was passed by his old man in the closing laps. 2 top fives, 8 top ten’s, and he made all 13 features. I’m continually impressed with this young man and he gets better, faster, smoother every week it seems. It’s a matter of time before he wins.

Don Droud Jr. in the Gil Sonner 47 has to be disappointed with his season after finishing second in points in 2010 and winning two races, his 2011 stats are seventh in points, no wins, only 2 top fives, 6 top ten’s, but made all 13 features. Droud is a very underrated driver but they seemed a bit slower this year compared to their competition. Hope they can rebound in 2012.

Davey Heskin in Grandpa Maxwell’s 56 has a rough start to his season. Davey was eleventh in points in 2010 and finishes eight this year, but oh how this season could have been better if the luck came their way. He started all ten features he was at the track for, but with no motor they missed twin features night and the week before to cost them valuable points and probably a top five in points. He finished with 4 top fives, 7 top ten’s, and nearly won his Nationals qualifying night feature but came up short to Sammy due to a late restart. Good season for Heskin and his team and if there is one driver at Knoxville I would buy stock in, it’s this kid.

Lynton Jeffrey owner/driver took his number 12 to victory lane once this year, and made 12 of the 13 features. After finishing sixth in points last season and seemed to have momentum going his way, Jeffrey was only able to come up with 5 top ten’s in 2011, and 3 finishes of 20th or worse. It was a disappointing season over all after a couple of successful seasons previously.

Dustin Selvage owner/driver made the jump from 360’s to 410’s this year and he was able to put together a top ten points finish in his rookie season. Normally this would be plenty to earn rookie of the year honors, but he has nothing to hang his head about. 6 top 10’s and made 12 of the 13 features. Good solid season to build off of.

Bronson Maeschen fell from fifth to 11th in points.
Josh Schneiderman fell from eight to 12th in points.
Rager Phillips 14th to 13th.
Mike Moore 12th to 14th.
Robby Wolfgang 13th to 15th.

My personal awards:
410 Driver of the Year: Dusty Zomer (more wins and more entertaining)

410 Most Improved Driver: Dusty Zomer (9th to 2nd in points, 4 wins)

Goody’s Headache Powder Award: Davey Heskin (no motor for twin features cost him a top five in points)

Race of the Year: Midseason Championship June 18th “Revenge Draw”. Zomer and Lasoski are given the 9th and 10th starting spots. Underdog Ryan Anderson gets the front row and is pulling away early, but a caution allows Wayne Johnson to catch him and as Johnson is pulling away his engine leaks a ton of oil and it had some huge flames. Anderson’s engine fails and he goes pit side as well. Zomer inherits the lead after a fierce battle with Lasoski as they climbed their way up to the front of the field, and Zomer held off Lasoski to the finish line.

I’ll put together my 360 and 305 season recap later…. Go Hawkeyes!