Go west to the Hoosier State to beat TS Ernesto
#111 Lincoln Park Speedway, Putnamville, IN (5/16-mile dirt) 9/2/06...
With rain covering all of the northeast and Ohio, I decided to head west for the weekend to get in two new tracks. Indiana looked like the closest bet with racing I wanted to see. I decided on Lincoln Park Speedway on Saturday and Kokomo on Sunday.
The rain didn't stop until near Dayton, Ohio then it continued drizzling until about an hour east of Indy. When I reached Indy the sun came out and the temps soared to the mid to upper 70s after only being in the 50s and low 60s for much of the trip.
After checking in at the Motel 6 in Cloverdale I made the short drive to Lincoln Park Speedway. With make-up features on tap and fireworks I knew it was going to be a long night; however, I never expected the turnout of cars either. With nearby Paragon not running and Bloomington off on Friday night, I'm guessing that helped the pits swell with 40 Bombers, 39 Non-Wing Sprint Cars, 38 UMP Mods, and 31 Super Stocks.
Racing was supposed to start at 7, but the first make-up feature didn't take the green until 7:23. The Sprint feature was excellent as it went non-stop on the tacky track with Billy Puterbaugh picking up the victory in the 25-lap non-stop affair. With the exception of the Mod feature that had lots of bumping and banging, the features ran off good. It was neat seeing 70-year-old Don Duncan win the Super Stock feature for his first win since 1999, which was a very popular win. He stated that tonight may be his last night. He went out and finished second in his heat too.
The heat races started at 8:35 and it wasn't until 11:17 when 15 heat races and the 4 B mains were completed. The fireworks display was one of the quickest I have ever seen as it was over by 11:27.
Thankfully the Sprint Car feature was up first. It took the green at 11:43. This feature didn't go as smooth as the first one as there were two bad starts and a spin on the third start. The rest of the feature went pretty smooth with only 3 cautions and finished at exactly midnight. Fifteen-year-old California driver Cole Whitt drove an impeccable race to capture his first career win holding off a bevy of challenges behind him. Four drivers battled hard using the entire track for second.
With it already being midnight and the Mods up next I had had enough and was tired from seeing races Friday night, getting up early, and making the long drive so I headed for the exits and the short drive back to the motel.
Lincoln Park offered great racing and a very racey surface. Though it did slick off later, the drivers could race all over the track. Had it not been for the late start, 15 minute light outage, and fireworks, and the make-up features, the program would have been completed in a decent time. They did do a good job of keeping the show moving. A very good, late-arriving crowd turned out that kept coming well after start time. The track has a very nice website, but the facility is slightly rundown and high grass and weeds were present. Overall I enjoyed the night and there aren't too many times you can go to the races and see a 15-year- old and a 70-year-old win.
Lincoln Park made for my 7th career Indiana track and 111 overall.
#111 Lincoln Park Speedway (IN), 9/2/06
#110 Lawrence County Fairgrounds (PA), 8/16/06
#109 Midvale Speedway (OH), 7/22/06
#108 McKean County Speedway (PA), 6/29/06
#107 Hesston Speedway (PA), 6/17/06
#106 Grandview Speedway (PA), 5/16/06
###
#112 Kokomo Speedway, Kokomo, IN (1/4-mile dirt), 9/3/06...
I checked out of the Motel 6 in Cloverdale, IN shortly after 11 AM and headed northeast back to Indy then north toward Kokomo. I ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in Kokomo and headed for the speedway.
A good field of cars were on hand including 34 non-wing Sprints, 28 Thundercars, 23 street stocks, and 22 UMP Mods.
Kokomo time trials the non-wing Sprint Cars and did it in 6 groups of 5 or 6 cars each. What to me is supposed to be a timesaving effort turned into a length process. Time trials were slated to start at 6 with racing at 6:30. Time trials didn't start until after 6 and then the other three divisions had to hot lap. I watched hot laps and time trials for the Sprints in the turn two bleachers. What an awesome sight seeing a non-wing sprint broad-sliding it on a tacky surface driving it in as hard as they could make it stick. That was an eye-opening experience.
The first green flag in a heat race didn't start until 7:15, which was 45 minutes past their start time. The racing was great and moved along good until the Thundercar heats when two cars got together on the start and the pushed the other into the turn one exit where the water barrels were and eventually over on his roof. That was a length delay. The Sprint B main was horrendous as six cars got upside down and the final double flip saw the checkered flag wave. Eighteen cars were scheduled to start with 15 taking the green and I believe only 6 "finished". Sixty-year-old popular veteran Terry Pletch was one of the survivors despite having his tail tank and push bar smashed. Under the final red, he did a bow for the fans as it was possibly his last race.
The fireworks show got underway just before 10 PM and last over 20 minutes. Why the Sprint Cars weren't ready to go after fireworks was beyond me. Yes Monday was Labor Day, but there was no reason for another delay when it was already after 10:30.
The Sprint Car feature was excellent as 15-year-old Chris Windom scored his first career win beating Saturday Lincoln Park winner and fellow 15- year-old Cole Whitt. Track veteran John Wolfe was third over Casey Shuman and 16-year-old Hunter Schuerenberg fifth. Pretty amazing to see kids this young wheeling these high-horsepowered cars with this much success. There was so much two, three, and four-wide racing that it was hard to keep track and know what to watch. Windom did a stellar job driving through traffic and Whitt closed in at the finish. Windom said in victory lane that he races Midgets on Wednesday nights in Illinois then races Sprint Cars Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Indiana. Kokomo is five hours from home. I would expect to see big things from Windom and Whitt in the future.
I gave the Mod feature a chance as it took the green at 10:53 and what started off good turned into a long one. I finally gave up nearly 20 minutes in with 12 of 20 laps completed.
I really enjoyed Kokomo and my trip overall as it was some of the best racing I've seen in a long time. Kokomo was a very professional-run facility. The two announcers were excellent. Only downside was the late start and no seemingly hurry to push the show through. I was surprised at the $15 front-gate adult admission for a regular show as they charged an additional $3 for the fireworks; nonetheless an excellent, enthusiastic crowd was on hand.
The bookends of my four-race, four-day, three-state trip were Sharon (OH) on Friday night and Tri-City Speedway (PA) on Monday.
Kokomo made for my 8th Indiana track and 112 overall.
#112 Kokomo (IN) Speedway, 9/3/06
#111 Lincoln Park Speedway (IN), 9/2/06
#110 Lawrence County Fairgrounds (PA), 8/16/06
#109 Midvale (OH) Speedway, 7/22/06
#108 McKean County Speedway (PA), 6/29/06
#107 Hesston (PA) Speedway, 6/17/06
#106 Grandview Speedway (PA), 5/16/06
###
With rain covering all of the northeast and Ohio, I decided to head west for the weekend to get in two new tracks. Indiana looked like the closest bet with racing I wanted to see. I decided on Lincoln Park Speedway on Saturday and Kokomo on Sunday.
The rain didn't stop until near Dayton, Ohio then it continued drizzling until about an hour east of Indy. When I reached Indy the sun came out and the temps soared to the mid to upper 70s after only being in the 50s and low 60s for much of the trip.
After checking in at the Motel 6 in Cloverdale I made the short drive to Lincoln Park Speedway. With make-up features on tap and fireworks I knew it was going to be a long night; however, I never expected the turnout of cars either. With nearby Paragon not running and Bloomington off on Friday night, I'm guessing that helped the pits swell with 40 Bombers, 39 Non-Wing Sprint Cars, 38 UMP Mods, and 31 Super Stocks.
Racing was supposed to start at 7, but the first make-up feature didn't take the green until 7:23. The Sprint feature was excellent as it went non-stop on the tacky track with Billy Puterbaugh picking up the victory in the 25-lap non-stop affair. With the exception of the Mod feature that had lots of bumping and banging, the features ran off good. It was neat seeing 70-year-old Don Duncan win the Super Stock feature for his first win since 1999, which was a very popular win. He stated that tonight may be his last night. He went out and finished second in his heat too.
The heat races started at 8:35 and it wasn't until 11:17 when 15 heat races and the 4 B mains were completed. The fireworks display was one of the quickest I have ever seen as it was over by 11:27.
Thankfully the Sprint Car feature was up first. It took the green at 11:43. This feature didn't go as smooth as the first one as there were two bad starts and a spin on the third start. The rest of the feature went pretty smooth with only 3 cautions and finished at exactly midnight. Fifteen-year-old California driver Cole Whitt drove an impeccable race to capture his first career win holding off a bevy of challenges behind him. Four drivers battled hard using the entire track for second.
With it already being midnight and the Mods up next I had had enough and was tired from seeing races Friday night, getting up early, and making the long drive so I headed for the exits and the short drive back to the motel.
Lincoln Park offered great racing and a very racey surface. Though it did slick off later, the drivers could race all over the track. Had it not been for the late start, 15 minute light outage, and fireworks, and the make-up features, the program would have been completed in a decent time. They did do a good job of keeping the show moving. A very good, late-arriving crowd turned out that kept coming well after start time. The track has a very nice website, but the facility is slightly rundown and high grass and weeds were present. Overall I enjoyed the night and there aren't too many times you can go to the races and see a 15-year- old and a 70-year-old win.
Lincoln Park made for my 7th career Indiana track and 111 overall.
#111 Lincoln Park Speedway (IN), 9/2/06
#110 Lawrence County Fairgrounds (PA), 8/16/06
#109 Midvale Speedway (OH), 7/22/06
#108 McKean County Speedway (PA), 6/29/06
#107 Hesston Speedway (PA), 6/17/06
#106 Grandview Speedway (PA), 5/16/06
###
#112 Kokomo Speedway, Kokomo, IN (1/4-mile dirt), 9/3/06...
I checked out of the Motel 6 in Cloverdale, IN shortly after 11 AM and headed northeast back to Indy then north toward Kokomo. I ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in Kokomo and headed for the speedway.
A good field of cars were on hand including 34 non-wing Sprints, 28 Thundercars, 23 street stocks, and 22 UMP Mods.
Kokomo time trials the non-wing Sprint Cars and did it in 6 groups of 5 or 6 cars each. What to me is supposed to be a timesaving effort turned into a length process. Time trials were slated to start at 6 with racing at 6:30. Time trials didn't start until after 6 and then the other three divisions had to hot lap. I watched hot laps and time trials for the Sprints in the turn two bleachers. What an awesome sight seeing a non-wing sprint broad-sliding it on a tacky surface driving it in as hard as they could make it stick. That was an eye-opening experience.
The first green flag in a heat race didn't start until 7:15, which was 45 minutes past their start time. The racing was great and moved along good until the Thundercar heats when two cars got together on the start and the pushed the other into the turn one exit where the water barrels were and eventually over on his roof. That was a length delay. The Sprint B main was horrendous as six cars got upside down and the final double flip saw the checkered flag wave. Eighteen cars were scheduled to start with 15 taking the green and I believe only 6 "finished". Sixty-year-old popular veteran Terry Pletch was one of the survivors despite having his tail tank and push bar smashed. Under the final red, he did a bow for the fans as it was possibly his last race.
The fireworks show got underway just before 10 PM and last over 20 minutes. Why the Sprint Cars weren't ready to go after fireworks was beyond me. Yes Monday was Labor Day, but there was no reason for another delay when it was already after 10:30.
The Sprint Car feature was excellent as 15-year-old Chris Windom scored his first career win beating Saturday Lincoln Park winner and fellow 15- year-old Cole Whitt. Track veteran John Wolfe was third over Casey Shuman and 16-year-old Hunter Schuerenberg fifth. Pretty amazing to see kids this young wheeling these high-horsepowered cars with this much success. There was so much two, three, and four-wide racing that it was hard to keep track and know what to watch. Windom did a stellar job driving through traffic and Whitt closed in at the finish. Windom said in victory lane that he races Midgets on Wednesday nights in Illinois then races Sprint Cars Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Indiana. Kokomo is five hours from home. I would expect to see big things from Windom and Whitt in the future.
I gave the Mod feature a chance as it took the green at 10:53 and what started off good turned into a long one. I finally gave up nearly 20 minutes in with 12 of 20 laps completed.
I really enjoyed Kokomo and my trip overall as it was some of the best racing I've seen in a long time. Kokomo was a very professional-run facility. The two announcers were excellent. Only downside was the late start and no seemingly hurry to push the show through. I was surprised at the $15 front-gate adult admission for a regular show as they charged an additional $3 for the fireworks; nonetheless an excellent, enthusiastic crowd was on hand.
The bookends of my four-race, four-day, three-state trip were Sharon (OH) on Friday night and Tri-City Speedway (PA) on Monday.
Kokomo made for my 8th Indiana track and 112 overall.
#112 Kokomo (IN) Speedway, 9/3/06
#111 Lincoln Park Speedway (IN), 9/2/06
#110 Lawrence County Fairgrounds (PA), 8/16/06
#109 Midvale (OH) Speedway, 7/22/06
#108 McKean County Speedway (PA), 6/29/06
#107 Hesston (PA) Speedway, 6/17/06
#106 Grandview Speedway (PA), 5/16/06
###
posted by Mike Leone at 1:33 PM
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