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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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TRAVELS TO INDIANA by Norm Bogan |
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Introduction: For open wheel racing enthusiasts, the center
of the universe rotates around Indianapolis.
Racers have journeyed from their apprenticeships on the west
coast to this midwestern hub of auto racing for decades to gain
journeyman’s status, with hopes of advancing on to the fabled
Brickyard, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Journalists, photographers and die-hard fans
also travel to this Mecca, eager to create awareness of new heroes. For the past twenty years, I have been privileged to witness
these gladiators and document their chariot rides. Much like the racers, where veterans take the neophyte pilot
into their confidence, we in the media provide training for our
rookies. During the past several years, Lance Jennings,
one of the more successful Internet webmasters on the west coast,
has accompanied me on forays to venues throughout California.
Often the subject of making the coveted trip to Indiana
Sprint Week was discussed. For
2006, it seemed that the planets aligned and the big adventure was
scheduled. Our odyssey began as we met in the early hours
at LAX on our quest for the Holy Grail (sprint car heaven).
We planned to attend seven sprint week events in nine days
and devote off time to seeking the “meaning of life” through
extensive travel to many storied venues throughout the Hoosier
landscape. Racing, Part One: Thursday July 13th dawned and we
wayward warriors set off bright eyed and bushy tailed for North
Vernon and opening night of Indiana Sprint Week.
Enroute, planned detours took us southwest of our goal to
view the southernmost “hill track” at Salem.
This half-mile high-banked oval appears intimidating for the
midgets, sprints and stock cars.
The facility is nicely maintained and has amenities such as,
a large covered eating area to shelter fans from the hot sun or
occasional rain showers. Returning
to the historic town of Salem, we checked another racing venue,
Thunder Valley Raceway, a quarter-mile red clay banked track, which
features Modifieds, Bombers, Mini-Sprints, Trucks and Mini-Stocks. Heading back to North Vernon was one additional
detour to Brownstown Speedway, scene of a C.R.A. tour race in the
early 90s. Located at a
well-manicured fairground, the track concentrates now on weekly
stock car programs at this quarter-mile semi-banked oval. Finally, we head to Twin Cities Raceway Park
for opening night on this 3/8 mile banked track where fifty-six cars
were on hand. Darren
Hagen collected fast time at 14.420.
Heat race winners were Hagen, Daron Clayton, Brady Short and
Brandon Petty. Brad
Sweet scored the honors in the Semi, while Mat Neely posted the
opening night feature win, followed by Stanbrough, Cottle, Jones
Hagen and Coons. There
was an early duel with Jones and Cottle, until a multi-car crash on
lap 26 dismissed at least four cars with John Wolfe getting a ride
in the ambulance. The next day, another detour on the way to a
race found us scoping out 3/8 mile Paragon Speedway and spending
some time with Promoter Keith Ford, before getting back on track for
the home of Indiana University. Friday is the regular day for Bloomington
Speedway, but tonight was special, as event #2 of Sprint Week would
find a contingent of fifty-nine sprinters at this scenic red clay
quarter-mile. Local
racer, Jared Fox, grandson of legendary Galen Fox set fast time at
11.357. Scotty Weir,
Levi Jones, Dave Darland and Jon Stanbrough claimed heat victories
as Jared Fox nabbed the Semi win, while Brady Short collected the
feature, chased by Neely, Coons, Briscoe, Sweet and Darland.
John Sciscoe went over the bank between #3 and #4 during
qualifying, hitting the ambulance. Saturday would be the third race in a four-day
marathon and our longest journey.
Tri-State Speedway at Haubstadt is located in the southwest
corner of Indiana, near Evansville.
Fans come from nearby Kentucky and Illinois.
Haubstadt has a reputation as being one of the best-prepared
tracks in the country. With
temperatures hovering in the mid-nineties, it was difficult to
capture enough moisture to maintain a tacky track and by
mid-feature, dust began kicking up. Josh Wise set quick time of 12.872.
Damion Gardner, Cory Kruseman, Shane Cottle and Brandon Petty
scored heat race victories and Kyle Cummins grabbed the “B”
Main. Jon Stanbrough
stepped into the feature winner’s circle with Clauson, Jones,
Coons, Kruseman and Sweet in pursuit. For the fourth night of Sprint Week, the venue was the Kokomo Speedway, long known as a “huggy-pole” track, due to its paper clip configuration. Recently this track was rebuilt, creating sweeping turns and additional banking. The amended driving style is now right up on the top. Brad Sweet found the track to his liking as he established a new USAC track record of 12.866, best of the forty-four-car field. Casey Shuman, Mat Neely, Daron Clayton and Jon Stanbrough collected the heat races with Scotty Weir capturing the Semi. Jay Drake and Darren Hagen cashed in provisionals extending the feature field to twenty-four cars. Brad Sweet led the first fifteen laps until Stanbrough and Clauson passed him. On lap 20, Sweet got into the turn #3 wall and was done for the night. Stanbrough maintained the point, with Neely, Clauson, Weir, Darland and Gaines charging to the checkers. Tourist Time: A two-day break for the teams to regroup,
Monday and Tuesday were open dates, so my racing buddy and I went on
a quest to visit other racetracks.
They would be tracks with varying degrees of fame and
tradition. Lance had
never been to any of these venues, while I have previously visited
most. First on the
itinerary was Anderson Speedway, a high-banked quarter-mile paved
track, famous for the annual ”Little 500”, where thirty-three
sprint cars line up three abreast and race for five hundred laps. Departing Anderson, we headed northeast toward
Winchester, cruising by the Muncie Dragway along the way.
Arriving at historic Winchester, we were greeted by the
caretaker, who opened the gate to this storied half-mile high-banked
paved oval and let us turn a lap in the rental car on the fabled
surface. After the cool down from our hot lap, we viewed old photos of
the many heroes that circled the track before us.
Our speed was not recorded, as the radar gun was not
available. About thirty mile east of Winchester is
Tony’s little dirt track, better known as Earl Baltes’ Eldora
Speedway. This half-mile high-banked dirt track carries nearly
three-quarters of a century of lore about gritty warriors who
challenged the laws of physics to stay within the confines of the
walls. By the way, no
hot lap here, because they were cleaning up after this past
weekend’s “Kings Royal”. Next it was on to Union County Speedway near
Liberty, Indiana. I
thought Lance would enjoy one of the more primitive 3/8-mile dirt
track facilities. The
grandstands were warped planks set on posts in the ground.
The locals campaigned their Bomber cars and Mini-Stocks each
week on this typical small town racetrack.
Traversing the access road, which could have qualified as a
Baja 500 venue, our eyes were greeted with the sun reflecting off
bright aluminum seating, handrails and access ramps.
The old wooden scoring and announcer’s booth had been
replaced with a sturdy metal tower.
It appears that the Union County locals have a quality new
showplace in their midst. Moving on to New Castle, Mount Lawn Speedway
became our target. This
unique facility features a ¼-mile tri-oval paved track.
A park like setting encompasses the speed plant, opened in
1934 by the current promoter’s grandfather.
Recent shows have featured the regional midgets with national
star, Bryan Clauson claiming a victory. Next on the racetrack itinerary was the Indiana
State Fairgrounds, home of the Hoosier Hundred Silver Crown show.
Expecting to find this venue locked and shuttered, we drove
right to an access gate to the racing surface.
We thought it was strange to see a number of people out
walking their goats, like a dog on a leash, until we learned that
the National Dairy Goat Conference was being held at the
Fairgrounds. Walking
through the open gate, we soon discovered discarded tear-offs from
last May’s event. Tuesday dawned warm and bright, so a visit to
the Indianapolis Speedrome was planned.
Arriving at the nearby facility, we were greeted by an open
gate, more normal than not in Indiana.
Of course we interpreted this as a welcome and entered, took
some photos before being approached and told that we couldn’t be
there. This jolly
fellow said that if we had any questions, we could speak with his
boss, who had just arrived at the scene.
Once it was determined that we were departing, “Mr. Boss”
turned tail and left. The
staff here leaves a lot to be desired in “Hoosier Hospitality”. A Visit to the Brickyard: Arriving at the big rectangle at 16th
Street and Georgetown Road was the premier event of the week. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built in 1909 and has
been a revered attraction for nearly a century since.
As you enter the Speedway Museum, you first approach
Winner’s Row with a representative collection of the actual cars
that claimed the “500” Trophy.
This is hallowed territory as you scan the winning drivers,
names like Meyer, Rose, Shaw, Vukovich, Foyt, Unser, Mears and
Rutherford. Resting
while viewing a short feature film on the Speedway shows the
innovation that has made IMS the special symbol to so many of the
elation, devastation, ultimate glory and sorrowful tragedy related
to the years of competition. The track tour is a Don’t Miss! It’s about the best three bucks you can spend.
In addition to turning a lap on the track, you get to pose at
the Yard of Bricks (start/finish line) just like the winning driver.
A visit to the Media Center allows the common fan to
understand the inner workings of providing information to news
outlets throughout the world. In timing and scoring, you see the finite
detail to which the cars are placed in their proper order.
There is a network of closed circuit cameras inside and
outside the track and throughout the entire racecourse.
Each camera is equipped to scan a specific area and features
a clock to thousandths of a second.
This came into play when Helio Castroneves was declared the
winner and Paul Tracy appealed, claiming that he had passed Helio
prior to a yellow flag. Review
of the tapes indicated that Tracy made his pass a fraction of second
after the yellow was displayed. We viewed the new garage facilities for the
U.S. Grand Prix, as Formula One requires teams to pit at their
garages. Above each
garage are suites for the applicable team to entertain special
guests. While there, we
were able to pose for photos atop the winner’s podium.
After the Grand Prix, grandstands are erected in front of the
garages for spectators to view pit road activities during the Indy
500 and Brickyard 400 races. Throughout the “Gasoline Alley” garage area
are a number of conference rooms available that can be subdivided to
the required size for banquets and festivities hosted by teams or
sponsors. Many teams have suites on race day for selected guests to be
entertained and view the race and pit activities close up. While in the garage area, it may be possible to
see one of the racing garages up close.
This whole tour takes the average fan to see and experience
some of the behind the scenes happenings that are part of the
“Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.
I urge visitors to take advantage of this opportunity. Leaving the Speedway in the afternoon, we
ventured over to Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) now known as
O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP).
There was a group of young men with their street legal cars
waiting for grudge races on the drag strip.
The guy signing in the drag cars let us take a ride down to
the 5/8-mile oval for a perusal. With daylight still abundant, we made one last
dash for Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville.
After checking out the 5/16-mile dirt oval, we decided that
this would probably fill our needs for a Saturday night show before
our Sunday departure. Wednesday would get the second half of Sprint Week underway. We did some house hunting, sight seeing and laid down a few more miles on the country roads. Arriving in Marion, Indiana, I located a trailer park with a Dairy Queen next door. Right away, I knew I could live here! There are three racetracks within thirty miles, racing on three different nights. When leaving Marion, we journeyed east to Montpelier to look over that race plant. The quarter-mile dirt oval is known as a Modified and stock car track. Unfortunately, the gates were locked, so we could only view it from afar. I would definitely return for a Saturday night program, if I were in the area. Traveling through acres of corn and soybeans, we approached our planned destination for this evening, Gas City and I-69 Speedway. Racing, Part Two: I-69 Speedway hosted fifty-two cars for the
evening’s action. Brad
Sweet set the qualifying standard at 12.510 seconds.
Heat race winners were Jay Drake, Ron Dennis, Jesse Hockett
and Shane Cottle. A.J.
Anderson, Daron Clayton, Scotty Weir, Kyle Wissmiller, Brady Short
and Shane Hollingsworth advanced from the “B” Main to complete
the twenty-two-car field. Darren
Hagen and Mat Neely took provisionals raising the starting field to
twenty-four. Jon Stanbrough at the wheel of the Fox Bros.
#53 has been outfoxing the competition.
Early in the race, he laid back running in the lead pack.
As the laps wound down, he started to pick off his
competitors one at a time, maneuvering his steed wherever he wanted
on the track. Suddenly,
Jon was in front taking first the white and then the checkers.
Following Stanbrough across the line were Levi Jones, A.J.
Anderson, Dave Darland, Casey Shuman and Brad Sweet. Race #6 would be on Thursday at Lawrenceburg, a
newly renovated ¼-mile banked clay oval.
I had been here several times previously and noted the
decaying condition of the old main grandstand.
Well, in place now is a totally new grandstand along with
nice spacious new restrooms, a fine upgrade for this busy speed
plant. Upon arrival, we found a number of our comrades
already entrenched in the camping area, with grills heating, ice
chests stocked and cold. Fans
now have motor homes or travel trailers, which provide all of the
comforts of home. Throughout
the past week, we have continued to meet up with fans, which have
traveled from all corners of the country.
Just check out the license plates and you will verify that
Sprint Week is a nationally recognized event. As the haulers began arriving, they queued up at the pit gate to obtain their passes and seek out the ideal pit location. A couple of early arrivals had already staked a claim on pit space, but then the gate was closed and the others were told they could not park as rain was anticipated, which may cause the big rigs to become mired in the mud. Talk about positive thinking! Soon it was announced that a storm was imminent and the race was cancelled. According to the hearty campers, who spent the night, it did cut loose about 4 am the next morning. Could this cancellation have anything to do with a USAC Midget show at Milwaukee and the logistics of transporting a number of the Sprint Week regulars there after this race and returning them in time for tomorrow’s show at Terre Haute? Fans were bitter with both the promoter and USAC for this last minute cancellation. So far the tally is racing=5 and rain=1. With renewed vigor, fans trudged back home for the night and would leave early for tomorrow’s finale at Terre Haute. Friday marks the final event of Sprint Week.
As the crews prepare their steeds at the Vigo County
Fairgrounds in anticipation of tonight’s Terre Haute action, I
suddenly am aware of the cry of a Chevy mill, but wait, hot laps
haven’t even started! Drawing
near the track, a gossamer veil has settled over the racing surface
and through the nearly opaque aura, I can see what appears to be the
Sterling Plumbing #56 with Hurtubise gassing her and sending rooster
tails over the red, white and blue Armco barrier on the backstretch.
Maybe God was giving us a finale treat that will not soon be
forgotten. Sadly, that vision was the only racing
available as the second show in a row was cancelled due to
anticipated rain. Jon
Stanbrough was declared the Sprint Week Champion while collecting
three victories and a second in the five events. Somewhat distraught and realizing that our
adventure was quickly coming to an end, Lance and I returned to
Brownsburg and met up with long time California friend, Don
O’Keefe, who now lives in Pittsboro and has a shop at the new
Gasoline Alley in Brownsburg. With
daylight for another hour and a half or so, we toured the various
racing shops in the area. Chuck
Gurney Jr. stopped by for a visit and Billy Puterbaugh Jr. at
Stealth Chassis was installing a new front clip on a sprint chassis. We also visited with a midget team leaving for Belleville and
points along the way. As
the rains came down outside, Don, Lance and I were joined by Tom
Miller, who owns the #4M car driven by Kent Christian.
Bench racing lasted until about 1:30 am. Reflections: As Saturday dawned, it was time to start
packing. Both Lance and
I had purchased an additional bag to tote the acquired souvenirs,
T-shirts and other items that somehow gained our fancy.
With our satchels nearly splitting out the zippers, it was
time for one last race. We
met briefly with Don O’Keefe and then proceeded to Putnamville.
Tonight’s event was paying $2500 to win and $200 to start
the feature, so forty-seven cars were on hand.
The track held up with the preparation efforts throughout the
evening and with a little help from the stock cars, whose narrower
tires tend to cut the glaze off the track caused by the big wide
sprint car donuts. Jon Stanbrough kept his winning ways in order as he claimed one more feature. Since joining the Fox Brothers, he has accumulated about fifteen feature wins this season. Dickie Gaines ran a tight second as he impressed me with his aggressive driving style and seemed to get the most forward bite of any of the competitors. A couple of youngsters were in the field as
Brent Beauchamp, all of fifteen years old displayed the skills that
carry him to a Lawrenceburg “A” Main victory recently and also
Hunter Schuerenberg at sixteen, who races at West Memphis with the
wings and spends time at the Indiana tracks honing his skills sans
wings. Brady Short and
Scotty Weir also were impressive during Sprint Week. Brad Sweet’s new alliance with J.J. Yeley, with Cactus Jack
turning the wrenches has made him a force to reckoned with, along
with Daron Clayton under the tutelage of Bubby Jones. It was a great experience for Lance and I. We traveled to twenty-three racetracks, met some very cordial people and shared much about our mutual love of sprint car racing. About the time the plane was setting down at LAX, reality set in that tomorrow was a workday! Only five days before another adventure. Thanks to our understanding families that what we have is incurable and if they just give us an allowance and send us on our way, life will be good for all of us. Hoosier hospitality was outstanding as we acquired new friends and look forward to maybe taking along another rookie next year. |
