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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| Kirk
gets KISSed at Gas City by Kirk Spridgeon |
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May 9, 2004....With
USAC visiting Elvis this weekend, it was a great opportunity to see
an actual local Indiana show on Friday, with the King of Indiana
Sprint Series starting their rounds at Gas City. 49 cars came
calling, making it much more than just a regular local show. Michael
Burthay took the feature victory, bouncing back from his problems
last week at Gas City during the USAC show. He had been leading his
heat that night from the 6th starting spot when it suddenly stopped
entering turn three on the last lap. Burthay had the same line this
week, left front in the air as he circled the infield tires. He
finished second in his heat, and with the re-draw for the top 2
spots from each heat, he started 7th in the feature. Michael picked
up the runner-up slot at Putnamville on Saturday, possibly finding a
Saturday track that he can frequent. This was a good tune-up for
next week's KISS race at the Put, and Burthay has to be looking for
that championship now. Eric
Shively returned to his old form at Gas City. Once one of the best
at the track, he didn't see much action there last year. With the
North Vernon-based Rock Steady team this year, they opt for
Bloomington on most Friday nights. This should be a great season for
"Lively" as he has good equipment again to go along with
his on-the-gas style. The laid-back crew was celebrating Rodney
Reynolds 42nd birthday on the night, and Shively gave him a present
by riding the rim around Shane Cottle on the last lap of his heat
for the win. Welcome back, Eric! Eric continues on the verge of
winning at Larryburg, finishing behind Dickie Gaines on Saturday. Mike
Miller made his return to Gas City the right way. After winning his
heat, Mike charged from 10th to 3rd. He battled with Shively for
much of the race, eventually settling for third in a heated duel.
Mike is thinking about running for NRA points along with all the
Lawrenceburg regular shows. After his fine finish, he will have a
tough decision on where to go each Friday night. Mike is one of the
more underrated drivers out there, always doing well at his only
Indiana tracks, Gas City and the 'Burg. Mike had a disappointed
finish of 11th on Saturday at Lawrenceburg. AJ
Anderson ran a solid race in the house car to keep 4th from Jon
Stanbrough, who tried everything to get around. AJ said they are
contemplating a move back to the open trailer simply for the gas
mileage as the pond water they had put into the truck to save cash
wasn't giving them very good performance. AJ put on a great charge
at Putnamville on Saturday to finish 4th after picking up ten spots. Matt
Westfall bought new bars to attach to Steve Simon's Big Max on
Friday. Struggling to start the season, they nixed plans of going to
Memphis to sort out the car. Westfall credited Gas City as possibly
his worst track, yet he charged on this night from 17th to 5th, just
getting past Stanbrough on the bottom at the end. Ending with three
top-five finishes on the weekend, Westfall also finished second in
the invitational race at Lawrenceburg on Thursday, and third on
Saturday at the 'Burg. Kent
Christian had a strange-looking nose on his car, but it seemed to
work once the track slicked off. He slipped into the feature in a
crazy B Main #1, then hugged the tires on his way to 7th. Kent
picked up a top-five on Saturday at Putnamville. Brandon
Petty refused to dive to the bottom with everyone else in the
feature. He relentlessly pounded the slight, and disappearing,
cushion throughout the feature. Although he only finished 9th, he
still was happy to come away with that on the desolate top shelf.
Thanks to master mechanic Brian Cripe for introducing me to the
pizza. It was definitely some good stuff. BP knocked off his third
feature win on Saturday at Putnamville on a track that was said to
be heavy and rough. I'm sure we can all guess where Brandon was
running on that track! Jon
Sciscoe did an excellent job in Heat 6, winning that and drawing the
front row for the feature. He gradually dropped back through the
field, but while running fourth, he got into the rear end of Shane
Cottle. Cottle spun to a stop in turn four, and then gave Sciscoe a
love tap while lining up for the restart. Gas City officials deemed
this "unsportsmanlike conduct" and sent Cottle to the
pits. I would sure rather have drivers give small gestures of their
displeasure than taking guys out on the restart or fighting in the
pits. Cottle is ready to race a lot in Edison's car this year,
planning on going to the Terre Haute USAC show as well. He'll break
out the GWR midget for the Hut 100 on May 21st. Brad
Kuhn, making his first start in a sprint car for Larry Hajduk and
company in the car Don Droud, Jr. ran last week, made the feature by
winning a tough B Main #2. He used an incidental screen by Haley
Barnett to get by Jason Robbins in that event. Seeming to get faster
as the race went on, Kuhn was credited with 14th at the finish,
undoubtedly learning a lot in the process. Relaying that fuel pump
problems were indeed what sidelined him at Beaver Dam, Kuhn said the
ride came about when lifelong friend Shane Hollingsworth couldn't
make it to Gas City because of school commitments. Kuhn, who just
finished up the year at IUPUI, took the opportunity and continued
the tradition of fast midget shoes piloting the yellow #21. Corey
and Dustin Smith, longtime competitors on the local scene, finally
got their new cars ready to go. With the "Twister" style
and some new paint, look for some newfound life for the Smith
Brothers. Mike
Smith, former UMRA TQ champion in 2002, made his sprint car debut
aboard Richard Payne's yellow #96. Smith was a bit squirrely in his
heat, but he was fast enough to make the feature in his first start.
Payne's former driver, Jason Robbins, looked good in the B Main
driving the Gigliotti #75, but he struggled in the feature and
eventually pulled off the track. Scotty
Weir, who took a tumble in last week's USAC action while in a heat
race transfer spot, was back on the track. The karting champ has
adapted quickly to the sprinters, as I almost forgot toward the end
of last year that he was still a rookie. Weir was fast in the first
heat race, but he was scored 19th in the feature. Tony
Beaber, driving the radically-built #3T for Alan Toth, made the show
with some nice moves in the final heat race. Losing oil pressure in
the feature, Beaber hopes to get that problem solved quickly and be
back next week. Picking Saturday night trips as they come, Beaber
loves the non-wing stuff, but he is still looking for some
at-the-track help with "no experienced needed." Steve
Barth is getting better each week in his new Chalk chassis. The red
#14B couldn't quite catch Jason Robbins for the final transfer in
the B Main, but he is on the verge of contending at Gas City. Brian
Gerster has terrible luck. I had always thought so when he had
driven midgets and sprints in the past, but it has been clarified in
this season. Undoubtedly one of the fastest cars on the track,
Gerster can't seem to get through a night without a freak occurrence
or another driver sidelining him. While leading his heat, Gerster
biked hard on the cushion, stopping just over the bank in turn four.
After restarting, he couldn't find the same speed, but he wound up
4th in the B after working his way slowly forward all race long. In
the bad luck category, let's add John Wolfe. Wolfe was knocked out
of the race in both heat and B, fortunately able to put the car back
on the trailer with only minor damage. Maybe qualifying will bring
the Wolfe back into the hunt. Stephanie
Mockler, making just her third start in a sprint car, has improved
by leaps and bounds already. The Westfield High School sophomore
timed last in the field with USAC but raced her way past a few
competitors and finished behind Johnny Heydenreich in the
Non-Qualifier's Race. She hammered the cushion early in the night,
going over the lip a couple times. In the toughest heat of this
night, getting caught behind Mike Mossi and not being able to catch
the top five. In the B, she got some more good laps, beating Mike
Hagemier and Mark Hall around among others. Still getting acclimated
to the car, she will split time between the sprint and her
mini-sprint, hoping to pick and choose where she wants to go. She
finished 3rd at Peru on Saturday. She'll also have a Focus midget to
race starting at Lima. Luke
Hall, suffering through a deplorable night, is still under 10 starts
in his short sprint car career. Appearing a couple times last year
at Gas City and Lawrenceburg, Hall impressed by gassing it up and
making features. In the Gas City opener, Jack Hewitt was alongside,
helping in whatever way he could. Another young driver looking for
some success, Hall will mainly run Gas City and Lawrenceburg,
accumulating laps as much as possible. Marc
Arnold, a high school freshman, had a good showing in just his
second sprint car start. A veteran of the 600cc micros around the
country, Arnold raced mainly with the NMMA and a little with NAMARS
over the past few years. After buying his one race-old car from
former Gas City competitor AJ Jordan, Arnold added a former Daryn
Pittman motor, giving him plenty of power. Arnold led at the outset
of his heat race, eventually being passed by Shane Cottle and
Shively. When Cottle slammed the door at the bottom of the track on
Shively, Arnold checked up too quickly and spun himself out. In the
B, Arnold was up to fourth when he clipped an infield tire. He
immediately gassed it, leading to a monster wheelie and a broken
shock, which relegated him from the action. He is planning to come
back strong for a real regular show next week, hoping to make his
first feature. He'll also run Kokomo when it opens. Looking
at Josh Wise's Memphis magnificence, it is plain to see that Wise
needs a pavement car to follow the USAC sprint car championship. Of
course, then he couldn't go back to the West Coast as much to clean
up there, too! By
looking at the results, I can safely say that it looked like a great
show to watch. I can only imagine what it would have been like to
watch guys like Sammy, Shane Stewart, Gary Wright, Mike Ward, and
Zac Chappell on the same track with the USAC stars. It is an
interesting mix of drivers as some of the little guys in USAC made
the feature along with quite a few Sprint Bandits guys, but some of
the best USAC guys missed out. I
hope Dave Darland's run to 4th is only a sign of things to come. Bud
Kaeding appears to have things turned around. He looked anything but
impressive at the first three USAC stops, but he managed to save
some decent showings at two of them. Still in the points race, he
has to be excited to get back to Terre Haute. Brian
Lee's name change must have gotten his elbows up real high. Always
one of the best on the Indiana bullrings, Lee hadn't been quite
himself since that terrible Winchester crash a few years ago. While
he may not be winning USAC shows yet, he is running into the top
ten, which makes me interested to see how he'll do on the local
scene. He finished 2nd to Wil Newlin at Red Hill's opener on
Saturday. I'm sure the success is all due to the hard work of crew
chief Bill Gardner, who also happens to be one of the brightest guys
on the Web, offering Fantasy Leagues, pictures, results, a full
wingless schedule, and message boards on USACfans.com. Kevin
Newton, a former NAMARS midget champ and AVSS track record breaker,
seems to be adjusting nicely to the seat of the Law Brothers #77.
With a low-buck effort compared to most USAC teams, Newton has
looked pretty good at all three dirt stops, registering 5th quick at
Beaver Dam and hitting his first feature at Memphis. More
importantly, he seems to be able to qualify in the top 32! With some
winged pavement experience, he should be able to get faster on the
pavement, too. Once beating both Dave Darland and Tony Elliott in a
midget show at Kokomo, Newton knows how to get it done, and with the
connection with the Law Brothers, I see this team getting very fast
over the course of the year. It will be interesting to see if they
run very many local shows this year. Back
to the theme of bad luck, Troy Cline experienced some more at
Memphis. After a rough end to his night at Gas City, on the hook, I
thought Troy might take some time off before getting back on the
USAC trail. Instead, he logged 4th quick at Memphis and was running
up front before getting upside-down. Hopefully he can still make it
to Terre Haute, one of his best tracks. Marc
Jessup has somewhat overcome his early season problems with help
from former Boston Reid car owner, Bill Davis. Davis bought Jessup a
new F-5 by Wayne Simmons kit. After pulling some late nights to get
work done on the car in time for Memphis, Jessup borrowed a Snyder
engine to put between the rails. Jessup made the show at Memphis,
but he fought a tight race car in the feature. After getting his
Foxco back, Jessup will be back to the dirt side of things again,
hoping to receive some more sponsorship dollars. Still looking for a
good local ride to race at the local shows, Jessup is excited to be
back on the USAC circuit full-time. Critter
Malone is another top-notch driver looking for a sprint car ride. He
ran the Northwest Ohio #97 at Lawrenceburg on Saturday but missed
the show. He was charging in the B Main from 14th starting spot
before going over the bank, leaving him too much ground to make up.
This ride has proven to be only on a part-time basis in the past, so
he will break out his midget a few more times this season, starting
at Terre Haute's Hut 100. Daron
Clayton returned to USAC at Memphis. He qualified pretty well again,
but he couldn't make the feature. Concerned that he wouldn't run
USAC anymore after being bounced at Beaver Dam, with any luck, he'll
be at Terre Haute for his first big-track experience without the
wing. John
Scott and Brian Tyler both missed their first USAC shows of the
season on Friday. For Tyler, it got worse when he blew his engine on
Saturday in the champ car. Scott hustled back to Lawrenceburg to win
a heat and finish 8th against local competition. Casey
Shuman made his 2004 Indiana debut by charging to 4th from the 17th
starting position at Lawrenceburg. Casey showed off his talents last
year when piloting Kurt Hawkins car through the summer, including
some eye-opening efforts during Indiana Sprintweek. While he may not
be able to surpass the excitement level created by his car owner, AJ
Felker, Casey could be a contender to win some regular shows and
become a "wild card" during Sprintweek again. Chris
Coers, a former USAC Midget feature winner at 16th Street, is once
again piloting his sprint car in southern Indiana. With two shows
under his belt at the 'Burg, it will be interesting to see if he
branches out this summer to hit more races. A
former NAMARS midget hotshoe and one of the best on the indoor
circuit, Kevin Besecker has turned to the sprints in recent years.
After a few great runs last year in his self-owned car, he came out
this year at the Gas City USAC show. While he didn't perform well
there, he did make the show there this week to go along with a 6th
place finish at Lawrenceburg. Sprint,
midget, champ car, Focus, truck, stock car and anything-else-racer
Jim Mills opened his track, Red Hill, on Saturday to 30 cars. Wil
"The Thrill" Newlin won his first of the season. One of
the most underrated gassers in Indiana and certainly one of the most
exciting, Newlin finally has some steadiness to his program this
year as he ran Cam Pottorff's #11P on Saturday. Justin
Marvel finished 5th in the Red Hill feature after not transferring
to the heats in his last two USAC appearances. Alex
Shanks, rained out in his first two attempts to race wingless this
season, finished an impressive 4th at Red Hill Saturday in his new
ride, the Baker 55. He'll run a lot of winged shows in the
Illinois/Missouri area again, but Indiana fans should get to see him
run quite a bit in Indiana as well. So
far, in Indiana(plus Red Hill) regular shows, the average car count
is hovering right in the mid-thirties. If we add in the two special
shows at Gas City, that average shoots up to 38. Car counts look
good for early season, and there are still a few teams that have yet
to start their seasons. |
