SCRAFAN.COM - What Spridge Sees

Shane Cottle took the win after 40 strong laps around the infield tires. Although the turns were slick in one and three, Cottle got the car pointed off the corners and repeatedly lifted the front end as he was propelled down the straightaways. It was the first win for Cottle in Edison’s car, but not the first win for the red ten at Bloomington. AJ Anderson also won a USAC Indiana Sprintweek show here. Along with two top-fives already in USAC action, Cottle is one guy who could have a huge year still ahead of him.

The story of the night, though, was Dave Darland and the black Danny Roberts Twister. He qualified 13^th and missed his heat due to a blown engine, but the crew left the track and returned with a new powerplant, prepared for an inspired run through the C and B to start 12^th in the A Main. After charging to third, Darland’s steady top line finally gave out, leaving him to finish fourth. Amazingly, the Stealth brigade of Kevin Briscoe and Bryan Clauson scored podium finishes once again. Clauson scored his first win to celebrate a 15^th birthday when Paragon’s 50^th Anniversary show was rescheduled for a week later. Briscoe won the next night in a Haubstadt MSCS showdown.

Kenny Carmichael was also a top-five finisher at Bloomington that would score a win one week later. His win came at Boswell against MSCS competitors, including Scott Hatton, who was on his way home from a runner-up midget finish at Lima to a third place finish after fast time at Sun Prairie’s Badger midget stop.

Wil “The Thrill” Newlin, a fan favorite of some in Wisconsin, was sixth in one of three different cars he’s driven this year. Wil led all but the last lap at Paragon before losing the lead to Clauson on the last lap.

After two top tens in the Sheldon, the Truckers team had a revolving door for one car and steady Derek Scheffel for the other. Jon Stanbrough won for the team at Kokomo, and Jerry Coons, Jr. made both USAC features while in the car. Scheffel struggled in Ohio, and Justin Marvel missed the show at Eldora after Coons, Jr. left the team again.

It was also a crazy week for Levi Jones. He picked up a ride with Jack Yeley and Joe Dooling for the Sheldon Kinser Memorial, staying sharp for the Buckeye Nationals. After using his first provisional of the year at Attica, Levi was jumped on a start and gave Tony Elliott a hard rap for his violation. Levi finished 5^th at Attica after being second on a late restart, and looking to have a chance to win. Levi and team owner Bill Biddle had more problems after that show, prompting Levi to leave the team and drive for Mat Neely at Eldora. Jones’ night ended in the wall, as they believe the left rear wheel broke as he raced into turn three, eating concrete and collecting Tom Hessert.

Casey Shuman and Brad Kuhn were two drivers who thrilled fans in hot laps only to miss the show later in the night. Most of their struggles can be contributed to problems that caused them to qualify last, receiving only one lap apiece.

With his dad owning the midget that Dave Steele drives in pavement midget events this year, 15-year old Kyle Nicholas is starting to run sprint cars at Bloomington. He also has a Kenyon midget at his disposal, and they’ve given the “Man of Steele” two more opportunities to drive the sprint car on dirt.

Attica’s USAC show came after a day full of rain, leaving me sleeping with the guarantee that the night’s racing would be rained out. Imagine my delight when 44 sprints and 38 midgets took to the track later that evening.

With a fairly rough track at Attica, midget flips included a barrel-roll over turn three by Dave Shirk, and less violent rollovers by fellow ARDC competitors Ed Stimely, Jr. and Ray Bull. Kevin Newton took the hardest hit of the night, getting upside-down heading into turn one and crashinig back down after some serious air time. Critter Malone and Tony Elliott got upside-down in the feature, motivating Elliott to shove Malone after both had exited their race cars.

Matt Hardin’s new midget had trouble overheating all week, eventually falling from his Friday heat after experiencing more problems.

Watching Dave Darland and Brian Gerster pound the first turn cushion to get a run on leader Teddy Beach was thrilling. Gerster backed that up with a spirited run at the top of Lima’s track, leading to a run-in with the wall. Gerster ended the week on the hook at Eldora, but he was a crowd favorite.

One of the fastest midgets in every event, Travis Miniea was frustrated after problems took him out of contention. Miniea ran with the leaders both Friday and Saturday before pulling pitside.

Matt Brun’s beautiful race cars were present in both divisions, improving in the sprint car while he continued to have trouble with the midget. Brun skipped Eldora in favor of a regular sprint show at Lawrenceburg.

Rob Chaney had a consistent week of sprint car racing, scoring three top tens but no top fives. Chaney has been one of the most exciting drivers in USAC sprint appearances at Eldora for almost a decade.

Although he showed that he is a contender in the dirt sprint car scene, Marc Jessup left the week frustrated with finishes of 17^th, 23^rd, and 18^th. Jessup ran in the top five at Attica until he was black-flagged for a flat tire he had been running on for fifteen laps thanks to a broken wheel. He lined-up 9^th at Attica before being clipped by a flipping Boston Reid on the broken restart where Jon Stanbrough went into the wall. After winning his heat at Eldora, he raced with no brakes during the dusty half-mile feature.

Randy Hannagan’s debut with USAC was up-and-down to say the least. After qualifying well at Attica, he missed the show. He made the cut at Lima and survived to finish in the top ten. He won his heat going away at Eldora but couldn’t find his way forward in the A Main.

Capitalizing on the mistakes and misfortunes of the rest, Jay Drake built his point lead even bigger during the week. Bud Kaeding jumped on the opportunity to climb the list, becoming the Buckeye Nationals sprint car champion and reaching 2^nd in USAC points by the end of the week.

Also, it was a great week for Dave Darland. Even though he won just one race, he finished 2^nd three times and solidified himself as someone who can win races in sprint car competition this season. His resurgence has been welcomed by many fans, and he is smiling even more than usual. His charge through the pack at Attica was thwarted as he was taking 5^th, but he was just short of wins on the last two nights in Lynn Reid’s Twister. Dave celebrated at Eldora with some Popeye’s chicken, courtesy of Dickie Gaines’ sponsor. Gaines’ trailer has been shrunk, and he no longer has the toterhome that he had at the beginning of the year, but he steered his DRC chassis into the top five on the banks. He likely could have gone farther, but he couldn’t find a line around early leader Kevin Huntley.

This week will probably feature a return to Gas City along with another KISS, this one from the fine folks at Paragon. The USAC schedule has a lull in the action around the Midwest until Sprintweek, only offering pavement sprint events such as this weekend’s trip to Richmond, Virginia. Midweek events at Attica and Terre Haute will provide some momentum for the weekend, and I hope to be away from Eldora’s dust and toward a mud-throwing night in Indiana.