Archives for "Commentary"

Jack Dover with Eagle Raceway flagman Larry White after Dover's feature win Saturday.

My brother-in-law graduated from high school this weekend, so we were busy with family, but I was able to sneak out in time to catch the feature at Eagle Raceway on Saturday night.

My Take…

The sprint feature was very entertaining. Jack Dover won another Eagle feature, but he had to work hard to make it happen.

Trevor Grossenbacher looked strong throughout most of the feature, leading the middle portion of the race. However, Dover was able to catch and pass him in lapped traffic.

It’s situations like that where Dover’s experience really pays off. He’s just a lot smoother negotiating traffic than most guys do, especially at Eagle. Grossenbacher looked as fast though, and if he continues to put consisitent runs together like he did Saturday, he’ll pick up a feature win or two this season.

Mike Boston worked his way to third, but was not a factor in deciding the feature winner. Ken Klabunde was fourth, and John Klabunde rounded out the top-5.

Billy Alley made an appearance at Eagle, but just didn’t have the speed in the feature and finished eighth.

I did make it out to Eagle just as the IMCA Modified A Feature took to the track. I’ll admit, it was a very good race. It seems as though Eagle has one of the best IMCA fields in the country, and top-to-bottom the level of competition in that class has really gone up.

Complete Eagle Raceway results from 5/8/10.

And Finally…

We’ll be making the trip to Knoxville Raceway this Saturday. I’m ready to take in my first night at the Marion County Fairgrounds!

So in hindsight, I probably should have gone to Knoxville yesterday instead of Kansas City.

My Take…

In what is becoming a frustratingly common occurrence, the IndyCarshow at the Kansas Speedway was a bore. Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe started on the pole, but it was the Target Chip Ganassi cars of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti that ran away with a 1-2 finish yesterday afternoon at the 1.5 mile speedway.

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Jack Dover drove Gary Swenson's car to victory last night in ASCS Midwest action at I-80 Speedway. (Photo-Lonnie Wheatley)

We watched an entertaining feature last night. Jack Dover held off several charges from Lou Kennedy Jr., Clint Garner and Chad Humston. The victory was the first one of 2010 for both Dover and long time car owner Gary Swenson.

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I feel like a broken record for continuing to preach this, but FIVE classes is too much for one evening of racing. I understand the economics behind the almighty back gate revenue from selling so many pit-passes, but dirt racing in this area will never grow if promoters don’t get off their asses and PROMOTE. I forget, it’s easier to just add an extra class than it is to actually work at selling a product.

The problem with this short-sighted strategy is nights like last night do nothing to win over new fans. It was cold, the racing wasn’t exactly spectacular and it ended past 11 p.m. Nights like last night are becoming far too common in this area. Perhaps that’s why you see the same faces in the crowd every night. Normal, thoughtful, rational people wouldn’t sit through that. They also won’t choose their local dirt track as a viable entertainment option. So your race crowds will consist of your die-hards, friends and famalies of racers. Why worry about bringing in new fans?

OK, rant ended. I guess I shouldn’t preach too much as there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be out at I-80 Speedway for tonight’s finale of the ASCS Midwest show. Though I’ll admit, my tolerance for nights that include 5 classes is dwindling. This is the reason I’m staying away from Eagle during weekly shows in 2010.

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