November through March are a welcome break for me. It's nice to reconnect with family and catch up on the things that I neglected during the summer. I'd like to be able to kick off my season at the Chili Bowl or Florida Speedweeks but that's not possible for me. I'll go to an occasional swap meet or banquet during the winter but I'm not what you'd call a regular attendee at those functions either.
One advantage of hibernation is that it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the previous racing season. I enjoy going through my photos and notes with the goal of making improvements. As I view the photos of each event I reflect on my experiences and would like to share a few of them with you. This isn't a recap of the entire season or a summary of the racing action. I picked out a combination of ten races or in some cases entire weeks or weekends and what made them special to me.
1) My memory of the May 25 Superior IRA race is kind of fuzzy. I have a hard time remembering who won by the next day let alone trying to retain the information until early December. Suffice it to say that I had a good time and enjoyed the races at Superior. I could look in my records to see who won but that isn't necessary for this column. What stands out about this trip is that there was a disagreement between two of the promoters a week or so prior to this race. I recall wondering if they would still be racing. As it turns out the race went off without a hitch and I drove home from Superior with plans to head up to Brainerd the next morning.
The next day I found that some very cold weather for May had blown in overnight and Brainerd was taking the brunt of the winds and cold. I called the track a couple of times on the way there to make sure they were still racing, the weather was that bad. In fact it was so cold that I "wimped out" half way through the races, packed up my camera and went to my truck to warm up. I hung around and watched the Sprint Car Feature from the grandstand and left before the program was over. There was a time when I used to sit on a bucket and ice fish but that was before I had titanium and screws in my neck. I have since abandoned cold weather recreation and do my best to avoid that type of weather. I'm pretty sure the show would have been canceled if the IRA hadn't traveled so far to get there. Hats off to NCS.
Brainerd would be more than inconvenienced by the weather later in the 2007 season when a severe storm caused extensive damage to the facility. You probably recall hearing about it on the news late last summer. Track personnel and volunteers scrambled to ready the track for their first ever WISSOTA 100. The storm damage made all the Twin Cities news outlets but the real story that they didn't cover was how the racing community all pitched in to make repairs.
2) I've got a computer personal wallpaper of Jerry Lepinski broadsliding the Wilke Chevy around the historic Owatonna oval in the early 70's. Owatonna first opened in 1934 making the 2007 season the track's 73rd year. 2007 was my second season as the Owatonna “track photographer” so I attended their Memorial Day USMTS race. I don't get many opportunities to watch the USMTS and they put on a good show. Since Owatonna is a specials only track getting the surface prepared can be a challenge. Track preparation during the 2007 season had improved after a rough start in 2006. The future was beginning to look good for historic old half mile. Unfortunately the 2007 season only lasted through the July 10 Tri-Star Challenge Series Late Model race. The remaining three races, a Labor Day USMTS race as well as two ASCS Sprint Car specials, fell victim to a dispute between the promoters and the Steele County Fair Board.
I'm not certain at this time if any racing will be scheduled at Owatonna in 2008. What I do know is that I won't be working as their photographer next year. My decision has nothing to do with the promoters who I consider friends. Owatonna has been a struggle since the bulk of their schedule takes place on week nights. Consequently, Owatonna requires taking vacation or being out late during the work week. Maybe this is a sign that I'm getting older but I find that doing accounting work without adequate sleep gets more difficult every year. If there is racing at Owatonna during the 2008 season I will include some of their events on my schedule but won't commit to the entire season. When Owatonna canceled their September 15 ASCS Sprint Car race I was able to attend the final night of the DTRA 100 at Cedar Lake and decided that I would never again make conflicting plans on the final night of the 100.
There were some good times at Owatonna so I don't want to give the impression that the racing wasn't good or that I didn't enjoy myself. It's just that for me there are bigger events that I want to preserve my vacation for. The August Fair race at Owatonna is a classic so I'll always make an effort to be there for that one. Perhaps I'll get down there for an ASCS race or two as well if they host that type of racing again in 2008. It's going to be interesting to see what happens down there next year.
3) The next special event on my calendar was the Masters at Cedar Lake. This year I was excited about the addition of the 360 Sprint Cars to the Thursday night preliminary. My MRC Masters preview predicted that Jerry Richert Jr. would win the IRA Sprint Car Feature and Justin Fegers would be victorious in the WDRL Late Models. My prognostications were off but Jerry Richert Jr. did win the Thursday 360 race so I was partially right. Jerry didn't get to celebrate in Victory Lane as Scott Winters came across the finish line first but didn't make the required stop at the scales. Winters posed for photos with the trophy and Richert was declared the winner after the ceremonies. Jerry was happy with the winner's share of the purse and felt bad that Scott had run such a good race only to have it taken away from him.
My other memory of the Masters (at least I think it was the Masters) was a 3am excursion onto the track. Miller Lite in hand I followed an anonymous friend through the pit gate so we could stand on “sacred ground” under the stars. I didn't calculate that my legs were shorter than his and my crotch didn't quite clear the chain securing the gates together. Fortunately I didn't spill my beer but the can did sustain some damage. As I lay sprawled out on the ground looking up at the stars I had a revelation. I realized that I'm getting too old for 3am Miller fueled adventures and need to stay by my camper. I'm not sure how bad I damaged the pit gate chain but I apologize to the CLS owners if you're reading this.
4) The Cedar Lake Speedway put a new twist on their annual World of Outlaws race in 2007. Instead of the traditional Monday date the Speedway booked the “Greatest Show on Dirt” on Sunday night. Having their annual Firecracker on the previous night made for two consecutive nights of racing and another camping weekend. The combined events worked out great for me but I see that they're going back to their traditional Monday night in 2008. I'm not sure if that had something to do with the Outlaw schedule, input from fans or some other reason. I'll probably camp at the track Sunday through Tuesday again next season but will have to find something else to do on Sunday night. Perhaps I'll make my first trip to the Eagle Valley Speedway on Sunday night.
A couple of notes about the Outlaws before I move onto the next topic. The series boasted 26 touring cars at Cedar Lake but don't expect those kinds of numbers on the tour next season. Some cars will be parked due to teams folding for economic reasons and a few very familiar teams are rumored to be no more. 26 cars out on the tour was an anomaly made possible by the demise of the National Sprint Tour. Two series gave some teams a taste of what it was like to be out on the road with the Outlaws (and NST). The return of Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski and company and the absence of enough tow money to support all these new travelers forced a reality check. I expect the WoO car count to self correct to a more reasonable 18-20 traveling teams next season.
Donnie Schatz captured his second consecutive Knoxville Nationals and World of Outlaws titles in 2007. Not only did Schatz repeat but he silenced the critics who said that he won in 2006 because Kinser was not present. Donnie will be driving for Tony Stewart Motorsports in 2008. This pairing is going to be formidable right out of the box but I won't concede the 2008 title to Schatz yet. Donnie's dad Danny has been with the team for over a decade and we all know how important experience is in motorsports. I'm going to withhold judgement until we can see how well the new team gels. I look for Steve Kinser to slip down a few more spots in the WoO point standings next season. Kinser is in his mid 50's and the inevitable effects of age are becoming more apparent. Steve is going to be competitive and will win some races, maybe some ones, but his days of dominating the sport are over. It doesn't matter how many WoO titles or Nationals championships Steve won, age catches up to all of us.
5) July 12-14, we spent three nights camped at Cedar and sandwiched a Kopellah weekly show between NASCAR night and the Billy Anderson Memorial. Cedar Lake booked NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., this year and the place was packed. I had the opportunity accompany Dan Plan to the media center and take some photos for MRC. At my age I'm not into hero worship so I my encounters with racing personalities aren't as special as they used to be. I have been in what some would consider the enviable position of having many close encounters with the biggest stars of NASCAR. Despite my somewhat cynical view of celebrities I was impressed by how nice of a person Dale Earnhardt Jr. is. Dale was extremely humble and polite during the press conference and seemed to be having a great time. I might have to break down and get an Earnhardt hat one of these years.
The next night my friend Vince and I went to Kopellah to join Dave aka “Navy Davy” Trautmiller in the infield. I enjoy going to Kopellah and have gotten to know many of the people who go there on a regular basis. Owner Marguerite Lindblom has secured on my list of “Sprint friendly” tracks with the addition of one or two 360 specials each season. On this particular evening we had to scramble back to my truck due to a quickly approaching thunder storm. Enough of the program was run to consider it a complete show but we missed out on a couple of the Features. We made it back to the Cedar Lake campground just in time to get our campfire started before the rains came. We kept the fire burning, fired up the grille and did a couple hours of bench racing.
My final race of the weekend was the Billy Anderson Memorial on Saturday night at Cedar Lake. For those of you who don't remember Billy, he was a Minnesota Sprint Car driver who used to race at Cedar Lake in the WISSOTA Sprints. Anderson was paralyzed from the neck down in a 1998 Knoxville crash and died of complications from his injuries several years later. The Billy Anderson Memorial honors his memory and it's an event that I make it a point to attend every year.
This also stood out as the night my camera flash failed in the middle of the racing program. Dirt track racing can be hard on photographic equipment when you're out in the elements shooting hundreds of photos per night. I checked the manual and my flash had exceeded it's life expectancy after three seasons so I got my money's worth out of it. An online order from B&H Photo resolved the problem in time for my next race.
6) August 2-4. I didn't reserve a campsite in time for the USA Nationals so I had to drive home after the races all three nights. This trip was a working trip would be all business. As far as the racing at the Nationals goes I enjoy watching Scott Bloomquist anytime he races at Cedar Lake. Bloomquist has been limiting his schedule to big events and no longer chases points with any series. Next year I have to make it a point to reserve a campsite for the Nationals next season.
7) “Here's Jonny”... Jon McKorkell that is. I attended the Friday all Sprint Car night of the Jackson Nationals on August 17. Chuck Swenson was DQ'd for an illegal modification to the ASCS heads after appearing in Victory Lane. That was the last time Swenson raced during the 2007 season. Jon McKorkell returned as promoter after a year absence and did a good job under difficult circumstances. I'm planning on heading down there for Friday night of the Nationals again in 2008. I love half miles and Jackson is one of my favorites. I wonder if we can move it closer to Forest Lake?
8) IRA Rice Lake Saturday August 25. I hadn't been to Rice Lake since 1999. What was I thinking? The facility has seen many improvements since my last visit, the racing was excellent and the staff welcomed me as if I were a long lost friend. They even allowed me to park my car behind the pit concession stand. Prior to the Rice Lake race I had exchanged messages with IRA driver Mike Reinke on (of all places) the Dave Blaney NASCAR message board. I met Mike at Rice Lake and will make a point to look him up whenever he's racing locally. The Pure Stocks put on a great show at Rice Lake. There are a ton of cars and the racing is very competitive. I'll bet you thought you'd never hear that from me. Rice Lake's IRA show will be included on my 2008 schedule.
9) My son called my office on Friday September 7 and asked me if I wanted to go to the races. I haven't been going to the Friday of the Northern Nationals the past several years so I could get ready to camp at the Richert Memorial the following night. Seeing as Les offered to do all the driving I thought “why not” and jumped at the chance to get out of the office early. My camera batteries weren't charged and I hadn't made media arrangements in advace so I spent the night in the grandstand. The racing was good, Les was happy to spend time with his dad and I got to relax for a change.
The following night at the Richert Memorial we saw Mike Reinke win what has become known as the IRA's biggest race of the season. Even more exciting for me was getting to meet a boyhood hero, Scratch Daniels. Scratch who was voted into the Sprint Car Hall of Fame was a team driver with Jerry Richert Sr. I watched both Richert and Daniels drive Supermodifieds when I was a kid so this was a special night for me. My brother-in-law joined us in the campground with his notorious “Weenie Wagon” for the first time in several years. It was truly an enjoyable weekend.
I'm including the September 15 finale of the DTRA 100 as part of this ninth listing. I wasn't able to attend all four nights of racing but I was able to make it to the Saturday night grand finale. The 2007 DTRA 100 had a twist reminiscent of Scott Winters being stripped of a win because he forgot to scale earlier in the season. Joel Cryderman held off Pat Doar for what appeared to be one of his biggest wins of the season but was turned away from Victory Lane due to running over the cone on a restart. Doar was sympathetic to Joel's blunder in his Victory Lane interview.
10) Friday night of the Princeton National fell victim to rain. Saturday's weather was nice and I was ready to go racing one more time in 2007. Proctor's Proctoberfest canceled earlier in the day due to thick fog sending a few more fans to Princeton swelling an already packed house. Donnie Schatz took a popular win and the racing was excellent.
So that's going to wrap things up until the next issue of MRC online. Have a safe and happy holiday season. In my next column we'll take a look ahead to the 2008 racing season.
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