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The sprint car month of money is almost upon us. That time is considered mid-July to the conclusion of the Knoxville, Iowa, Sprint Car Nationals. Month of Money races are contested in Pennsylvania, Ohio and other states in the Midwest. Before the official start of the program, there are other major races around the region.
Ohio Sprint Car Speedweek was rain shortened, resulting in a surprise champion – Greg Wilson beat heavy favorite Dale Blaney. Wilson won two A-mains and recorded two additional top five and three top 10 finishes. Wilson is a former All-Star Circuit of Champions title holder who has returned to full time All-Star competition after Tony Stewart purchased the series this year.
Sprint Car Speedweek is in full swing and Stevie Smith could be on the way to upsetting favorite Greg Hodnett. Port Royal (tonight) and Selinsgrove close out the series this weekend.
Port Royal Speedway’s new restroom facilities are under construction. Pictures of the project have been posted on social media. It’s a sorely needed improvement.
The midwestern National Sprint League and Knoxville Speedway have found Danny Lasoski on fire. Lasoski has won four A-mains along with seven podium finishes. Lasoski has 104 career wins at Knoxville and is considered the best bet to defeat Donny Schatz during Nationals.
While on the subject of Donny Schatz, I must mention Schatz scored World of Outlaws season win No. 18 this week. We are witnessing history – Schatz’s Outlaw dominance is on par with Steve Kinser’s. Schatz could win 40 features this season if this pace continues.
Pennsylvania sprint car racing has lacked a villain driver and brash car owner for some time. That left a void in the excitement factor at times. Maybe we are starting to find some people who are capable of giving the fans something extra to talk about. Danny Dietrich is opinionated and not afraid to express his. Fred Rahmer has always been colorful during post race interviews. Rahmer was unhappy with Greg Hodnett last Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway over what Rahmer felt was jumping restarts. Rahmer let everyone know his feelings after the event. Rahmer’s driver, Stevie Smith, has gone on to win several races this week. Rahmer’s recent comments remind me of a brash car owner named Bob Weikert. This area needs a spark and between Rahmer’s three car race team and race promotions, I’d say he’s making a big impact.
Now on to NASCAR. Oh where do I start? Maybe with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who chose to travel to Daytona for Sunday’s race in the team’s race car hauler. Earnhardt rode shotgun Thursday from North Carolina to Daytona keeping fans up dated on his adventure via social media.
“It’s the first time in over 20 years, I figured I was long over due for a trip,” he said. Along the way Earnhardt experienced a truck safety check and lobbied for a rest room break in Georgia where I’m sure fans were shocked to see him climb from the rig and go in the truck stop. It was obvious Earnhardt enjoyed his trip.
NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell was interviewed on Sirius/NASCAR radio this week and stated more road course racing could eventually be in the mix. What are your thoughts about that? It won’t happen any time soon because the schedule is full. To make room other tracks would likely lose race dates.
The Rainbow Warrior paint scheme will return on Jeff Gordon’s racer later this season at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hopefully a change in luck will follow. Gordon’s team continues to struggle and Gordon isn’t looking forward to tomorrow night’s race at Daytona. Gordon made it clear he’s no fan of restrictor plate racing.
And then there’s the Confederate flag controversy. How do you feel as a race fan? The France Family, NASCAR, International Speedway Corp., and Speedway Motorsports joined in requesting race fans to create an all-inclusive, welcoming atmosphere for all who attend race events. Fans are requested to refrain from displaying the Confederate flag at all NASCAR tracks.
Those comments were released to the news media and reported Thursday. Some independent race tracks affiliated with NASCAR have joined suit. NASCAR Executive Brian France said “Obviously we have our roots in the South, there are events in the South, it’s part of our history like it is for the country. But it needs to be just that, part of our history. It isn’t part of our future.”
Ok. That leads to a couple of questions – first the debate that is or is not the flag of the Confederacy. Second, what about free speech issues? Are all flags that might offend – an Isis flag, a rainbow flag, etc. – going to come under the same scrutiny? Where do you draw the line? I throw those questions out for thought and discussion.
NASCAR is correct that the South, the rebel flag – which was carried by Gen. Lee’s troops, but was not an official banner of the separatist states – are part of the same history that eventually brought us NASCAR. Some NASCAR fans are furious with NASCAR’s decision. For my part, I am tired of entertainers and NASCAR attempting to inject politics and opinions into their program. Put on a concert or race but keep your personal politics to yourself – I don’t want to hear them even if I happen to agree.
NASCAR is slipping quickly. TV ratings and attendance figures continue to fall. A good way to speed that along is to anger a large segment of your fan base. I predict you will see a defiant reaction during Sunday’s race. I expect NASCAR and NBC to attempt to keep the flag off TV. Petitions against NASCAR’s flag decision are all over social media and message boards are on fire against NASCAR’s policy.
Happy Fourth of July holiday weekend. Racing is all over the region. Pick a track and enjoy the show. Until next week, please remember speed is for the speedway and not the highway!
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Craig Rutherford writes about motorsports for The Sentinel.