Upper Midwest Ramblings from US 36 and Knoxville
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
byJustin Zoch - “Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes, well, he eats you.” That line from the Coen Brothers cult hit “The Big Lebowski” sums up the weekend for Craig Dollansky and Dusty Zomer. On Friday night at US36 Raceway in Osborn, Missouri, Zomer led Dollansky to the line – for fifth in the B-main. They were the first two men to miss the big money (although Dollansky used a provisional to finish tenth). Fast forward 24 hours. Dusty Zomer has just decimated his fellow Knoxville regulars and the IRA invaders in a crushing victory and Dollansky has outpaced the World of Outlaws for his first win of 2007 at Lake Ozark Speedway.
Zomer’s win came in unbelievably convincing fashion as he stretched the lead from his pole position to nearly eight seconds (a minimum for a bull ride and more than half a lap at Knoxville). He had been in this position before, particularly at the end of 2006 when he was popped a right rear while leading, and finished third the week before but it was still shocking how fast Zomer was… Since Zomer was so far ahead, maybe most fans had a chance to watch Kaley Gharst rip through the field from 16th to second. If passing points counted in the standings, Gharst might have the title wrapped up this year. If he ever starts in the first five rows, he’ll be a shoe in to win… Danny Heskin was back in the pit area after last week’s wild wreck but does not have a car ready to go. Heskin was there last weekend too but after the hard hit was convinced he was at an amusement park – he was checked out at the hospital later. Danny’s older bro, Davey, put his car solidly into the A-main for his second A-main start in three shows… Contrary to what you read here last week, Dave Hall and Russ Hall are related – they’re cousins. Oops… Nice to see Andy Hunt back on the racetrack after his 2006 season was cut short by a grinder at Red Cedar in late August. Hunt suffered a pretty severe elbow injury but is back for another year on the IRA tour… The IRA brought a trio of racers to Knoxville for their first time – Tommy Sexton Jr, Russel Borland and Billy Hafemann. Sexton’s father raced Knoxville in the mid-1980s while Borland was a long-time crew member for fellow Kewaskum, Wisconsin, resident Donny Goeden for several years. Hafemann, meanwhile, matriculated from the winged dirt Supermodifieds, after five years of racing them at Plymouth, to Sprint Cars for 2007. For each Hafemann and Borland, it was their third night in a Sprint Car… Several notable names were missing from the IRA sign-in sheet, including Mike Kertscher, Howie Gleason, Joe Symoens and Donny Goeden. Brian Kristan was also missing as he was attending the wedding of IRA traveler Jason Johnson. Congrats to Johnson and his new bride.
Lynton Jeffrey’s third place finish showed he’ll be a force with Glenn Freeland in the pits this year, after a slow start. If Jeffrey runs like this the rest of the year, he’ll be celebrating career win two or three at season’s end. Jeffrey’s one win came in the final Summer Classic/1,200 Lbs. Nationals last July… Dustin Selvage watched the World of Outlaws at US36 from the sidelines with Frankie Heimbaugh and Pete Crall and then debuted new sponsorship from Noble Ford in Newton, Iowa, on Saturday night at Knoxville… Sadly, just two weeks after attending the Knoxville World of Outlaws show, Raceway Hall of Famer Ralph Blackett passed away on last week… Even though the 50D is no longer making quick laps at raceways around the country, Bruce and Debbie Cox are still involved in the sport, giving $500 from Cox Design and Metal Fabrication to quick time at US36. Donny Schatz went out late and took the money from Jason Solwold… Congratulations are in order for Johnny and Jenny Anderson on the birth of their first child, Jack Mitchell, last Thursday. Anderson missed the transfer from the heat but used a B-main transfer spot to charge to 13th in the feature… Kyle McCullough of www.hostiowa.net fame has a new website at www.racingthreads.com where you can order everything from a Justin Henderson backpack to a Dingus Lounge St. Patty’s Day hoodie. But, most of all, you can easily get t-shirts of a variety of racers… Jody Rosenboom brought the Layton Performance K9 car out for the first time this season and made his Knoxville debut one night before sweeping to Huset’s 360 victory in his own car. On Friday night, Dusty Ballenger, who made his Knoxville debut the previous week, raced to a win over an 8-car field at Rock Rapids, who is back to running weekly Sprints in 2007.
Terry Alexander hopes to return to the cockpit next week in order to keep his spot in the draw. The rules have changed this season and drivers are allowed to miss one week and still get in the draw for the next week, which is a great idea and allows for drivers to take a week off without great penalty. It should be called the John Kearney Rule. The Kansas driver missed last week’s show and then promptly won this week’s, his 21st career win at Knoxville. Kearney slipped by Matt Moro on a restart and checked out… The highest finishing IRA driver was Scott Young, who was married in the offseason. He was seventh at the stripe… It may not show in the box office but Jack Potter should be commended on his start in the Sonner 47. The youngster is just four shows into his 410 career and is showing excellent potential in a high profile ride… Bill Balog has parted ways with Ronnie Wuiff after just one night in the car for 2007. Balog brought his own 17 car to Knoxville after getting upside down two weeks ago at Cedar Lake. Balog now lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, just 70 miles east of the Twin Cities metro, and will be making several IRA and ASCS 360 starts this year. No word on what Wuiff plans to do but the IH was absent from Knoxville. The duo combined for one win last year at Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Mike Woodring, who worked briefly with Terry McCarl before Brian Kemenah was hired on a permanent basis, helped wrench Randy Hannagan to a seventh at US 36… Jake Peters is very quietly putting himself into championship position again at Knoxville and his charge from the rear to eighth makes him the only driver to have four top-ten finishes in the 360 (Brett Mather is has three top-tens and an 11th) and a narrow point lead over Josh Higday… A few changes have been made to the World of Outlaws schedule. Dates that have been added include Tri-City Speedway in Illinois (a Thursday nighter with POWRi Midgets) and River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks on June 29. Off the schedule dates include West Virginia Motor Speedway and Route 66… I bumped into Steve Frisbie at US36 and he promises his son Todd, who just turned 30, will return to the Sprint ranks for sporadic starts in the family Sprinter in 2007.
Biggest Surprise: Ryan Roberts. He’s as unheralded and quiet as can be but the Nebraskan has made three of his first four features at Knoxville and finished third to John Kearney and Matt Moro this week.
Biggest Disappointment: Brian Brown going up in smoke, which sidelined him in the A-main. Brown was charging through the field and could have been eked out a top five, with a little luck. This could bite him in the point chase – just as an early-season, last-lap blown tire did last year.
Best Moment: Dusty Zomer in victory lane gathering great applause. His first victory at Knoxville came at a 360 Nationals prelim and he was greeted with a chorus of boos after a slider gone wrong on Loren Langerud. This time, the kid got nothing but well-deserved cheers.
Worst Moment: Travis Whitney’s turn one flip on the first lap of the 410 A-main. The IRA point leader, and defending champion, had set quick time and could have been a factor in the feature.
Most Important Thing: The track conditions were once again perfect nearly the entire night and the cushion has been higher this year than in several years. Using one lap of qualifying for large fields is the best procedural move in many years.
Next week, it’s back to Knoxville for the Saturday night weekly show. The rest of the week is spent cruising around Nashville, Tennessee, with my girlfriend Whitney on a well-deserved vacation (for her, not me) to catch some tunes, some baseball, and if all goes well, the Friday nighter at the beautiful Bloomington Speedway in Indiana. Keep the inbox full of news and notes at jzoch@threewidemedia.com.
|