In the Groove
Sunday, May 8, 2005
by Stacy Ervin - A regular night of action at the Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, May 7,
brought 45 cars in the 360 division, 36 cars in the 410 division and thankfully, no precipitation to delay or wash out the show.
Though rain was discussed all week long, Mother Nature held off and let us have our third straight week of excellent racing. The weather, though, was like a different world from what it had been the past two weeks. Finally the cold went away and the humidity returned.
Though that humidity hampered further attempts at breaking the newly set track record, the track was pretty fast considering, and Billy Alley set the quick mark, cruising past the flagstand in 15.451.
Notably odd themes seemed to be a staple of the night. For instance, one 360 heat race featured all the Alexanders. Terry, his son Mitchell and his nephew Stacey all raced the same heat, thanks to the luck of the draw.
In the first 410 heat race, Justin Henderson and Clint Garner both had their share of troubles. The common theme here: Both are from the Sioux Falls area.
In the fourth 410 heat race, Mark Dobmeier of North Dakota and Seth Brahmer of Nebraska battled heavily for the final transfer spot to the feature. The common theme here: Both sport the number 13 on their mounts. While sharing numbers is certainly not uncommon, it is still strange that drivers are choosing that seemingly unlucky number.
Finally, and most unfortunately, in the 360 C-Main, Missouri’s Frank Brown took a series of wild flips in turn three and family member David Brown was caught up in the melee.
While the drivers were OK, one of the track rescue personnel was injured by some pieces of debris during the cleanup from that accident and was taken to the hospital. This is a good time to point out, once again, that Knoxville’s fire and rescue crew is the best in all the world. Of all of the extremely dedicated people who call the Sprint Car Capitol of the World home on Saturday nights, this bunch is the cream of the crop. We all know it. We’ve all said it many times. It always bears repeating.
If there is a Hard Luck Award given out in the 360 division this year, surely Stacey Alexander will be in the running to receive it. Running second in the B-Main and solidly in a position to transfer on to the feature, his machine slowed to a stop at the halfway mark, ending his night too early.
Alexander’s misfortune, however, indirectly allowed Eric Jobe and Brett Mather to make it to the feature. Both are notable, Jobe because of the wild ride he took last week down the backstretch. It was good to see him back in the saddle so quickly. Mather was notable because of the incredible drive he put on. After finishing third in the B-Main, he made an impressive drive up to sixth in the A-Main, while his B-Main compadres, Dusty Zomer, Jobe and Frankie Heimbaugh finished in the bottom five of the feature. A nice run for Mather, whose talent is often overlooked.
Another 360 driver who has seemed to be underrated at Knoxville probably won’t be anymore. John Schulz, one of the Sprint Invaders bunch from Eastern Iowa (shameless plug for my own great part of the state), started on the pole of the feature, held onto his composure and the lead despite being downright dogged by the likes of track champions John Kearney and Jake Peters and last week’s winner Larry Ball Jr. This was arguably the best race of the night and kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. Schulz, part of
the Schneiderman stable of race cars, was an elated first-time winner and earned this victory in a big way, keeping the hungry competitors at bay even on a green, white, checkered finish.
In the 410 feature, those who transferred from the B also raced pretty well. B winner Justin Henderson came to 15th on the 24-car grid, while Clint Garner was 14th, Jesse Giannetto 12th and Mike Moore 17th.
Finally, thanks to all who have had nice things to say about the results page on the newly revamped Knoxville Raceway Website. It’s been a blast helping track historian Bob Wilson by posting the 360 lineups and results and commenting on those events. I’m having a great time and it’s only the third week of the season. I have to say it’s going a long way toward making up for that long drive to and from the races each week and that well-worn path I keep beating down Highway 92.
Next week is sure to be a fun one as the Interstate Racing Association comes back to town. It¹s always a blast having them with us and the fact that they bring the stellar Wisconsin cheese and goodies up to the press box surely makes it better. My birthday always falls around that IRA show and although I’d like to quit having birthdays anytime now, being with those good friends from up north does make turning another year older seem a little more festive.
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