As Saturday Approaches, Points Races Heat Up!!!
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
by Bill Wright - Two new point leaders were in the offing after last weekend’s IRA shootout at Knoxville. Kerry Madsen moved past Wayne Johnson in the 410 standings after his second straight trip to victory lane. The two battled wheel to wheel (literally) in the early going of the feature event. The contact resulted in Johnson suffering a flat tire and restarting at the rear. He made a charge back to 11th, but surrendered his point lead in the process. The two will be back at it this weekend for Slideways Karting Center/Pella Printing Night.
Ricky Logan has turned two top three finishes in a row to climb to third in the standings ahead of Skip Jackson, Don Droud Jr., who is now the permanent pilot of Ed Gifford’s 17G, Brian Brown, Jon Agan, Calvin Landis, Chad Meyer and Matt Moro. Others making moves in the standings after top ten runs against the IRA last Saturday night were Justin Henderson and Mike Reinke.
This week is a return to normal with time trials back in place for the 410 class. The passing point format was tough on drivers like Billy Alley, Colin Northway, Eric Vanderploeg, Clint Garner and others who failed to make the show. Expect a 410 car count in the 30s again this week after the 58 who competed a week ago. Scary incidents involving Seth Brahmer and Ian Madsen shook the crowd a bit. Brahmer was released from medical care on Saturday night, while Madsen had surgery this week to begin the healing process for his broken arm. The Knoxville Safety and Rescue Team was operating in rare form as always.
Larry Ball Jr. is on a roll (no pun intended). He holds a 28 point advantage in the 360 standings over John Kearney. Ball passed Eric Mason, who was hung up in traffic late in the race and took his second feature event of the season. John Schulz had another solid run to move into third in the standings. Jake Peters is finding his form and has climbed into fourth, followed by Johnny Anderson, Joe Beaver, Dusty Zomer, David Hall, Josh Higday and Brett Mather.
Jarod Smith turned a nice 7th place run into a two-point lead over Jon Corbin, who suffered mechanical difficulties all night. The two are the leading point getters in the 360 rookie race at this early stage of the season. 42 cars have raced in three out of four events this season in the 360 class. Expect about that number to be present this week.
70-80 sprints in the pits for $10. Just another typical night at Knoxville. I hope you’ve made a habit of joining us, because this year’s points races are wide open!
Web Updates
54 entries are in for the Midget Nationals June 3 and 4!!! More are expected. Check the Midget Nationals event section on the right hand side of the home page. Impress your friends by knowing what the cars look like and identifying them on the track through our driver bio pages before you ever get to the track. If a name appears red, click on it to see the driver’s bio. Don’t miss Hall of Fame Weekend, it’s going to be awesome!
Doug Johnson has new photos from last week’s IRA tilt. Also see pit shots of most of the IRA (and other) visitors both in the 410 and 360 class in “Pit Photos 2005”.
Driver bios are still trickling in. Hey, I even got one from Jake Peters this week! If you are a driver who hasn’t filled one out yet, drop me a line. We don’t want those pages to be empty. We want to promote you and your sponsors.
If you can’t make it to the track Saturday, you can now link to the weekly broadcasts on the homepage and follow along with Bob Wilson’s Live Results in the “Results” section.
Thanks to all that listened in and sent us e-mail last week. “Hot” Rod Pattison will be on another assignment this Saturday, so yours truly will be handling the play by play. Be kind and let me know where you’re listening in from and what you’re thinking about the website at editor@knoxvilleraceway.com. We like to name names on the air!
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