Drivers such as Jimmy Owens(20) and Tim McCreadie will be looking to score good finishes on Friday at the Taz
While it can certainly be said that any race on any track at any time can be one that turns the tide in terms of causing a driver to lose significant ground in a title chase or gain large chunks of points on the competition. But one track that has a greater likelihood than most at causing such shifts in momentum has to be the Tazewell Speedway. The insanely high-banked facility located in the mountains of upper east Tennessee is known for intense racing at speeds that can only be described as “Bad Fast” as the track’s nickname suggests.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will roll into Tazewell on Friday night(May 3) for a $12,000-to-win event that will serve as the first of a two-race weekend for that national tour. The LOLMDS teams will move to Kentucky’s Florence Speedway on Saturday night for another $12,000-to-win show.
Tazewell Speedway is loved by many fans because of the high-speed action it produces that pushes drivers and the machines such as the Super Late Models that will be in action on Friday night to the absolute limit. At the same time, many drivers enter races here with a certain degree of trepidation because of the ever lingering possibility of being swept into an accident not of their own making. With laps being clicked off in the 11-second range around a third-mile clay oval banked so steeply that it limits how far ahead a driver can see, there is often very little time to react to incidents that occur just ahead on the track.
Racers can find trouble quickly at Tazewell
However, those racers who are able to steer clear of the mishaps that might befall their competitors have a chance to gain an advantage on those who did find trouble. A driver who may not have gotten off to the start he had hoped for at the beginning of the season could make significant gains with a podium finish if those who got off to a hot start in 2019 find themselves with twisted sheet metal early in the going.
The fact that the top racers in the business have won the past four LOLMDS features at Tazewell serves as testament that those who come in expecting to do well rather than hoping to avoid trouble are more likely to succeed. Jimmy Owens won here in 2014 while Scott Bloomquist scored the victory in 2016. Jonathan Davenport took home trophies from the Taz in 2015 and 2018. The race was rained out in 2017.
As is the case with almost any activity, those who go into a race on this track expecting difficulty will probably find it while those who going in with the idea that it will prove to be a successful night are already one step ahead of the game.
So for the competitors on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, this Friday night at Tazewell Speedway could prove to be a high-speed momentum maker or a torn up momentum breaker.
***Please note that Jimmy “Pup” Thomas will be selling laps for Friday night’s race at Tazewell at a cost of $50/lap to benefit Scott Bloomquist as he sidelined due to injuries received in a motorcycle accident. Contact Pup at 865-806-4459 if you would like to sponsor a lap to benefit the Hall of Fame driver***
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