The latest edition of the Turn 2 Blog is presented by the American Crate All-Star Series.
*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideDirtRacing.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the dirt racing topics of the day from east Tennessee and beyond.
Richard: In sports, business, or otherwise it is often said that a breakup between two parties can benefit both sides. But in reality, that is hardly ever the case as one side or the other seems to get the better end of the deal. However, Dirt Late Model seems to actually have a situation at hand in which both parties did appear to benefit from a breakup.
At the end of the 2018 season Blount Motorsports and driver Casey Roberts parted ways following a mixed season that saw some success and some disappointment. BMS brought former driver Donald McIntosh back into the fold while Roberts went on to join forces with Wynn Motorsports. And the results have been quite good for both as McIntosh has already won three features and came down to the wire for the Spring Nationals title while Roberts has won two events and is on a consecutive streak of four straight podium results.
BMS crew chief David Bryant is widely regarded as one of the best in the business but Roberts is a driver who has always worked on his own cars. As a result, the pairing just never quite worked out.
Wynn Motorsports is allowing Roberts to return to his more familiar role in terms of car preparation and the results reflect the benefits of the move. At the same time, McIntosh is a very talented driver who meshed well with Bryant when they were previously paired together. And like the Roberts/Wynn case, the results reflect the benefits of the move.
It doesn’t happen often but this really does seem to be a win-win situation to this point, doesn’t it?
Donald McIntosh has returned to Blount Motorsports for the 2019 season
Michael: At this point, it seems to be a good move for both. McIntosh left BMS in hopes of landing a ride to run Lucas Oil and that never panned out. Roberts took his place to drive for a well-funded team that has seen lots of regional success. Neither worked out. That just happens.
The fact that McIntosh was available was good luck on the fortune for BMS. It took several races to start clicking again, but they seem to be back in sync.
I’m not sure how Roberts and Wynn got together but Roberts is now back in a Longhorn, which is something he’d had a lot of success in. I don’t think the BMS Rocket suited his driving style.
Richard: I think these are two examples of how important it is for a team to be the right fit for all involved. Many people seem to believe that simply having a particular chassis and engine combination is all it takes. Lots of people out there have the top-of-the-line chassis brands and many of those same people have top-of-the-line engines to fit inside those chassis. Yet, not everybody is winning.
What it all boils down to is having a driver, crew, chassis, owner, engine and all the other components on the same page and working in the same direction. If just one of those pieces isn’t quite fitting, it can throw the whole operation off.
Even some of the sport’s top drivers have gone into slumps then come right out of it when that one piece of the puzzle is remedied however necessary. It really can be a tough puzzle to piece together, can’t it?
Michael: I was a believer that Jimmy Owens could jump into anything and win. But he didn’t find success in a couple of his moves, but seems to be clicking now in a Rocket.
I find it interesting many seem to think almost anyone can jump into a Sweet-Bloomquist car and think they’ll win a lot of races, especially if they have Bloomquist’s setup. As one person at his shop told me, his driving style is so unique that very few drivers could duplicate his success with his setup because of the way he uses the throttle and the brake. They need to find what works for them and their own driving style. But, it is a copycat sport.
Richard: Since you brought up Jimmy Owens that provides a great transition into our next topic. As I was standing just a few feet away from him on Monday night in the 411 Motor Speedway victory lane I got to thinking about all he has accomplished. Then the next day I was conversing with a few folks on Twitter about his racing career.
In many ways I think of Owens like NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson. Everyone knows he has accomplished a great deal and has a significant number of fans, but I’m not sure everyone is really considering Owens’ full value to the sport of Dirt Late Model racing. As I said, I believe this is the same view many have of Johnson.
Years from now people will look back at Johnson’s career and realize that what he has done is nothing short of amazing. I think the same will be said for Owens twenty years down the road.
Because of the fact that Scott Bloomquist and Billy Moyer were already established as legendary figures by the time Owens rose to prominence, I think he has always been viewed as a guy who has had to elbow his way into a conversation very much dominated by two of the greatest of all time. As I said earlier, I believe people will look back a couple of decades from now and think, “Wow, that guy really accomplished a lot.”
Do you share this view?
Jimmy Owens has accomplished a great deal in racing
Michael: I think the deal with Johnson in NASCAR is a little different because I don’t think he has the number of fans someone with his resume should have. Five years ago when Gordon, Dale Jr., and Stewart were still racing, he wasn’t even in the top 5 in the number of fans that could be seen at any given NASCAR race. I think some people view his championships with an asterisk.
The opposite can be said for Owens. He has a lot of fans, and not just around here in east Tennessee. I think he gained a lot of fans during his time driving for Mike Reece and wheeling a Bloomquist chassis. Many of those that didn’t like Bloomquist gravitated toward Owens because he was beating Bloomquist in his own cars.
I do feel there are a few fans out there that undervalue Owens and his career. Some of that could come from not being as dominate as he was 7 or 8 years ago or some pay more attention to guys like Davenport, Pierce, etc. these days.
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