*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: It proved to be yet another banner weekend at one of our region’s dirt tracks. After big turnouts for events at 411 Motor Speedway and Boyd’s Speedway already this year, Smoky Mountain Speedway packed a record number of fans into that facility this past Saturday night for the $15,000-to-win Spring Nationals feature. As we have discussed on this forum in previous postings, this area loves its special events as grandstands have been filled to capacity each time a track hosts such a show.
And the fans were treated to quite a contest as drivers from this area battled for the win on the Maryville, Tenn. track. Scott Bloomquist and Randy Weaver banged off of one another during the middle section of the race before Bloomquist finally pulled away for the win. At the same time, local heroes Mike Marlar and Jimmy Owens ran well to the delight of the big crowd.
Further, those in attendance had an opportunity to see nationally known drivers such as Darrell Lanigan, Don O’Neal, Jared Landers and Earl Pearson, Jr. in a race not sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series or the World of Outlaws Late Models.
SMS could hardly have asked for a better scenario for its season opener.
Michael: According to our great weather forecasters, they called for rain all weekend. Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case. It wasn’t cold at all, there were some great drivers on hand, and no rain. It was almost a perfect weekend for racing.
I know a number of people were troubled by the car count. I look at the quality of the field versus how many are there. I’ve been to many races where the purse is less, but there are more cars. But there are only a handful of cars that could actually win. There were probably 10-12 cars that had a realistic shot at winning. I’ll take that every time.
I know the owners have been trying to make this a signature event for the track. Two years ago, they had a NDRL weekend with one of the best fields of cars I have seen in this area in a long time. An awesome crowd was there for that one. Last year was a total wash out. It was great to see this weekend return to being another great crowd with a good field of cars. Hopefully, this can be established as annual go-to event.
Richard: You bring up an interesting point regarding car count vs. quality of the field. While there were not 40-50 Super Late Models on the grounds this weekend at SMS, there was no shortage of top stars. As I walked through the pit area I thought to myself of all the championships that had been won over the years by the drivers in attendance. Bloomquist, Owens, O’Neal, Lanigan and Pearson have won national touring series titles and that’s not to mention those who had won regional titles throughout their history in the sport.
I understand the obsession of some with car counts because it does in some way serve as an indication of the health of dirt racing, but at the same time, I also enjoy seeing the top names in the business do battle.
I had a discussion with one driver during the weekend as to why there weren’t more cars. We wondered if they had simply decided to race closer to home as there were other events taking place around the southeast or if there is fear by some of the level of competition. My thoughts are that it could be a bit of both. Drivers have to weigh their costs of racing against the opportunity to actually make money at a given event. Some may decide that staying close to home or racing against fewer championship winning drivers may be their best option. I certainly can’t fault anyone who is doing this for a living for those decisions.
Michael: I think it has a lot to do with the caliber of competition. You are more likely to see the top names in the sport at a race that pays $10k to win or more. A regional driver looking for a decent payday may feel they will do no better than start money if they make the race at all. In turn, they may skip that race and instead look for something with a lower purse and lower caliber fields to score a better payday. It’s all part of the game some play.
The race at Smoky Mountain was good timing on the schedule because many of those drivers, that spent weeks in Georgia and Florida, had several weeks to rest and be ready to race. When it comes to scheduling, it’s all about timing.
Richard: And speaking of that race at Smoky Mountain and one of the top regional racers in the country, Chris Madden was disqualified from the event by Spring Nationals promoter Ray Cook after an incident occurred near the track’s scales following the third heat race of the night on Friday. Madden and Scott Bloomquist had just completed an intense battle that saw the two stars make contact on the track. As the cars rolled up to be weighed, a Bloomquist crew member rode toward Madden’s car on a dirt bike. After a few words and gestures, the Madden car bumped the dirt bike and sent its rider for a tumble.
Cook decided to issue the penalty after gathering the facts of the case. While it can be argued as to whether or not the crew member should have been removed as well, the move to exclude Madden from the rest of the proceedings was the only call that could be made.
Ray Cook is one of the most upstanding men I know in dirt racing or otherwise. No doubt, this was a decision he made after very careful thought. Consider that Madden has been a mainstay on the Southern Nationals family of tours so he would not wish to alienate the driver if this were not the right thing to do.
You had a much better view of the incident than I did. What were your thoughts on how things played out?
Michael: It was a bad deal all around. First, you had the crew member riding around on a small dirt bike making obscene gestures toward Madden. Second, those gestures were not warranted as the action on the track was just hard racing for the lead, not any dirty driving. Third, the crew member just barely missing the nose of Madden’s car. Fourth, Madden hitting the throttle to knock the crew member off the bike. None of those should have happened.
Having said that, Madden was clearly in the wrong for hitting the person with his race car. After the incident with Tony Stewart a couple of years ago in New York, drivers on any level should certainly know better than to attempt to take a car toward a person not in a car. He could have hurt him much worse than he did or possibly killed him. Cook made the right call to disqualify Madden. There is no place for that in racing.
The debate has lingered on whether anything should have happened to Bloomquist’s crew member. While there is nothing in the rules about foul language or obscene gestures, there is something to be said about agitating another competitor. I believe any series or racetrack should evaluate whether an agitator should also face some sort of penalty.
Richard: On the topic of a dirt bike and/or four wheelers at racetracks, the various series and tracks need to address this. There are simply too many of them in what are often tight and busy areas with scores of people walking around. And perhaps worst of all, I have noticed several track officials being the ones who seem to be the most careless.
Unlike NASCAR where the pit and garage areas are tightly regulated, anyone who pays for a pass can get into a dirt pit area. Often times that means children and other people who aren’t as aware as they need to be might be walking around. All it would take is one careless act and suddenly a relatively unknown dirt track will find itself in the national news.
Michael: There are a few tracks that have rules against minors in some areas of the pits and infield. Not all of those enforce those rules. Many of those are dictated by the particular insurance companies. I do think more tracks should look into some type of regulations regarding minors in the pits.
One thing I have noticed about our society is how many people walk around looking into their phone. But you just don’t see a lot of that at the racetrack. That’s a good thing. Most people that regularly attend a race know they will get ran over if they’re not paying attention.
You are right about the carelessness of some people that operate four wheelers in the pits. Track officials can be some of the worst. I know it’s their job to get to an accident as fast as they can. But I have seen some that zip around just to take a person from one spot to the next. A few tracks across the country have put in rules against non-personnel using four wheelers. Maybe more need to look into that.
As for the dirt bikes, I wouldn’t be surprised if the national series soon institute banning them because of the Madden incident. I know people like to use them because they don’t take up as much space in a hauler and easier to move around on them. But they are also harder to see, especially from a driver in a Dirt Late Model. The view is limited as it is without someone on a pint-sized dirt bike zipping by.
Richard: To steer the conversation in a different direction all together, one thing I’ve noticed so far this season is that some of the shows are running too long. Some of this has been caused by unforeseeable factors such as having far more cars or fans to show up than anyone could have ever anticipated. However, there have been times in which avoidable factors have contributed to delays.
For one thing, I believe tracks sometimes fall into the trap of hosting too many classes along with a special event. Further, some classes simply run too long in their feature races. Time limits can be a good thing.
And lastly, there have been instances in which tracks did not have enough personal to handle the number of people on hand for a particular event. As we stated above, special events are big draws in today’s racing world. Promoters have to account for all of these factors when they make out their schedules.
Michael: Not to pick on anybody, but it seems that tracks that have curfews, that run a special event much earlier in the day than normal, are the worst about dragging things out. It’s like they know they have this extra time they normally don’t have and let up on keeping with the normal routine.
I do agree some tracks do run too many classes for some of the special events. On the flip side, Smoky Mountain only ran two classes each night this past weekend. Friday was really drawn out because of all the wrecks in the Sportsman class. It shouldn’t have gone as long as it did. Some sort of time limit would have been nice, even if they were running for extra money. They made up for it on Saturday with a very timely run program.
