*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: During the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series races at Golden Isles Speedway the subject of drivers arriving on time became an issue of debate. As has been well documented on this site and numerous other sources, Scott Bloomquist arrived at the track on the opening night of competition well after the drivers meeting, hot laps and even qualifying. Ultimately, however, the defending LOLMDS champion was allowed to use a provisional to start the feature after running only a few laps in one of the B-main race.
Rival team owner Clint Bowyer(owner of cars driven by Don O’Neal and Darrell Lanigan) declared the he was “sick of it” in a post on Twitter. As a result of all this drama, the series announced in the next day’s drivers meeting that a driver will no longer be eligible for a provisional if his car has not been presented for pre-race technical inspection at least 15 minutes prior to the drivers meeting.
From an entertainment point of view, late entries by drivers such as Bloomquist and Ronnie Johnson over the years have somewhat added to the entertainment value of the event. And further, they can sometimes generate additional web hits and Twitter reactions. So from the perspective of someone who stands to benefit from such things, I do not necessarily mind when a driver actually arrives late to the track.
However, I can also see the series point of view. I think many folks who are not on the pit side of the fence do not realize just how busy series officials are before the start of a race. A tremendous amount of setup is required to stage one of these races, particularly a national series event. Once the cars have passed through technical inspection, the officials move on to other duties. A car arriving late forces the series to pull people off of one duty to take care of something else. Anyone who has ever worked on any sort of task knows how frustrating and time consuming that can be.
At the same time, there can be valid reasons for tardiness. A problem with the hauler, unexpected traffic delays, or any number of other issues could provide a legitimate reason for delay. With that taken into account, the LOLMDS will allow for one late arrival throughout the year. Otherwise, a team that presents evidence of a legitimate reason for being late may be allowed to take a provisional if the other full-time drivers on the circuit vote to provide the free pass.
One thing is for sure, we certainly got the season started off with plenty of drama, didn’t we?
Michael: Yes we did. And it’s unusual for a rule implementation just one race into the season.
I really thought the Bloomquist fans were unfair to Bowyer for his comments. Right or wrong, there are many that feel Bloomquist gets special treatment from some of the series and from some of the racetracks. That’s the perception that’s out there. Bowyer has the right to share his opinion like anyone else.
As far as I know, there was no particular reason why Bloomquist showed up late for the first race. I haven’t heard anything about truck problems, traffic delays, or anything else. Things happen on long trips. I get that. I think the series was embarrassed by their defending champion showing up late and basically using a provisional as a guaranteed starting spot without putting forth much effort in the rest of the program (qualifying and heats). And this came after Bloomquist vowed he wouldn’t be late again. It just sent out a wrong message and the series decided to do something about it right away.
Richard: And to add to the drama, the first couple of weeks on the LOLMDS have produced plenty of intrigue on the track as well. The racing has been very good so far, particularly at East Bay Raceway Park. Tim McCreadie came from 18th to win a thrilling race on Thursday night, Bloomquist held back a host of would-be front runners in a points race on Friday night, and then after a Saturday rain out at East Bay it was Brandon Sheppard who used a last lap pass to beat Bloomquist to the checkered flag on Sunday at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala.
And as we talked about in an earlier edition of the Turn 2 Blog, there is plenty of star power on this series in 2017. At the end of the Friday night feature in East Bay, the top-8 finishers were all former national touring series champions at one time or another. That’s what the fans will come to see throughout this coming season.
Winning any single race on this tour in 2017 will definitely be an achievement, won’t it?
Michael: I believe so. Add to that all the drama that took place in Sunday night’s LOLMDS race at Bubba Raceway Park where there were several lead changes, including the last lap, and the first and second place cars of Josh Richards and Don O’Neal getting involved in an accident with a lapped car.
If there is one thing I have noticed to this point, there are several teams that have Bloomquist in their crosshairs this season. It will be interesting to see how the season plays out.
Richard: Speaking of Bloomquist, and you can’t talk about Dirt Late Model racing without doing exactly that, he is a guy who can just never be counted out. After his late arrival for the first series race at Golden Isles that ultimately resulted in a poor finish, he has done nothing but post one strong run after another. His tardiness brought on criticism from others in and around the pit area that eventually led to the Lucas Oil Series making the rule change regarding the use of provisional starting spots for feature races that we discussed earlier.
The Mooresburg, Tenn. resident finished second on Saturday night in Golden Isles then had to spend multiple days in the hospital dealing with an infection in his hand that came about after an accident in his shop while working on his race car.
So just when it looked like he might be in jeopardy of missing a points paying race, he recovers to post a win in what turned out to be the only series points race at East Bay on Friday then had a very close second in another points race at Bubba Raceway Park.
This guy just seems to thrive on adversity, doesn’t he?
Michael: It certainly seems that way. There is never a dull moment around him and his team. You have to wonder if they thrive off that by design or if things just happen. Either way, it certainly gives us and others something to talk about.
While people (including ourselves) wondered how the World of Outlaws Late Model Series would fare without Josh Richards, it looks as if we have our answer. We expected Brandon Sheppard to do quite well in the Rocket house car in Richards’ former ride. But early on, it looks like Chris Madden has served notice he’ll be a factor this season.
Richard: There have been as many stories to come out of this year’s version of SpeedWeeks as any over the past few seasons. Absolutely, Madden has emerged as a true threat in the World of Outlaws Late Models, as we thought he would. Josh Richards and Brandon Sheppard have each collected multiple wins after switching rides. And perhaps most importantly, the racing has been outstanding.
If the rest of the season offers up as much as the first couple of weeks has, we’ll have a lot of stories to write.
Michael: A couple of things I have noticed is the resurgence of drivers such as Don O’Neal, Rick Eckert, and Earl Pearson Jr. And the apparent arrival of several young drivers such as Hudson O’Neal, Michael Lake, and even Brandon Overton, though he’d had some success over the years. If these trends continue, it should offer plenty of storylines for the upcoming season.
