Midgets Grow Smaller

By Kevin Eckert (Kevin@openwheeltimes.com)

July 8, 2009 Speedway, Indiana: Where all dogs have come out of hiding. When did we decide to celebrate priceless American independence with cheap Chinese fireworks?

Saturday’s rain enabled more hillbillies to keep more fingers. It also rescheduled the only midget race of the Tri-State Speedway season for Saturday, July 25. Unfortunately for POWRi personnel, the new date creates a 440-mile overnight drag to Missouri’s U.S 36 Speedway. I too intend to take that trip.

Are we near the end of midget racing? POWRi and ARDC average 25-30 cars per show but the rest are in critical condition. BCRA brought ten to Shasta. AMRA attracted nine to Tucson. RMMRA managed nine in Pueblo, and WMRA canceled in Canada after only six midgets appeared in Ephrata. Some of those groups have been in trouble for years in the escalating insanity of owning a midget. But when Wisconsin fields dip below 20, the situation is truly dire. Badger brought 12 midgets to Dodge County.

Midgets ceased to make sense sometime after Chevy II and Volkswagen were shoved aside. Toyota may be the final nail. Ford Focus engines looked like a way to create an entry-level midget class. But if the head is dead, healthy roots go nowhere. After eight seasons, USAC races contain less than ten Focus cars. Those who do progress do so in sprint cars, such as I-69 winner Kyle Robbins.

Sun Prairie’s empty grass has taken some shine off the string of five straight BMARA wins by Missouri’s Brad Loyet. After its four-car assault on Chili Bowl, Loyet Motorsports released renowned Rusty Kunz to elevate George Ruzic to crew chief. Brad has not missed a beat, winning 11 of 30 and adding a sprint car that beat everyone but the mighty Jon Stanbrough in Danville, Illinois.

I became the proud owner of a Flea Ruzic T-shirt at the spiciest Chili Bowl of them all in 1994. Of course, 15 years and 50 pounds make it so tight that the shirt may soon fall to skinny Kirk Spridgeon. On the Hall of Fame induction weekend (Knoxville’s lowest midget count in eight editions), Spridge helped Stephanie Laskey locate the plaque honoring her grandfather Ted Halibrand. Kirk jarred my memory about an Opperman diary called Odyssey. Sure enough, Tom Schmeh’s new archive room has the book.

A bloke can’t swing a dead dingo without hitting an Aussie these days. Roddy Bell-Bowen, Matthew Butler, Trevor Green, Greg Hall, Steven Lines, Dene McAllan, Paul Morris, Matthew Reed, Garry Rooke and the first U.S tour in ten years by Garry Brazier all ran last weekend. In his first tour of Pennsylvania since driving the Dyer Masonry 461, Brazier bagged eighth at Williams Grove, sixth at Port Royal and ninth at Selinsgrove on Sunday.

How ‘bout those Kaedings? Tim, Bud and Brent bagged second, third and fourth from Dirt Cup and accounted for 11 wins by Independence Day. Brent raced the Sala 360 on the USAC Fridays when Bud was in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Friday was Chico checkered Number 88 for Brent. Saturday was Bud’s first Chico checkered since 1997! Tim topped IRA on Rice Lake and earned eighth at Eagle in Saturday’s World of Outlaws event.

“Rocket” Crockett will soon be reacquainted with “Rocket” Hockett when the Missouri star makes his Pacific Northwest debut in Medford (July 13), Cottage Grove (July 14) and Lebanon on Wednesday, July 15. It is a regional ASCS prelude to the first ASCS National races ever in Washington (Elma on July 17-18) and Oregon (Cottage Grove) on July 24-25. Yes, it is now official; USAC has lost another shooting star.

Omlid & Swinney Fire Protection dominates Oregon with Roger Crockett (11 wins) and added a Saturday win on Gray’s Harbor with Henry Van Dam of Enumclaw, Washington.

Enumclaw’s Kasey Kahne carries ‘49’ on Brad Sweet’s USAC midget in tribute to the first man to drive for Kasey’s dad Kelly Kahne. He is Cecil Walker, the fellow tree killer who won a Dirt Cup prelim in 1985.

Arbuckle, California’s Gary Paulsen followed his first Petaluma 360 win with two weeks at Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway before returning home for Saturday’s Civil War race at Petaluma.

San Martin, California’s Wes Gutierrez won two wingless 360 shows to close 2008 and added wings and midgets for 2009. Last month, Wes made his Indiana debut by tumbling a Walker midget down the hill at Bloomington.

Temecula, California’s Mike Spencer, third in the first wingless 410 feature in 18 Petaluma seasons, followed with an Indiana weekend for Scooter Ellis at Bloomington’s Sheldon Kinser Memorial, Putnamville and Kokomo’s Bob Darland Memorial before returning home for third at Perris.

David Cardey posted Petaluma USAC-CRA success after a fast lap of 14.61, slower than the 14.50 laid down in 1991 by Billy Boat and current Spencer crew chief Bruce Bromme Jr.

How much does Jack Jory love Rip Williams? Jory has kept a car under Rip for 14 years and added two more for Rip chips Austin and Cody. Jory shipped all three to Petaluma, where The Ripper recorded second to Jimmy Sills in the CRA show of 1991.

Manhatten Beach boy Garrett Hansen, winner of last month’s Ron Otto USAC-CRA Memorial at Santa Maria, finished fourth on Friday asphalt at Shasta with a USAC midget and fourth on Saturday clay 600 miles away in Perris with a 410 sprint car.

Broderick Roa, son of Mike Kirby’s faithful mechanic Brett Roa, won the USAC Ford Focus midget match Saturday at Perris. Brody’s uncle Tom Roa recorded three CRA wins at San Gabriel (’72), Ascot (’78) and El Centro in 1981.

How good is Hood? The man’s older than an Edsel and all but retired for two years. Yet when Johnny Herrera headed for Knoxville and dad needed a new shoe, Joe Herrera called Rickey Hood, took one race to get reacquainted and won the next ASCS event in Tucson.

Arizona chargers Charles Davis and Mike Martin have shown an ability to be fast in wingless ASCS Canyon or winged ASCS Southwest competition.

Las Cruces, New Mexico’s Rick Ziehl raced a Renegade 305 on Friday in El Paso, Texas before winning Saturday’s regional ASCS 360 show in Tucson, Arizona. Also making that 300-mile trip were Shawn Sander and John Carney II.

Arizona’s Alex Pettas relocated to Santa Claus, Indiana and ran a steel block SCORA 410 to fourth at Flora, Illinois and seventh in Soggy Bottom, Kentucky. Friday found Pettas crashing out of the first sprint race ever on Indiana’s Ripley County Fairgrounds and again on the way home with truck and trailer. Alex was not injured in either accident.

California spec sprint racer Keith Bloom has been on five Indiana ovals in three weeks with fourth at Lincoln Park as Bloom’s best.

Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Derrik Ortega, an ASCS winner last summer in Rock Springs, Wyoming and North Platte, Nebraska, had his Wesmar Maxim seventh Saturday in Wichita with NCRA.

Jason Martin, winning two Kansas URSS 305 features this season in his hometown of Liberal, was eleventh with a World of Outlaws 410 in Dodge City and seventh Friday in Jetmore with NCRA 360.

Tuttle, Oklahoma’s Cody Whitworth, winning with a two-barrel 360 at Lawton and Oklahoma City in 2006, finished second with 305 inches Saturday in Grayson County, Texas.

Mid-America Speedway on the Oklahoma side of the Coffeyville, Kansas border town is under direction of Kenny Gariss. As crew chief to Travis Jenkins, Kevin Gariss prepped a second two-barrel for Mike Goodman, who took third Saturday in South Coffeyville. First and second in OCRS 360 sprint cars were SMRS midget aces Matt Sherrell and Jonathan Beason.

Oklahoma crew chief Jimmy Jones, winning regional ASCS A-mains in Waco with Trey Robb and Abilene with Jerry Bell, countered Jerry’s strep throat by summoning Tommy Bryant to the Daniel McMillin Memorial at Lake Ozark. In his Missouri appearance, the Texas charger led 27 laps to a near ASCS National upset. Back in his own car, Bryant won Friday in Edna, Texas.

Three cheers for Tony Bruce! He brought ASCS back to West Memphis for a two-night national field deeper than any Riverside has seen since Jeff Swindell skipped school. Versus television will now show America all about gumbo.

Little Rock champ Justin Sturch teased television with another ASCS upset by leading 30 of 50 until Tim Crawley completed a $9000 weekend sweep.

Incidentally writers, cars that cause the leader to lose the lead are not yet lapped and therefore, should not be called lapped traffic.

Tony Bruce hit such an unscheduled home run at Riverside that Pete Walton of USCS felt the need to spice his Thursday event. Pete’s idea is to strip the wings from his 360 club. As an unabashed fan of this racing, I see it as brilliant. By going wingless, Walton could distinguish USCS and even attract some of the wingless 305s sprouting like mushrooms.

Riverside hero Terry Gray spotted ASCS one night while winning Friday’s feature in Malden, Missouri and then led USCS travelers Marshall Skinner, Anthony Nicholson, Henry Gustavus and Todd Fayard to West Memphis from Malden.

California, Missouri’s Double X Speedway is little more than an ATM machine that spits $600 in Jesse Hockett’s hand every Sunday. “Who did he beat?” Big Boys always ask. Double X rarely answers that question because Ra’Vae will reveal who sang the National Anthem but not the poor bastards who got melted by The Rocket.

Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway once had a friendly wager with California’s Santa Maria Speedway as to the world’s fastest third-mile dirt track. Brad Doty’s 11.66 at Eagle stood as the standard for many years. Saturday started with Sammy Swindell almost taking Eagle’s mark below 11 seconds with an 11.07.

Doug Wolfgang, an Eagle winner with Speedway Motors in 1979, placed son Robby on an accelerated diet of 40 starts before Friday’s arrival of ASCS to Hartford, South Dakota. On any Sunday night, Robby races 410 and 360 at Huset’s Speedway, winning the latter this week. Huset’s was where Doug won his only feature for Lenard McCarl on Cheaters Day 1988.

Harwood, North Dakota’s Lee Grosz backed across the line second in Thursday’s inaugural ASCS Can West card in Winnipeg. Saturday in Jackson, Minnesota found Lee landing held over glory and the regular race. Owner and crew chief on the winning Wesmar J&J is Grosz granddad Doug Howells, a winner with Wolfgang, Don Mack, Todd Mack, Jack Hewitt, Jac Haudenschild, Kenny Jacobs, Danny Smith and Rick Ungar.

Brainerd, Minnesota’s Tim Johnson, first in a street stock and second in a super stock Saturday on his home track, climbed in his first sprint car in four years and finished fourth in the Earl & Ethel Kouba UMSS Memorial won by Jerry Richert Jr.

Glenwood, Minnesota karting champion Cam Schafer made a few Indiana starts for Bryan Clauson last year and has returned in 2009 to make A-mains in Paragon and Putnamville.

Breaking the chase for World of Outlaw points has freed Terry McCarl to dodge rain in Dodge County. Friday when weather looked bad in South Dakota, he made a third successful strike of Steve Sinclair’s IRA loot. Earning an Eldora victory is special to every driver, as is beating The Outlaws at Knoxville, both of which McCarl accomplished in successive Saturdays.

Texas drifter Sam Hafertepe followed sixth with The Outlaws in Nebraska by winning a heat race 240 miles and 24 hours away in Sioux Falls. Do club restrictions no longer apply?

Saturday at Knoxville brought 81 sprint cars in four features for three classes. Rager’s kid brother Tasker Phillips climbed from his 360 wreckage to win the 305 feature. Johnny Anderson finished fourth with a 305 and split 360 victory honors with Jonathan Cornell from Sedalia, Missouri.

Knoxville’s own Bronson Maeschen is the 2009 pilot of the Jordan brothers, who first notched Knoxville success with Minnesota’s John Sernett (’92) before adding seven wins with Brent Antill and two more with Jaymie Moyle and Larry Pinegar. Other jockeys for Jordan have included Ricky Weld, Bill Robison, Bruce Drottz, Jeff Tuttle, Peter Murphy, Max Dumesny and John VanDenBerg.

St. Michael, Minnesota’s Davey Heskin won his first Knoxville 410 feature last summer and became an IRA winner in 2009 at Shawano, Wisconsin. IRA issues Friday in Dodge County preceded second-place for Davey on Saturday in Knoxville.

Travis “T.J” Luedke landed second Friday in Manitowoc before winning the MSA 360 show Saturday in his hometown of Plymouth, Wisconsin.

Friday in Indiana found wingless 410 features falling to Danny Holtsclaw for the time ever at Bloomington and Kyle Robbins at Gas City for the first time anywhere. There is no feeling a fan can get like seeing somebody get that first win. Kenny Niflis afforded us that thrill at Bloomington’s Sheldon Kinser Memorial.

Indiana’s operational landscape (to call some promoters is generous) shifted when Joe Spiker took over Lincoln Park from Dave Allison, who snipped his last tie to sprint cars. Ironic that Spiker should lease the Lincoln Park Speedway from which he siphoned sprint cars across the border to Danville, Illinois. Spiker is now leaning toward moving Vermilion County to Friday and dropping its sprint class to replenish Putnamville.

Kent Christian’s car looks more comfortable sideways than most of those who surround him at Bloomington, Putnamville or Kokomo. KC Fabrication placed the suspension points personally. Kent’s father was a true one-arm bandit. Chuck Amati merely taped an arm to his chest; Bob Christian left his in West Memphis.

Indianapolis owner Mike Blake began his current association with Florida’s Troy DeCaire at the Little 500. Winner of 20 races in six seasons, DeCaire returned to Anderson to win a winged HOSS card for Blake, a truck driver who then pulled 720 miles overnight from Richmond USAC to Plymouth HOSS action. Saturday saw Troy and Mike add seventh against AVSS in Owosso, Michigan.

Owosso Speedway began as a dirt quarter in 1941, was paved in ’53, dirt again in ’83, and paved since 1988. It was paved for wins by Todd Gibson (’73), Pancho Carter (’78), Sarah Fisher (’99) and Detroit’s Ike Beasley, who won Owosso’s last midget meet in ‘04.

Belleville, Michigan’s Dain Naida has notched 20 starts on 12 tracks in five states and two countries in 2009. Last month, Dain finished fifth at Ransomville, New York until ESS disqualified Naida for an illegal fuel additive.

Elida, Ohio’s Darren Long has logged 21 starts on 11 tracks in nine states and two countries in 2009. During his decade in the Buckeye State, Long has been especially fast at Eldora, where he owns seven victories.

Neil Shepherd, student at the University of Northwestern Ohio, was second at Waynesfield as winged 360 pilot of Mike Lotz, a Limaland winner with Jac Haudenschild in 2004.

Last month, Neil’s dad Terry Shepherd sold their trailer to California’s Brian Sperry, who serves as Steve Harris crew chief to Bobby McMahan and Steve’s son Kyle. Before driving it across country, Sperry made an Indiana Midget Week stop on the Kokomo property where he won a World of Outlaws race with Joe Gaerte and Tom Wimmer in 1990.

Ottoville, Ohio’s Jared Horstman is a 600cc graduate who was second at Limaland on Friday with a 360 before using a 410 to win his first career sprint race Saturday at Butler, Michigan.

Sandusky, Ohio’s Chris Andrews was Friday’s winner in Attica with a Gressman 410 and mechanical assistance from Craig Stevens, who helped Shane Stewart and Jason Johnson become winners in the World of Outlaws.

Hartford, Ohio’s Sharon Speedway held the first Lou Blaney Memorial for the sprint and modified classes that the big man loved. “Lou always raced you clean,” said New York legend Jack Johnson from Tuesday’s win circle. The sprint race became the first winged 410 feature win ever by Tony Stewart. “The first time I came to Sharon,” Stewart recalled, “Lou Blaney kicked my butt.”

Lou Blaney’s supermodified/sprint car career included 172 wins highlighted by the Williams Grove National Open of 1966. In 1973, Blaney edged Ted Wise for track championships at Lernerville, Jennerstown and Tri-City. The following summer, Lou finished fourth in his only Knoxville Nationals behind Wise, Jan Opperman and winner Dick Gaines. Once he sat in a Dick Tobias modified in 1978, Lou joined Ralph Quarterson and Ed Lynch in often sweeping two wins per evening. When son Dave came of age, Lou relinquished sprint chores to compile 350 modified wins!

My first look at Lou Blaney was the last Reading 200 in 1978 when Lou traced a thin afternoon cushion to transfer from one stacked heat. A more vivid memory is the Sunday in 1981 when Blaney placed second to Merv Treichler on the Syracuse mile.

Guys like Blaney, Bobbie Adamson and Gus Linder helped create central Pennsylvania by bringing sprint technology to cut down stock cars. Bobbie belongs in the Hall of Fame. He won from Clarksburg, West Virginia to Skyline, St. Clairsville, Steubenville, Sharon, Franklin, Kittaning, Latrobe, Jennerstown, Port Royal, Selinsgrove, Williams Grove, Susquehanna and Hagerstown, Maryland. Adamson beat IMCA at Allentown and Tampa with no roll cage, and brought a wing to wax Ascot Park during his landmark 23-win season of ’67. In two Western Worlds, Bobbie Adamson made both Manzanita finals.

Pennsylvania is the premier zone for sprint racing today because its cars are owned by someone other than the driver’s father. Quaker State businessmen play to win and when they don’t, heads roll. Dave Middleswarth knew there was no delicate way to release a legend like Keith Kauffman, but called Chad Layton anyway. Jesse Keen thought he had the next Big Thing in Pat Cannon, but dropped him when Daryn Pittman came open. Charlie Sorokach backed Alan Cole for five years, yet chose Chad Kemenah to win two of their first six.

America’s toughest region got tougher with the 2009 additions of Pittman, Kemenah and Justin Henderson, three guys from the World of Outlaws of 2007. Since replacing Daryn for Pete Postupack, seventh-place is Justin’s best in 14 races. Pittman was first when The Grove rubbered up during the Mitch Smith Memorial and awarded him $10,000.

During his epic 34-win season of ’71 when Mitch Smith smashed USAC three times on two groves, he also whipped wingless ARDC midgets twice on spacious Selinsgrove Speedway. On their way into the Hall of Fame, Kansas City stars Jay Woodside and Ray Lee Goodwin stopped at Selinsgrove to be Mitch’s bitches. “I want to meet Mitch Smith,” Jay told Ray Lee after Smith passed them in one corner, “before he gets killed!”

Stevie Smith is in the midst of a renaissance season, snaring eight wins in 35 Zemco starts. During the accolades for putting a Pennsylvania stamp on Ohio Speedweek, he wished some money went with it. Being champion of Ohio Speedweek was the same hollow honor as Indiana Sprintweek. Stevie’s Speedweek in PA ended in Port Royal’s first turn fence.

Stevie Smith joined the ranks of racers who have driven up the downhill backstretch of the Bedford half-mile for their first win. They include (in order) Ted Horn (1946), Tommy Hinnershitz, Mike Nazaruk, Bill Schindler, Duane Carter, Bill Holland, Jiggs Peters, Charlie Musselman, Dave Humphrey, Red Riegel, Larry Dickson, Mitch Smith, Kenny Weld, Lynn Paxton, Dick Tobias, Gus Linder, Jan Opperman, Bobby Allen, Rick Ferkel, Buddy Cochran, Steve Smith, Keith Kauffman, Lance Dewease, Todd Shaffer, Greg Hodnett, Jim Kennedy and Bill Rose in 2007. Speedweek 2009 saw Stevie win 37 years after dad delivered the O.J Meyers Furniture.

West Memphis product Greg Hodnett has welcomed “Lethal Lee” Stauffer back as crew chief with five wins in his last 22 starts for Jim Kline. In five Apple Chevrolet seasons, Stauffer and Hodnett horded 86 victories.

Cody Darrah, winning five times with Lee Stauffer as 2008 crew chief, has performed just fine with Steve Suchy spinning wrenches, winning three times in eight nights.

Pennsylvania’s Trevor Lewis from the Delaware River town of Upper Black Eddy won two ASCS Patriot programs in two years at Sharon and Erie before Jim Nace named Trevor for Clearfield. Saturday saw Lewis stop “The Jersey Jet” J.J Grasso from a sixth win in eight New Egypt URC races. Sunday at Selinsgrove where Lewis won last month’s Jack Gunn URC Memorial, Trevor teamed again with Nace, who owns 48 wins as a Selinsgrove driver and one as Sean Michael’s car owner at the 2007 Opperman Memorial. Second on Sunday marked Trevor’s top 410 finish ever.

Blane Heimbach, Scott Flammer and Ryan Kissinger were Selinsgrove sprint racers that made A-mains on Saturday with 358 and Sunday with 410 fire power.

Nicole Bower, backed by her father’s chain of ABC bowling alleys, became a 358 winner at Port Royal to prompt a question regarding which girls have won sprint races. I named Becca Anderson, Judi Bates, Erin Crocker, Michelle Decker, Alissa Geving, Cheryl Glass, Destiney Hays, Shauna Hogg, Christi Passmore, Mares Stellfox, Miranda Throckmorton, Kaylene Verville, Shayla Waddell, Mary Anne Williams, Shawna Wilskey and Jessica Zemken.

Martinsburg, West Virginia’s Chad Criswell crossed sixth in Saturday’s 358 feature at Lincoln Speedway before climbing in a super sportsman to land a Lincoln checkered.

Bobby Allen, employed by West Virginia’s M&J Coal Company for five seasons, returned to the Trail-Way win circle with the car he built and prepped for grandson Logan Schuchart, 16-year old offspring of Bob’s daughter Dana. It was 31 years ago when Allen won at Trail-Way between his last Little 500 and first Dirt Cup.

Watertown, Connecticut’s David Gravel, a 600cc star and 2008 URC rookie, is an All Star 410 rookie who was seventh at the Gene Tallman Memorial in Elkins, West Virginia. Gravel ran Ohio Speedweek and Pennsylvania Speedweek before Saturday rain routed him to Fremont from Terre Haute. Five of the top ten All Stars (Tim Shaffer, Dale Blaney, Greg Wilson, Brandon Wimmer and Gravel) scurried to Fremont where Dale and Tim were 1-2.

Canada’s Glenn Styres ran four legs of Ohio Speedweek before returning to his Ohsweken Speedway for ASCS Patriots and a World of Outlaws promotion that provided Tim McCreadie’s return to racing. Styres made his 2009 ESS debut at Can-Am, where Jessica Zemken lost an engine, Styres loaned one that she launched to within an eyelash of defeating Dan Kaszubinski at Utica-Rome.

Situated between the towns of Utica and Rome in the village of Vernon, Utica-Rome Speedway opened as a quarter-mile of asphalt in the summer of ’61. Bronx bomber Tony Romit won an ARDC midget race there in ’62. Dirt covered pavement in ‘79. It was called New Venture when I first visited for a 1985 win for “Jumpin’ Jack” Johnson. Four years later, I returned for the only win ever in ESS by George Sifo.

Rensselaer County, New York’s Matt Tanner took fifth in Saturday’s CRSA 305 show in the Vermont version of the Devil’s Bowl before Matt and fellow CRSA shoe Warren Alexson tried Sunday’s ESS 360 program at Utica-Rome.

Maple Shade, New Jersey’s Jack Helget Jr joined the World of Outlaws in Delaware and Virginia and was at Mercer on Saturday with Taylor teammates Johnny Beaber and Jeff Taylor.

Jack Helget Sr. was the second man to die in front of me. It was in Bridgeport, New Jersey during the brief 1977 promotion of legendary car owner Ken Brenn. Helget hopped the right front wheel of Donnie Varner, lost his helmet and hit a light pole. Varner retired on the spot, ending a career that spanned Port Royal supers to a Davey Brown 350 Mustang.

How good is Bobby Santos III? He has a percentage of pavement excellence that rivals Dave Steele in his prime. Santos was supposed to slap a wing on his midget for Tuesday night’s NEMA stop at Stafford Springs, Connecticut but could not make it. Stock car stud Woody Pitkat was set to sub until Bob’s sister Erica needed the Santos 29.

Steven Intravaia of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania and Kyle Bonsignore from Long Island raced in Concord, North Carolina with USAC Ford Focus midgets belonging to Brad Noffsinger, the CRA champ who helped hasten midgets to Pontiac power in 1986.

Haverhill, Massachusetts jockey Justin Belfiore, making eight supermodified starts last season from Lee, New Hampshire to Madera, California, made his 2009 SMRA debut fourth Thursday in Las Vegas and ninth Saturday in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Oswego saw Otto Sitterly’s supermodified averaged 130.9 mph on lap 34 of 58 to win Saturday’s Jim Shampine Memorial over Canadian drivers Doug Didero and Dave McKnight, “Jersey Jet” Joey Payne, Terre Haute promoter Davey Hamilton and Greg Furlong, who once won 16 of 26 there. Jim’s nephew Keith Shampine finished ninth in an event that included Bentley Warren, an ISMA runner-up to Chris Perley on Tuesday at Stafford.

My burning memory of Jim Shampine’s turquoise Eight Ball was forged on the eve of the 1978 Syracuse 100. Shampine sealed his 12th win in 18 starts with engine and drive train outside of a chassis that broke the Oswego record on four straight laps that ended at 17.69. By contrast, Sitterly’s best Saturday lap was 17.18.

Hungry people in the vicinity of Speedway or Gasoline Alley would be wise to choose the Tamale Place on Lynhurst and Rockville Road. It’s just a lunch counter. But the steak and egg breakfast tacos are tits! Almost.

Remembering an international visionary named Brian Healey from 4979 West 13th Street, Speedway, IN 46224 or (317) 607.7841.

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