Randy Smith and the crew at Midvale have been making huge improvements to the place since buying it, and this is one damn nice race track folks! A stout field of 21 Late Models were on hand for the season opener as well as a nice group of Mods. Practice times had Miller 3rd on the charts but qualifying didn't go as well. That didn't stop him from picking up the heat race win but he'd start deep in the field for the feature once again. This race looked alot like the wreckfest from Barberton at the start and I wondered if they'd ever get the 30 lapper in before Sunday morning. Once things finally got settled down the laps clicked off pretty quickly. Miller brought it home in 5th with only minor damage so not a bad night I guess.

I had another reason to make the trip to Midvale this week to be honest. I was eager to see a certain Modified in action. After dealing with one cocky Mod driver that wanted to buy one of my carbs so his "good" carb didn't get claimed, I had a new interest in this division. This particular driver not only insulted me with his attitude but he also damaged one of my best carbs before I took it back from him. As luck would have it though another Mod driver had recently borrowed one of my carbs and wanted to buy one. When I told him of my dealings with this other driver he insisted on buying the one that wasn't good enough for that fella to prove a point. I can't tell ya how big my grin was Saturday night when that point was proven in a big way. Not only did my "cheap carb" turn the fastest laps in practice, it just plain spanked that other fella with the carb that cost over $1000 more than mine when it came to feature time. These Mods run crate motors so it's clear that every little bit helps I guess. It also shows that more money doesn't always bring better results. I don't really want to brag about my carbs, but on Saturday night they had some decent results including 2 Late Model heat wins, 2 top fives in the Late Model Feature, and a very impressive win in the Mods just to name a few. Not too shabby for "cheap" carbs I'd say. This sure as hell isn't the first time my stuff has been matched against carbs that cost over $1000 with the same results so it's got me thinking. Guess who's prices just went up!

My asshole boss may have made me miss opening night at Hilltop but I wasn't about to allow that to happen this week. I needed my racin' fix and I got it on "The Hill". Mother Nature was a bit nicer this week, but it got pretty damn cold before the final checkers flew. The threat of low temperatures sure as hell didn't keep the fans from packing the place for just the second night of action on the schedule. DAMN, what a crowd! I'm still somewhat surprised at such a strong showing this early in the year, but then again this place makes it all worth it the trip every time. While the Mods and Late Models put on a great show, the battle for the win really wasn't where the action was. That damn Moran kid walked away with his 2nd feature win in a row while making it look easy. That young fella is just plain smooth! It's not like there was a shortage of talent chasing him either. Veterans such as Drown, Lee, Duncan, Gentry and others all with much more experience at Hilltop could only get a glimpse of the back of the 99 car most of the night. I reckon this youngster will give these guys something to shoot for all season if this keeps up.

The highlight of the evening for me had to be the Street Stocks though. While I'm certainly not wild about what this class has become, they do put on a great show. Bob Daugherty had an unusually tough night starting off with a bad handling car in the heat race. The crew busted ass to make big changes for the feature and I thought for sure I'd get to see a replay of his feature win from last week. That wasn't the case as the guy they call "Bottom Feeder Bob" took that term too far and found himself inside the tires in turns 1 & 2 early in the feature, bringing out the caution. That sent him to the tail of a damn strong field and he only managed to work his way back up to seventh before time ran out. Another driver that started out looking like he'd have a bad night ended up turning things around in the feature. Justin Patterson came in from the heat race with a big chunk of header missing and considered parking the car to avoid engine damage. I'll bet he's happy he didn't listen to me ;-) Starting 4th was just too much temptation for Patterson to run the thing and hope for the best. Well, I'd say he made the right choice and he's got the feature win to prove it. Once he got out front there was no looking back. Congrats to ya Justin!

When I first heard how early the folks at Hilltop planned to get started this year, of course I thought they were nuts. Hell, this is Ohio and Mother Nature usually doesn't allow much racing until late April if we're lucky. Besides, many racers need those extra weeks to get their cars finished. Imagine my surprise when I rolled into "The Hill" on Saturday and saw the crowded pits. Over 70 cars showed up to shake down their rides and check out the off-season improvements made to the facility. The improvements to the track were obvious as well as the extra stands and a general sprucing up of the entire place. With the family type friendly atmosphere at Hilltop I have no doubt those extra seats will be used weekly too. With new ownership at any track you'd expect some rough spots and not so well accepted changes, but in the case of Hilltop I'd have to say that the whole transaction seems transparent and seamless. The same good folks are in place all around the facility, and they brought their same great attitudes back with them. The new ownership seems to have only strengthened the focus on making Hilltop the most racer and fan friendly track in the area. Hats off the entire gang for providing a kickass racing experience to all who make the trip to Millersburg! Be sure to check out their 2012 schedule for one hell of a mixture of action packed nights. Sprints, Renegade Mods, Mod-Lites, and the Ohio Outlaw Motorsports Bike/Quads are just icing on the cake. You won't want to miss a single night on the schedule!!

Leave it to the gang at Hilltop to jump out of the gate first with some racing action for 2012. On March 24th they will host an open practice for all types of race cars. This event will run from 1 pm - 5pm and the cost is just $10 for pit admission. Grandstand admission is free. Concessions will be open for your convenience. This is a great opportunity to get an early start on breaking in your new ride or to chase those bugs out of your old one. Either way, its's a chance to get some seat time and check out the latest improvements to the facility. Let's hope Mother Nature plays nice!

On the following day March 25th there will be some crazy action at Hilltop you won't want to miss. Kicking off at 1pm will be the Soccer Mom 100 Enduro race for mini-vans followed by a wild autocross event for the 4cyl. and 6 cyl. cars. Rules for these events can be found on the Hilltop Speedway website. If you missed the autocross last year, you just have to see this show!

Asphalt might not be your thing, but there's no denying that Midvale Speedway has become a "must visit" track for 2012. Even dirt fans might appreciate the money and sweat that has gone into making this a much nicer and safer place to take in a night of racing. When Randy Smith took over a couple seasons ago, he wasted no time throwing plenty of cash at the place to update the entire pitside area. New drainage, concrete, asphalt, catch fence, and seating were the most noticeable items on that list. As soon as the final checkers flew on the 2011 season, Randy and his gang set out to improve the grandstand side of the track in the very same way. Hell, the even found time to widen the track a bit while they were at it. The new seating will be the final touch on this huge project and will be in place before the 2012 season gets kicked off in the spring. You can check out some pictures of this project on their website. While I certainly may not agree with the way parts of their shows have been run, this is probably the most modern track in our area. Check it out at least once!

The other track that has been pretty busy working on improvements is Hilltop. I've already mentioned that their unmatched registration deal is once again being offered for 2012, but that just one reason to make Hilltop your Saturday night home. Every track in the area has been itching for some new clay for their racing surfaces for years now. Hilltop and Lakeville both hauled some in before kicking off the 2011 season even though they knew it was just a drop in the bucket as far as totally resurfacing the tracks. The new clay seemed to make a difference though and Hilltop has decided to bring in even more for 2012 to the tune of 40 more truck loads. Guardrails and parking areas are also being improved for next season. Probably the best news for 2012 is that the new ownership has brought the one thing Hilltop has needed most these past few years. That being security of the future of the facility. While Jesse and Tracy have done an awesome job of reviving the track that nearly died an all too early death, the finances just weren't there to seal the deal on their own. Removing the threat of an uncertain future was very high on their priority list and with the help of some new blood in the way of fresh ownership, we can all take a long overdue deep breath. Best of all, the same folks that have busted ass to make this place a success will still be in place for years to come. That's exactly what the place needed in my opinion.

A couple of years ago when Jesse told me about his plan to offer $100 car registrations that included a FREE pit pass every night the registered car was in action, I thought he was out of his mind. Hell, I remember telling him that. He just shrugged it off and said he wanted to try something "different" from other tracks. We all know by now that the gang at Hilltop is known for doing things a bit differently and it sure as hell seems to be working. So,, once again Hilltop is offering that same $100 registration deal for 2012. Folks, I've tried talking other tracks into giving it a try but you simply can't find a similar deal anywhere else. Complete details of this offer are posted below, but in simple terms, you register your car (as required at any track) at the cost of $100. Sure other tracks charge less to register but they don't throw in a FREE pit pass every week of the season that your car is racing. It doesn't take a ton of math skills to see that this offer is a gift to any racer that plans on running at Hilltop more than once or twice all year. And with the great staff, and kickass action at Hilltop, why the hell wouldn't ya want to be there every week? I know I'm very much looking forward to another great season on "The Hill" in 2012. Hats off to ya Hilltop for continuing to think outside the box!

Complete Details On Registration Offer:

A damn strong field of Late Models rolled into Lakeville this week to put on a great show. If I remember right their feature was slowed by just 2 cautions and there was door to door action to be found throughout the entire field. Well, all except the lead spot. ;-) George Lee hasn't always been known as a guy to actually use the throttle in any position other than on the floor but he showed some great control working through the lapped traffic all night. A couple times he would have to battle Markham for the lead but those battles didn't last long. Lee stepped out front and simply drove away. It was great to see guys like Bond, Canada, Maffet, and Pollock back in action this week. Thanks for the kickass show guys!

The Pure Stock points chase couldn't be any tighter but it almost seems like neither one of these guys wants to win it. Every night this year that Miller or Daugherty has had problems the other one was on the trailer soon after the first one. It's crazy I tell ya. Daugherty would end up with the biggest problem this week with a broken crankshaft. Miller would soon follow him to the pits with a flat tire. I look for Daugherty to return with either a backup car or borrowed engine so this fight ain't over folks. Whoever ends up with the trophy on Friday can sure as hell say they've earned it. Another Pure Stock driver has almost silently slipped his way towards the top of the points list and that's Denny Shear. They call him Mr. Consistency for a reason and lately he's been getting consistently faster. Knocking down a few heat race wins and top fives in the features have been his rewards. While it may be too late for Shear to be a threat for the championship, he's sure as hell made his mark at Lakeville this year.

My racing weekend kicked off with a huge and pleasant surprise. As I was walking into the pits at Lakeville I spotted the Super 6 car headed towards the tech area with none other than Dave Haven Sr. behind the wheel. You might recall that Dave has been suffering from health issues for some time and the last time I saw him was late July. It was tough to see such a historic racer looking so weak but he went out of his way to shoot the shit with me which meant alot to me. At that point I figured we probably wouldn't see the old timer strapped into a race car again but hoped to see him in the pits again soon. Well, I must have underestimated this stubborn old fella because there he was Friday night strapped in and ready for action. I figured it was only right to do something special for him to show the appreciation from the entire racing community for such a determined racer. At intermission Dave wheeled his ride onto the front stretch to be honored by all of those in attendance. By this point of the evening Dave had already run his heat race and made it clear that he would be running the feature too. The crowd responded with a loud and long standing ovation. It's not often you get to honor a guy with 48 years of racing experience under his belt, and this will be a moment to remember forever. I'm very grateful that I could be a part of it. They just don't make racers like him any more for sure. Even with his health problems he ignored the incredible temperatures just to get back out there and do what he loves. RACE! And race he did, bringing the Super 6 car home in 7th place when the checkers flew in the feature. Damn it was good to hear that big ass Mopar engine roar by again. Thanks Dave for making my entire weekend one to remember and for all those years you've dedicated to racing. I salute you, Lakeville Speedway salutes you, and racers as well as race fans that recognize your dedication to racing salute you. We all salute you sir!

The rest of Friday night was action packed as always and it was great to see the Modifieds back in action at Lakeville. The Pure stocks put on a damn good show once again with Daugherty picking up yet another win. Jeff Facemire made just his second appearance of the season and looked pretty strong for a fella that should be pretty rusty by now. Facemire lead most of his heat race but had to settle for second at the end. When feature time rolled around he was right back at it and wound up with a very respectable 4th place finish. Damn Jeff, maybe you should have kicked off your season earlier. ;-)