With a night off from Midvale this week I was looking forward to doubling my regular weekly allowance of dirt action. Even with Saturday night getting shortened by Mother Nature, I got plenty of side by side racing both nights. Friday night it was time to get back to work on the flagstand after a night off last week. I could tell that Ed really missed me too because he dind't give me the finger once all night. ;-) The heat was brutal and Randy and the gang had their hands full trying to keep up with the track conditions but it turned out to be a pretty good night of racing. Yea, there was some ugliness that reminded me of the past version of Lakeville but hopefully that was handled at the meeting after the races. If it turns out that those drivers didn't learn anything from it, they simply deserve what comes next. Hearing some of these youngsters at the meeting only confirmed one of my fears for the future of racing. Some (but certainly NOT all) of these young drivers act like spoiled little punks that are convinced the world revolves around them. The world seems to owe them something. They have no sense of the words "respect" and/or "class" at all. One even made it perfectly clear when he said proudly that warnings didn't mean anything because if his Mom warned him not to do something, he'd be determined to do it anyway. Holy shit, what a difference in generations! Not only would I not ignore my mother's warnings, I knew damn well why I didn't dare ignore her. Part of that was respect, the other was avoiding a good ol' fashion ass whoopin'. Let's hope folks like this hang around the sport long enough to learn respect and class from those that display it on and off the track every week. Sure, this sport has room for plenty of different personalities but it can't survive if it's handed over to those that have no respect for others, or the sport itself. This ain't no damn video game kids. It's real life and sometimes things don't go your way. Real life can be a bitch but it can be a little easier if you make an effort of your own to improve it. Damn, how did ya get me all worked up like this anyway? I was writing about some damn good racing things got away from me I guess. :-)
Anyway, Friday night action was hot and heavy all night in all divisions. Mike Lonas returned "home" to Lakeville and once again found himself in the winner's circle at the end of the night. Damn, how many is that now? I do know that it's more than any other driver in the history of this place! The Pure Stocks put on a damn good show of their own including the return of "The Mopar" to the mix. When it was all over Bob Daugherty was celebrating his 4th win of the season at Lakeville. That night he chose not to use his backup car now seems to haunt him in the points chase. He seems content with that though and had even more to celebrate of Saturday night.
Saturday night Hilltop featured the Street Stock Invitational which put my favorite division in the spotlight. Hilltop has had the strongest field of Pures all season and this event would draw in some tough contenders from other tracks as well. Lakeville regular, Bob Daugherty showed up at Hilltop last week to test things out and ended up with a damn strong second place finish for his efforts. This week the competition would be even stronger though. Hell, we even saw the return (literally from the weeds) of that 55 Chevy of Tim Meyers (driven by Al Farris). It's been a while since that battleship has seen action but it always fun to watch. Since I don't get to the hill much it's also great to see Denny Shear any chance I can get. For a guy with one of the most "pure" Pure Stocks out there, he sure seems to get it done each week. Saturday night he marched that Camaro of his from 11th to a very strong 4th place finish in the feature against many of the areas finest. DAMN NICE JOB DENNY!! That was a perfect example that you don't have to spend tons of money to battle with the best of them. While Shear was digging his way to the front there was one hell of a battle going on for the lead. It's no secret that Brandon Gardner and his Buick will stand in the way of anybody that wants to win at Hilltop. This young fella just seems to dominate the place. Daugherty seemed determined not to finish second to him again this week though. He hounded Gardner using the bottom of the track and it paid off. Once he got the lead he never looked back and took home the $600 prize along with some braggin' rights. How about it Gardner, maybe you can head to Lakeville and take one away from Bob at his home track? ;-) Hats off to all those Pure Stocks that showed up and put on one hell of a show. That race alone was worth the hour long trip to "The Hill".
This coming Friday night all divisions will once again be stirring things up at the bull ring of Lakeville Speedway. This show will be brought to you by Morris Motors of Loudonville. Hilltop will be rewarding 2010 Feature winners with their Dash For Cash events on Saturday night along with all other regular classes. Also included will be the make-up Features for the Modifieds, Mini Stocks, and Mini Trucks. Sounds like ALOT of racing action to me. BE THERE!!
