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Running Wide Open
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Author: |
Joe VanHoose |
Created: |
1/24/2007 10:37 AM |
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An inside look at stock car racing's biggest stories, from local dirt tracks to Daytona. |
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The cost of spectator racing: The death of a Saturn |
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By Joe VanHoose on
3/24/2007 8:55 PM
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Spectator racing: it just sounds dangerous, letting mere fans race their own cars on a track built for professionals.
Of course, anyone who’s been to the races has heard that guy, six beers in, talking about how he could go out there and do just as good as the real racers. But anyone who’s been around a racetrack at speed knows that it’s a lot harder than it looks.
But there are some that just don’t get the message, and that’s what spectator racing is all about. Every once in a while, between the poor lines and slow speeds, someone gets enough conviction in them to go out and test the edge. Unfortunately for them, they typically fall off the speed mountain.
That’s what happened Friday night at Ocala Speedway. All of the ingredients were present: a middle-aged man in a car that wasn’t his, a front-wheel drive small sedan that can’ ...
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Fritz back in driver's seat tonight at Ocala Speedway |
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By Joe VanHoose on
3/17/2007 3:03 PM
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When Ben Fritz races at Ocala Speedway tonight in his TBARA sprint car, it will be a homecoming and a new beginning. The 24-year-old Ocalan has seen highs and lows in his racing career, but this year he is back where he is most comfortable: the driver’s seat.
In 2005, Fritz was on the verge of making the big time. After successful campaigns in the TBARA, Fritz was picked to drive an Indy car for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the Indy Pro Series, the stepping stone to the Indy Racing League and Indianapolis 500.
But the deal went dry when a sponsor couldn’t be found for his car. Fritz sat out most of the year, trying to land a ride that never materialized.
“The whole thing turned into a money deal and a sponsor deal, and we just didn’t have any,” Fritz said. “It stole a lot of time, just a lot.
“It sucked, but wha ...
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Anderson wins Ocala Late Model season opener |
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By Joe VanHoose on
3/13/2007 9:42 AM
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Wayne Anderson, who’s dominated Ocala Speedway like no other Late Model driver, added another win to his name Friday night in the track’s season opener.
Anderson, who started third, snuck underneath Daniel Webster ill-handling Chevrolet on lap 3 and held on to lead the rest of the 30-lap Late Model feature. Scott Millar followed Anderson to the front and finished second. Scott Grossenbacher made his way to third with Keith Zavrel and Webster rounding out the top five.
Two cautions for two Perry Lovelady spins slowed the race in its late stages, but Anderson held off the rest of the field on the restarts to secure the win.
Modifieds
For a race that took three tries to get started, the 25-lap feature ran caution-free after the first lap debacles. Robbie Cooper shot to the lead from the outside pole and led ev ...
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Ocala's going racing tonight |
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By Joe VanHoose on
3/10/2007 5:04 PM
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The Ocala Speedway will start its season tonight after last week’s show was rained out. As far as I can tell, tonight's races will be run under clear skies with Chamber of Commerce approved temperatures.
Now, after last week’s column, I received some comments that I may have painted a misleading picture of the race track.
This one is straight from the mailbag: HAVE YOU GONE TO RACES AT THESE TRACKS? CITRUS RAN TWICE WAS MANY CARS AS OCALA AND THEY DRAW A LARGER CROWD… IF YOU KEEP TRACK OF THE CAR COUNT THIS YEAR AT EACH TRACK YOU WILL LEARN A LOT. THANK YOU, A RACE FAN.
Well, Mr. Race Fan, I’m not going to disagree with you. Citrus County Speedway does get better fan counts and car counts than Ocala Speedway. But I never said that Ocala was doing better than Citrus County. The two tracks are cooperating instead of competing, which is commendable ...
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Mexico Busch race leaves plenty of anger to go around |
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By Joe VanHoose on
3/9/2007 7:13 PM
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OK, experts tell me it’s always good to take a pause when you’re angry before acting on your anger. Well, I’ve taken three days to collect my feelings, and I’m still angry.
I’m angry at the finish in the NASCAR Busch Series race in Mexico City on Sunday, I’m angry at Juan Pablo Montoya, I’m angry at the antics of road racing. Really, I’m just angry at the world, or at least at NASCAR.
For the record, NASCAR got exactly what it wanted. Juan Pablo Montoya, the most-hyped new driver in years, became the first Latin American to win a NASCAR Busch Series race, and the race just happened to be in Mexico. Yes, NASCAR's only Latin American driver won NASCAR's only race in Latin America.
Make no mistake about it: NASCAR doesn’t care about race fans in Mexico. NASCAR cares about Latin American race fans in t ...
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Ocala Speedway cancels Friday's races due to rain |
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By Joe VanHoose on
3/3/2007 8:00 PM
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Mother Nature, she's a tough one to figure out. But this I know is true: she hates stock car racing.
Ocala Speedway canceled its opening night earlier today because it just won't stop raining. Even though I used my mind power to clear up the skies, the rain continues to fall.
So race fans will have to wait another week to get their local racing fix. The same program scheduled for this evening will run next Friday, March 9, with racing starting at 7:30 p.m.
Anyways, it looks like my Friday evening has just cleared up. Anybody want to go to dinner?
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Racing returns to Ocala this weekend |
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By Joe VanHoose on
3/2/2007 2:46 PM
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The Ocala Speedway gets back into full swing Friday evening with its opening points night, the first regular event of the year. But a partnership with Citrus County Speedway, in addition to a number of facility improvements over the last few years, could make this season for Ocala Speedway much more than regular.
In a time where many local short tracks in Florida struggle with car counts and attendance, the two central Florida speedways are the exceptions, not the norm.
The norm in the state has been mediocre at best. Orlando Speedworld, New Smyrna Speedway and Desoto Superspeedway are all down in attendance both in fans and drivers. In the past five years, Jax Raceways in Jacksonville and Putnam County Speedway in Palatka closed, and Hialeah Speedway and Golden Gate Speedway in Tampa were razed.
Ocala Speedway saw its share of p ...
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In this case, NASCAR was right |
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By Joe VanHoose on
2/23/2007 2:53 PM
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NASCAR just can't seem to win, even when everything is seemingly never better. In the past ten days, the sanctioning body has clamped down on cheating like never before, and it witnessed one of the most thrilling finishes in history in its biggest race, the Daytona 500.
But yet, everyone seems to be dumping on NASCAR.
Critics argue that the penalties dished out by NASCAR to the cheaters in Daytona were not harsh enough. Critics argue that NASCAR should have thrown a caution flag when a wreck broke out in the last lap of the Daytona 500, negating the photo finish that transpired.
Critics can whine all they want, but that doesn't mean they're right.
In fact, as much as it pains me to point this out, NASCAR has done everything right in the last two weeks. From pre-race penalties to in-race decisions, the NASCAR powers that be ...
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The Daytona 500 turns into an instant classic |
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By Joe VanHoose on
2/20/2007 12:55 AM
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The 49th annual Daytona 500 read like a novel, but it started out as a snoozer. At the half way point, only four drivers had led the race and everyone was still running, quite spread-out to be exact.
Then there was a turning point. Actually, it was Tony Stewart getting turned by Kurt Busch while leading the race that turned this race upside down.
All of a sudden, the two dominant cars were out of the race, and everybody now thought they had a shot to win. And they proved that they would drive through each other to get in position to win the Great American Race.
Five cautions, all multi-car crashes, slowed the field in the final 50 laps, compared to just two cautions in the first 150. The wrecks trimmed the fat from the field a little more, and suddenly there were just a handful of contenders, a small cast of characters indeed, for the Daytona 500 win.
Then there was ...
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Live from Daytona: Saturday AM Update |
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By Joe VanHoose on
2/18/2007 5:45 PM
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Did you see the finish last night in the truck race?
If you didn’t, you missed one for the ages. Jack Sprague pulled a Days-of-Thunder-like move to get by Travis Kvapil on the final lap, really the final 100 yards. To top it off, Johnny Benson shot low to make it a three-wide photo finish.
How close was it? Well, Kvapil was leading in turn 4 and he finished third.
That’s the beauty of Speedweeks. You never know what race will be the best. The few folks covering the race in the press box, myself included, were beside themselves. Remember, we media folk aren’t the easiest group to excite. But there we were, throwing high fives and cheering.
That’s what racing will do to you. We knew we had seen something special, and so did the 60,000 freezing fans that stayed until the end, even though it was 30 de ...
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Live from Daytona: Friday PM Update |
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By Joe VanHoose on
2/18/2007 12:15 AM
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The lights are on and the temperature is falling as fast as the sun here at Daytona International Speedway.
Tonight, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes to the high banks for the Chevy Silverado HD 250. The green flag waves shortly after 8 p.m., with truck series veterans Jack Sprague and Carl Edwards pacing the field.
Drivers to look out for include 2006 truck series champion Todd Bodine starting third, Travis Kvapil starting fourth, Terry Cook and Ted Musgrave filling up row 4, Johnny Benson rolling off tenth, and Ron Hornaday starting 16th. NASCAR drivers Ken Schrader and Mike Wallace share the eleventh row, Mike Skinner will make a go from ninth and Bill Lester will start 33rd.
Check back for results on this 100-lap race later on this evening.
The NASCAR Busch Series just finished qualifying
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Live from Daytona: Friday AM Update |
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By Joe VanHoose on
2/17/2007 6:09 PM
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Burton speaks out against cheating
The NASCAR garage has always unofficially appointed a driver to speak on behalf of all the others. For years, it was Dale Earnhardt.
Earnhardt had his finger directly on the pulse of the NASCAR garage, and he was always the driver to speak up on behalf of his brethren, whether he was promoting his own agenda or not.
Now the leader and spokesman for drivers is Jeff Burton. Burton is not exactly a star and he doesn’t have the souvenir sales of those like Gordon and Earnhardt Jr.
But what Burton does have is an opinion. And he may be the best at articulating the pulse of the garage, so much so that when he gave his press conference Friday morning, the media hung on his every word.
Today Burton focused on cheating, the buzz word for the week that has stolen racing headli ...
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Random Observations: Daytona |
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By Joe VanHoose on
2/17/2007 4:59 PM
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It’s amazing how quickly a fan base can turn on a driver, just ask Michael Waltrip.
From 2001 to 2005, Waltrip drove for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr., and he rose to become one of the more popular drivers on the track. Granted, it was popularity by association (anyone who partners with Dale Jr. will watch his stock go way up), but he was definitely loved.
Then last year he left DEI, formed his owned team, and hopped on the Toyota bandwagon. You could feel Waltrip’s popularity slowly leaking away.
Then he arrived at Speedweeks this year. So far, he’s been busted for cheating, had his crew chief and team manager ejected from the race track, and to top it all off, he wrecked Earnhardt Jr. while battling for the lead in yesterday’s qualifying race.
Judging by the collective jeer of the ...
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