It’s time for our weekly Friday morning tour around the racing world. From hot laps to the main event, here’s what’s on our mind this week.
Hot Laps: It’s Fun
It’s just plain fun to say Yuven Sundaramoorthy.
Qualifying: Reminder
With Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Rockford Speedway and other tracks running their final races this year, get out and support your local race tracks. They need your patronage.
First Heat: Dirt Movers
With good fall weather and the racing season behind them, two famous dirt tracks put new clay in place this week. Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway added black clay from local farms to its famous half-mile, while Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway worked 50 loads of fresh circuit into its racing surface.
Second Heat: Interesting Hire
Legacy Motor Club recently hired NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth as a competition adviser. While at first the move may seem like a nod to one of the sport’s all-time greats, consider the difference Brad Keselowski has made on the technical side for RFK Racing. Expect similar improvement with the Legacy team next season.
Third Heat: One In, One Out
The Indiana-based Midwest Sprint Car Series has ceased operations after 22 years of competition featuring non-winged sprint car racing with was a mix of savvy veterans and up and comers.
The move came two weeks after the Honest Abe Roofing Winged Maverick Sprint Car Series debuted at Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway.
Are winged sprint cars on the rise in the Hoosier state?
Dash: It’s Time To Move On
Two tired stories pop up every October it seems. NASCAR fans complaining about the playoffs and NHRA fans complaining about the Countdown to the Championship.
B Main: Too Friendly
Are today’s racing drivers too friendly with each other? Shaking hands in victory lane, bro hugs, laughing together on the grid and kissing up to one another on social media seem to be the order of the day.
Whatever happened to rolling around in the dirt on the frontstretch, throwing water bottles at one another and plain old ignoring one another?
Feature: Short Goodbye
Another legendary short track will say its goodbyes to the racing world this weekend.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, ran its first race in 1966 and hosted the first World of Outlaws race on March 18, 1978.
Fittingly, a two-night World of Outlaws event will be the last racing program at the venerable half-mile dirt track near Dallas. The Edwards family, longtime promoters of the track, announced the sale of the property last week.
The winners list at Devil’s Bowl reads like a who’s who of sprint car racing. Now, the track itself will be relegated to the history books as well.