MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Despite this very unusual, pandemic-plagued racing season, a lot of interesting things have happened in the world of motorsports — both on and off the race track.
Some we would have never imagined a year ago, while others have been pretty predictable.
– Who would have ever thought that Ohio’s legendary Eldora Speedway would go an entire season with only three events, and not a single sole walking through the spectator gates? Two events for late models and one for sprint cars were seen only on streaming video.
Some tracks, such as New York’s Fonda Speedway, California’s Ocean Speedway and Washington’s Skagit Speedway, ran weekly without fans in attendance, while streaming their events over the internet.
– Lance Dewease races only part time on the central Pennsylvania sprint car circuit these days, but when there’s big money on the line, it’s a safe bet the 54-year-old sprint car racing Hall of Famer will be in the hunt.
Driving Don Kreitz Jr.’s familiar No. 69k sprint car prepared by legendary mechanic Davey Brown, Dewease had been inconsistent this season, but he put that behind him during Port Royal Speedway’s 53rd annual Tuscarora 50 weekend.
Dewease won Friday’s preliminary feature and then drove to a dominant $53,000 triumph in the 50-lap main event at the half-mile race track. It was his seventh victory in the event that he first won in 1994.
– Ten-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz had only won three features this season. Still, as the calendar hit mid-September, he was only 80 points behind leader Brad Sweet in the race for the series championship.
– Shane Stewart has driven winged sprint cars for six different team owners this season — Jason Sides, Bernie Stuebgen, Wayne Johnson, Guy Forbrook, Mike Heffner and Scottie McDonald.
– In a season run almost entirely without practice or qualifying, the veteran drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series proved that experience matters.
Kevin Harvick (eight), Denny Hamlin (six) and Brad Keselowski (four) combined to win 18 of the first 28 races.
– His name may be the only thing confusing about NTT IndyCar Series driver Pato O’Ward. In his first full season racing Indy cars, the Mexican native has been flat-out fast, driving a Chevrolet-powered car for Arrow McLaren SP. He ranked third in the standings with three events remaining and his first series victory appeared to be coming soon.
– There is no question that Jimmie Johnson’s final season racing full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series did not go the way the seven-time series champion would have liked, but it certainly appeared Johnson was more than ready to leave that chapter of his life behind.
Before his final season had even concluded, Johnson signed a two-year deal to run a limited schedule of NTT IndyCar Series races for Chip Ganassi Racing, all contingent on sponsorship, of course.
But after a season that included bad luck, his own driving mistakes, testing positive for COVID-19 and failing to make the playoffs, Johnson was definitely eyeing greener grass.
– Rain plagued the 38th annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals at Iowa’s Boone Speedway with the event, which featured more than a couple late nights and early mornings, stretching well into the way on Sunday, Sept. 13.
Still, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the dismal weather that included temperatures in the mid-40s through much of the weeklong event, 834 competitors were on hand for the program that was streamed live throughout on SPEED SPORT Network affiliate IMCA TV. Those competitors completed a stunning 3,039 competitive laps while running 307 different races on the three-eighths-mile dirt track.
Ricky Thornton Jr. was the big winner, becoming the first driver to win titles in two classes in the same year as he collected victories in the late model and modified main events.
– If you have attended a World of Outlaws sprint car or late model event as a fan or a competitor during the past 15 years, chances are good that you have encountered Chris Dolack.
Chris is a great friend of racing, and of this column. Chris was diagnosed with lymphoma in August and is going through a rough patch, including having to endure his friends calling him names such as “Lurch” and “Mr. Potato Head.” He’s doing it all in his typical, good-natured way while providing many with inspiration in what’s been a very dark year.
Get well Chris, and keep smiling.