Hot Laps: ASA STARS Gains Momentum
The ASA STARS National Tour has gotten off to a solid start. After an entertaining race at Florida’s Five Flags Speedway in March, 41 drivers from 13 states have entered round two — Sunday’s Joe Shear Classic at Wisconsin’s Madison Int’l Speedway.
We remember the original ASA (American Speed Ass’n) for its great drivers and entertaining rivalries. No one of a certain age will ever forget Senneker Vs. Eddy. Here’s hoping the new national tour can develop that over time.
Bubba Pollard and eventual winner Casey Roderick had a run-in during the opener, and that could gain momentum in round two. Or maybe another pair of drivers will square off. Don’t miss the action to be delivered by SPEED SPORT affiliate MidwestTour.tv.
Qualifying: Chastain’s Knuckle Sandwich?
Ross Chastain. Are you angry yet?
These days, the mere mention of the Florida NASCAR driver can send race fans into a profanity-laced tirade. Seriously though, when is one of Chastain’s competitors going to take matters into his own hands and give the current Cup Series point leader a full-fledged knuckle sandwich right in the watermelon. Critical words or lectures never hurt as much as an old-fashioned sock in the kisser.
First Heat: Dixon Gets Miffed
Speaking of taking the gloves off, six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, in a rare fit of anger, said it may be time for drivers to do just that after he was punted off course by young charger Pato O’Ward during the Grand Prix of Long Beach. O’Ward only stoked the fire by refusing to apologize.
Me thinks a running dispute between the series’ most respected driver and arguably its fastest driver, may attract a few new sets of eyeballs.
Second Heat: Unique Promotion
As an aging race fan, I love creative promotions, and there was one of those last night at Ohio’s Atomic (still K-C to some of us) Speedway. Billed as the Night the Stars Come Out, the All Star Circuit of Champions sprint cars and Lucas Oil Dirt Car Series late models shared the same bill at the three-eighths-mile track.
Not surprising to anyone, Kyle Larson did double duty in both divisions. There were 42 sprint cars and 42 late models in the pits and a packed grandstand. Larson topped the sprint car feature and Hudson O’Neal won the late model main event.
Third Heat: Does Bumping Matter?
There have been a lot of headlines in the last week boasting the return of bumping to Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the qualifying process for the Indianapolis 500.
Yes, there are 34 cars entered for the 33-car field, but the thought that it seems unlikely to provide much drama, led us to wonder if bumping matters in today’s Indy car racing world? For decades — when fields were much larger — bumping was tremendous drama during the final days of qualifying. But for nearly two decades now, the fields have been shorter and all people really cared about was having a full field.
With so many other Indy 500 traditions, having evolved with the times, it may be time to put bumping on the shelf as well. Perhaps create a new tradition aimed at rewarding the teams that do not earn one of the top 12 spots through the first day of qualifying and an opportunity to run for the pole the following day?
Consi: The Macho Man
He is a Macho Man. If you are headed to Eldora Speedway for the annual #LetsRaceTwo weekend, look out for Brady Bacon.
Bacon, who became the 150th different driver to win a World of Outlaws sprint car race last weekend is expected to do double duty in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the USAC National Sprint Car Championship, where he is a four-time series champion.
Feature: Eyes On The Million
Test and tune. For many of the drivers and teams competing in the World of Outlaws events this weekend at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, it will be more about testing and learning new things than trying to win the two $10,000-to-win feature events. Why?
Because the majority of the field returns to the historic half-mile oval in Darke County, it will be for the July 15 Eldora Million, which will award the first $1 million winner’s prize in sprint car racing history. Anything learned now, could pay dividends in mid-July.
Parting Shot: The Insider
Who do you think is the most versatile racing driver of all time? SPEED SPORT asked its experts, and we’ll give you the answers in an upcoming edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.