MOORESVILLE, N.C. — If you were a rock band playing an outdoor amphitheater during the summer of 1982 and Van Halen was your opening act, you would have made sure Van Halen went on stage as early in the day as possible.
That way the band’s lights and special effects would have been lost in the daylight and the fans would still have been arriving. Let’s face it, Van Halen was a beast.
As the headliner, a band wants to hit the stage when the entire audience has arrived and the full impact of the stage show can be felt.
Choreographing a racing program follows a similar thought-process.
So, why did those in charge of the CARS Tour allow the ASA STARS National Tour to occupy the spotlight on night No. 2 of NASCAR All-Star week at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway? After all, the two CARS Tour divisions were slated to top the racing card on Wednesday, May 17.
The schedule shuffle started when the ASA portion of the program was rained out before qualifying was complete on Tuesday, May 16.
When we left the track that night, the plan was for the ASA last chance qualifier race to be run around 1:30 p.m. and their 150-lap main event to hit the track at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. According to this schedule, the ASA super late models would have concluded their program before the pro late models and late model stocks of the CARS Tour ran their respective 75-lap and 125-lap features.
However, at some point during the night, another revised schedule was released with the 150-lap ASA STARS National Tour race assuming the headliner slot on Wednesday night. The reason for the change was never revealed.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick, now among the owners of the CARS Tour, were in the starting field for the late model stock main event. Earnhardt had an off night behind the wheel, but a massive night at the T-shirt trailer. There were Sun Drop No. 3 T-shirts everywhere.
The 125-lap main event for the CARS Tour late model stocks was a good race, but it was hampered by numerous caution flags that slowed the pace. When the event finished, the ASA super late models roared to life and put on a solid show with touring superstar Bubba Pollard holding off NASCAR Cup Series racer William Byron for the victory.
Granted, some will think I’m biased since I’m the play-by-play voice of the ASA STARS National Tour on TV. However, I heard the same thoughts from numerous people, including one highly respected promoter who had no dog in the fight.
All in all, it was a banner night for asphalt late model racing.
■ The Progressive American Flat Track series recently completed its West Coast swing with a visit to Ventura (Calif.) Raceway and the 57th running of the legendary Sacramento Mile.
Ventura was a huge success with a massive crowd, good racing and lots of industry heavyweights in attendance. It was so cool to be at Ventura, a race track that is literally on the beach. While there were bikes on track, there was a surfing contest taking place in the Pacific Ocean behind the pit area.
Sacramento was the first one-mile event of the American Flat Track season. Jared Mees and his Indian motorcycle claimed the victory to tighten up the points chase with Yamaha’s Dallas Daniels.
Look for AFT to add a third California round next year.
■ While back home in Sacramento, I went up to Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, Calif., where I was the weekly announcer during the late 1980s.
It was the season opener for the Fast Fridays Speedway Motorcycle Series and the grandstands were completely packed with families. The most exciting sight, however, was the 20 kids who staged in front of the tape on their PW 50s. It was fantastic to see so many young boys and girls showing an interest in speedway racing and, hopefully, Flat Track racing down the road.
■ Received a huge surprise at the Sac Mile when Chris Carter presented me with one of the limited editions of the massive book he did with Gerald Foster. The coffee-table tome, titled “When Honda Went Dirt Track Racing,” is 540 pages of amazing photos along with deep-dive interviews with those who helped make Honda a truly dominant force in Flat Track racing during the 1980s and ’90s.
There are numerous books available that focus on an individual marque and its motorsports success, however, I have never seen a book so detailed in telling the story of an individual brand as this one. It’s just spectacular!
If you were fortunate enough to see legends such as Ricky Graham, Bubba Shobert and Ronnie Jones give the Harley-Davidson factory team all it could handle during these two decades, you will love reliving the memories with this incredible effort.
Order your copy from MotionPro.com or WhenHondaWentDirtTrackRacing.com.
This story appeared in the June 14, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
