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Dirty Thoughts 8/31/06
Dirty Thoughts...Championship Night!!!
It is with great pleasure and yet a little bit of sadness that the dirty one comes to you this week. Great pleasure
because we have crowned our champions in each division at Florence Speedway and with a bit of sadness because it
means the racing season is quickly coming to a close. Great pleasure because for the first time in a couple years
we have a new Late Model Champion, and a bit of sadness because Brandon Gibson announced he was heading to
Florida to live for a while meaning we won’t get to watch this fine driver race. Great pleasure because the battle for
the Modified Championship was awesome to watch all the way to the end, and a bit of sadness because someone I
love to watch race has sold his stuff and I may not get to watch him race as much anymore.
It was a night when former champions would win the feature in every division but the Super Dirts, but new
champions were crowned in each division...here’s how I saw it:
The Late Model championship battle was a two man race this year, as 6 time champion “the Quiet One” Steve
Landrum took early control of the points, but “the Last Outlaw” Jesse James Lay, who had a strong year, took
advantage of strong finishes on his part, and some bad luck on the part of Landrum to win the 2006 Championship.
The dirty one has to be honest, when I showed up at the track Saturday night, I pretty much figured Lay had the
championship in the bag. Why would I say that, well the track was setting up to be heavy and tacky and as good as
a driver as Steve is, he struggles a bit with that type of track, while Jesse who travels a bit more than Steve does,
has no problems with those types of tracks. In heat race #1 “the kid” Chad Smith continued his strong 2nd half by
riding the high side to a feature win over Audie McWilliams and “the bullet” Bob Lanter. Jason Jameson was
looking strong in his orange 1x machine, only to have his ride give way on him late in the heat. Jason is showing
some real promise, and if he can either learn to keep his ride together or get a little better equipment he may be a
force in 2007. In heat race #2 “the last outlaw” showed everyone he was NOT going to just points race this night,
better yet he was here to race and win. Lay took his outside front row starting spot to an eventual heat race win,
followed to the line by the “hammer” Ted Nobbe and Larry Pickelheimer, jr. Heat race #3 was a sight to see, as
Jerry Rice drew a last row starting position and still almost lapped the field in winning his heat race. Jerry no doubt
was flying as he used every bit of power his Vic Hill motor could produce to get to the front and earn the pole
position for the night’s feature. Rice was followed to the line by “the boss” Barry Doss and Mike McWilliams.
When the green flag dropped on the feature it looked like Rice might run off and hide, but very quickly Jesse Lay
started sticking his nose under Rice, putting pressure on the former Florence Speedway champ. Lap after lap the
two battled door handle to door handle on the hopped up Florence track. One lap Rice would have the lead, the
next Lay would have him at the line, and it was a classic battle between two friends and two very good drivers.
While these two guys were battling up front, Steve Landrum was doing his best to head to the front as well, but
Landrum’s bad luck would rear it’s head again on this night, just as Bill Blair jr. tried to get off the track coming out
of turn 4, Landrum slammed into the back of the 84 machine, thus ending his night and giving the championship to
Lay. Leaving the only question to be, would Jesse not only win the Championship, but would he win the
championship race as well? As the green flag dropped on the restart, Lay again took to the bottom of the track and
began to work Rice on the low side. The battle ensued for several more laps, before another caution would come
out and slow the action again. Again Lay chose the bottom of the Double file restart, only this time, as the flag fell
and Rice drove away, Lay didn’t, he broke, not sure what happened, I’ve heard 3 different things, but it doesn’t
matter, he broke and the field stacked up behind him and I got to see the entire top side of Dan Hoards racecar as
he almost flipped over onto Big Pete on the front stretch. Attrition was killing the field as only 13 racecars were left
on the track, but one of them was Brian Stinson, who had started 20th on the field and had worked his way up to a
solid top 5 position. As the green flag dropped on the restart, with only a few laps left to run, Rice again jumped to
the high side to try and get away from the field, but “the boss” Barry Doss was having none of that and made a run
at the 1b as Rice was having to struggle to hold onto a fading racecar. As the white flag flew Doss made an
attempt to drive under Rice in turns 1 and 2 and again in 3 and 4 but came up just a tad short giving the feature win
to “the verona vandal” Jerry Rice. As mentioned Doss was a strong 2nd, followed by Ted Nobbe, Brian Stinson
and a solid run by Tony “the Tiger” Trafficant. After hitting the scales Rice saluted his “fans” on the back with a
hearty wave, it was a nice run for Jerry and the Brooks team, a good way to end the Florence season and get ready
for Eldora. Congrats have to go out to Jesse Lay and his entire family and crew, what a great year Jesse had
chasing and eventually catching the championship. Kudos to Steve Landrum for battling thru such things as,
broken parts and broken bones to hold on for a runner-up finish in the points chase. Also, a shout out to Brian
Stinson for his fine run from 20th to 4th in the nights feature, I look for Brian to have a very strong campaign in the
2007 season if he chooses to race Florence for points next season.
The top 10 in points were as follow:
1. “The last outlaw” Jesse James Lay- 1862
2.”The quiet one” Steve Landrum- 1775
3. “The verona vandal” Jerry Rice- 1745
4. Larry Pickelheimer, jr.- 1625
5. Mike McWilliams- 1572
6. Brian Stinson- 1571
7. Josh Williams- 1547
8. “BBJ” Bill Blair, Jr.- 1461
9. “The bluegrass invader” Rick Corbin- 1411
10. “Awesome” Audie McWilliams- 1328
The modified chase was even closer than the LM points chase as coming into the nights event, “the iceman” David
Spille lead “Big Daddy” Shawn Tolson by a mere 15 points. The heat races broke down as follows:
Heat #1 Heat #2 Heat #3
1. Jerry Lawson 1. Barry Doss 1. David Spille
2. Quienton Schoffner 2. Kevin Hartman 2. David McWilliams
3. Larry Moreland, Sr. 3. Ray Branscum 3. Scotty Kincaid
Notice a name missing from the top 3 finishers in the heats? That’s right, no Tolson listed there, that’s because
“big daddy” had a bad draw and would be relegated to a 6th place finish in the strongest of the 3 heats. The poor
finish set up a little more drama for the feature with Spille starting in the 2nd row and Tolson starting in the 9th and
needing to beat David by 12 positions, if I remember correctly. Well, Tolson was definitely the man to watch in the
feature, when the green flag waived he pointed his Pierce ride to the front and was a man on a mission. Seemingly
able to put his car anywhere on the track, he rode the rim a bit, then the hub all the while passing cars like they
were sitting still. Meanwhile, up front Kevin Hartman in an older car(because he had sold his earlier in the week),
was looking strong and leading the field, as Barry Doss and Spille were battling behind him, followed by a very
strong running Scotty Kincaid and David McWilliams. Tolson worked the traffic to perfection and with a few laps
to go was knocking on Spille’s rear, and eventually would pass the “Iceman” for second place. When the
checkered flags flew on the caution filled event, the top 5 read as follows, Hartman, Tolson, Spille, Doss and
Kincaid. Despite “Big Daddy’s” strong run in the feature, Spille would still be crowned 2006 Modified Division
Champion, and would receive high praise from 2005 champion and race winner Kevin Hartman during post race
interviews. Congrats goes out to the entire Spille race team on a great season, good luck the rest of the year and
next year when you defend your title. Also must shout out to Tolson Motorsports as well, after a rough beginning
of the season, they were able to regroup and mount a strong challenge for the championship, good luck this
weekend at The “Big Dawg” and let’s get 2007 off to a better start and see if you can bring home the trophy.
Another couple of folks that deserve to be mentioned here are “the professor” Larry Moreland, sr. who had a very
strong year and ran up front almost every weekend, a little better luck and he might have been fighting Spille and
Tolson for the Championship. Ray Branscum might have been the most impressive driver this year, as the rookie
DIRT driver and rooke MOD driver was a threat almost every weekend and showed definite promise for the 2007
season. Ray raced all over the area trying to make his self better and has impressed the dirty one with his abilities
and willingness to do so! Great job on your top 10 points finish and good luck in 2007! The racing in the modified
division was as good as we’ve seen in years, week in and week out the heats and features were great to watch and
the guys just put on a great show.
The top 5 in points read as follows:
1. “The Iceman” David Spille- 2006
2. “Big Daddy” Shawn Tolson- 1965
3. “Wildman” Kevin Hartman- 1885
4. “Racin” Dave McWilliams- 1722
5. “The Professor” Larry Moreland, Sr.- 1683
6. Bill Arnold- 1674
7. R.O.T.Y. Ray Branscum- 1414
8. Mike Stacy- 1387
9. Larry Moreland, jr.- 1339
10. Ron Jolliff, jr.- 1244
The Super Dirt championship was pretty much over a few weeks ago; Timmy Proffitt has dominated this season
causing flashbacks to the days when the #911 machine use to do the same thing. So the night’s only question was,
would we have a first time winner or would Proffitt continue to roll?
Heat Race #1 Heat Race #2 Feature
1. Paul Crowell 1. Dan Dehner 1. Timmy Proffitt
2. Mark Robertson 2. Scott Bryant(??) 2. Mark Robertson
3. Doug Wagner 3. Adam Dixon 3. Dan Dehner
4. Timmy Proffitt 4. Ron Landers, sr. 4. Paul Crowell
5. Bill Herzog 5. Dutch Kennedy 5. Doug Wagner
Heat race #1 was stocked full of SDS stars, as 6 of the top 10 drivers in the final point standings would start in this
race. As usual Paul Crowell looked very strong on the tacky surface and was able to hold off 2005 Champ Mark
Robertson and get the win. “Mr. Clean” Doug Wagner battled and stayed in front of 2006 Champ Proffitt to round
out the top 3. Heat race #2 saw “the Dude” Dan Dehner made an awesome move coming off of turn 2 splitting the
#49b and the #75 cars and powering to another heat race win. The dirty one thought Bob Adams was driving the
#49b car, but Scott Bryant is listed so I’m a bit confused, anyhow whoever was driving the Shark Incorporated car
finished a strong second with Adam Dixon in 3rd. Even though Proffitt has dominated the class as far as wins go,
the racing has been top notch in the Super Dirt features and Saturday night was another example of this. Dan
Dehner’s second half resurgence continued, as “the dude” would lead the field to the green flag for the feature.
Dehner battled Mark Robertson side by side before taking the eventual lead. Further back, 4th row to be exact,
Proffitt was picking off drivers in bunches and before long was in the top 3 and looking to take the lead. Robertson
would get Dehner first, and Proffitt would soon follow his lead and those 2 once again would battle for the nights
feature win. Robertson tried to keep the theme of the night going (past champs winning) but was overtaken by
Proffitt late in the race and would be forced to settle for the runner-up position just ahead of the resurgent Dehner.
Paul Crowell and “Mr. Clean” Doug Wagner rounded out the top 5 in the exciting feature. Congrats to Timmy
Proffitt and his crew on winning the 2006 SDS Championship, they are a class act and deserved everything they got
this year. Hopefully, “The Dude” Dan Dehner can build off of the strong end of the season and start next season
off a little better. As it is, the SDS class is looking much better than it was a year ago at this time, and I hope it
continues to grow, I’d love to see the track forced to run a consi in this class as every week. Even if it doesn’t
grow, with drivers like Proffitt, Wagner, Crowell, Robertson, Landers, Freeman, Dehner, Bryant and so on, the
racing is sure to be exciting and I look forward to another great year in 2007. The championship points were as
follows:
1. Timmy Proffitt- 2164
2. Paul Crowell- 2041
3. “Mr. Clean” Doug Wagner- 1992
4. Mark Robertson- 1982
5. Randall “Lee” Dooley- 1790
6. Steve Colegate- 1763
7. Adam Dixon- 1741
8. “Ironman” Stan Freeman- 1633
9. Ron Landers, sr.- 1485
10. “The Dude” Dan Dehner- 1459
The Pure Stock championship was still up in the air, but it would have taken something dramatic to keep “The
Bullet” Bob Lanter from winning it. Proffitt’s domination of the SDS class pales in comparison only to Lanters
dominance in the pure stock division. Every weekend “the bullet” looked to be out on a leisurely drive, with one
hand on the wheel and the other on the roll cage just taking it easy. Brandon Gibson did however make it
interesting in the second half of the season, winning a couple of features and closing the gap a bit. I have to give
Brandon credit for not getting frustrated and not giving up and driving his tail off to try and beat the dominant #5
car. The heat races and feature broke down like this:
Heat Race #1 Heat Race #2 Feature
1. Tony Brewer 1. David Bowling 1. Brandon Gibson
2. Jason Miller 2. Bob Lanter 2. Bob Lanter
3. Brandon Gibson 3. Phil Connell, jr. 3. Jason Miller
4. Jerry Gibson, jr. 4. Jessica Gibson 4. David Bowling
5. Brad Steele 5. Angie Rouse 5. Kevin Heltsley
Heat race #1 was a battle of the zero’s, as Brewer and Miller battled side by side for the win with Brewer
eventually getting the edge and holding off Miller. Brandon Gibson came from the tail of the field to finish 3rd, he
had to race hard to wrestle that spot away from Jerry Gibson, jr. but eventually did just that. Heat race #2 would
see 2005 champ David Bowling get out in front and hold off “the bullet” Bob Lanter for a heat race win. Phil
Connell, jr. rounded out the top 3, with Jessica Gibson making a return to the track finishing 4th just ahead of
another racing young lady Angie Rouse. Brandon had his work cut out for him in the feature with Lanter starting in
front of him. Jason Miller took the lead initially as the green flag dropped, with Lanter and Gibson in tow. Gibson
eventually worked his way to the lead and brought Lanter with him as the two got around Miller. Just as we’ve
seen all season long, the #99 and the #5 were nose to tail for most of the race, with Lanter trying to get around
Gibson on the low side, and Brandon driving it deeper into the turns than anyone else trying to keep his advantage.
The two dodged lapped traffic, and battled each other lap after lap, but in the end it was Brandon Gibson who would
take control of the race and get the win. Lanter was a very close second, followed by Miller, Bowling and a
surprising Kevin Heltsley who was finally able to keep his car running for an entire feature. I have to say congrats
to “The Bullet” Bob Lanter and his car owners and crew on dominating the 2006 season and becoming the Pure
Stock Champions. No doubt about it that is one fast racecar and one hell of a good driver piloting it. After the race
Brandon Gibson announced he was moving to Florida and would not be back next season to battle for the
championship, I wish you lots of luck in Florida Brandon and Jessica, the Pure Stock division, the race track and
especially the Dirty One is gonna miss you guys something fierce. The championship points were as follows:
1. “The Bullet” Bob Lanter- 2055
2. Brandon Gibson- 2002
3. “The Repo Man” Jason Miller- 1958
4. “Rooster” Jerry Gibson, JR.- 1737
5. “Trucker” Tony Brewer- 1592
6. Phil Connell, JR- 1052
7. David Bowling- 976
8. “Wild Turkey” David Willioughby- 945
9. Matt Magee- 907
10. Joe Miller- 727
Congratulations to each and every Division Champion on having such a strong season, you all work so hard and
deserve your just due. The 2006 season was an exciting year and each of you have added to that excitement and
put yourselves into the record books as champion, and that’s something nobody can take away from you. I look
forward to each of you coming back in 2007 and doing the best you can to repeat your runs as champion. I also
want to thank each and every driver that pulled his racecar into the pits at Florence Speedway this year. I love
watching you folks compete and put on a show for us fans,
So it’s on to some other tracks for the rest of the 2007 season, the dirty one is going to try and hit the Richmond
Action Track in a few weeks, you might catch me giving Union County Speedway another try on a Friday and for
sure Lawrenceburg this coming weekend for “The Big Dawg”. I wish Florence Speedway management would race
a few more times before the season was over, but as it stands now, we won’t be back at our favorite race place until
toward the end of September. There is a TBA listed on the schedule for 9/16/06, keep an eye on the Florence
Speedway webpage for details on that. Please be sure and check out www.dirtfans.com for articles by some of the
best writers going and also take a few minutes to listen to The Industry Outlaws show.
Until then, keep in mind, the dirty ones comments are mine and mine alone. They are in no way intended to offend
or put down your favorite driver/brother/son or father. If you have anything you’d like to add please feel free to
email me at bryant.scudder@insightbb.com and I will be glad to do so. See you down the road and remember to
keep your racing clean and your thoughts dirty!
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