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Racin Round Indiana.....6/28/06
Well Its that time of the week and another edition of Racin Round Indiana, Sorry for the lateness but
with Birthday Parties and eye doctors appointments this is the first opportunity I have had to sit down
and type out the story.
Friday night found all well at a very heavy Bloomington Speedway, rain most of Thursday Night and
no sun on Friday made it very heavy. The sprint feature was when the excess got blown off. Brian
Clausen made his return to Bloomington and boy it seemed like a crowd favorite. Looked awesome in
his heat race and his feature run made him look even better and the win was the bonus. 32 sprint cars
were on hand for Fridays event. I am sorry to report the mod and super stock count was way down
this past week with 19 super Stocks and and 21 mods. The Super Stock heats were won by Tyler Cain
and Greg Kendell. Current Super Stock point leader Jeremy Hines went out in his heat due to rearend
problems and had to start 14th in the feature and made his way to an exciting second place finish.
Greg Kendell didnt gain control of the lead until around lap 16, Tyler Cain one of the youngsters was
looking good and dropped back and was in third when he became one of Hines victims on his way to
the second place finish. In mod action Jeff Bland Jr. looked like the strong car of the night starting
fourth and taking the lead around lap 4, but those demons came to visit and he went to the infield with
car troubles with the 5 laps to go signal. John DeMoss was there in second and beat off challenges by
Ray Humphrey to keep first and wheel it into victory lane. This Friday June 30th is the speedway's
fireworks show and the stands are always packed to the gills for this one. I will have to take my chairs
down in the morning before work to get a decent seat.
Saturday was the BOB Series presenting the Lee Fleetwood memorial 34 late models were on hand for
the event with alot of the series regulars on hand. I was impressed with the track regulars who made it
into the features, Mark Barber, Steve Barnett, Brad Barrow, Tim Prince, Rickey Riggle, Dusty
Chapman, Steve Godsey, Brad Erwin and Rohn Mohn who has been visiting the track almost weekly.
These drivers made it into the feature via the heat races all but Mohn who made it from the consi.
Jack Sullivan took the victory from a strong runner Justin Ratliff. This was Sullivans first ever visit to
the speedway, I heard it announced this was the first time since 1984 that someone has won the feature
event on their first visit. During drivers intro all the drivers lined up to pay tribute to Harlan Baker a
former driver and car owner of the 27J. Harlan lost his battle last week from cancer. The drivers went
into the stands with helmets and collected 1400.00 but the thing that made me feel very warm and
fuzzy was that Jack Sullivan donated 200.00 of his winnings to a man and his family he most likely
had never meet. Then to top it off Travis Meeks donated 400.00 to raise the total to 2000.00. This just
goes to show like I have said before this is one of the greatest bunch of guys in racing to go above to
help a family they really didnt even know. So hats off to all the fans, drivers and car owners and track
employees who donated to the Baker family. Ryan Thomas was the winner in the mod division. It was
action packed with mishaps and some wrecks and some hard out racing. A couple of the competitors
raced each other very hard and neither would give up the line to the other which ended in some
contact and spinning and both going pitside. Bub Cummings continued his dominance over the
bomber division making that 4 features wins in a row, making it six for the year. This Saturday will be
double feature action for the Lates, Supers and Bombers to make up for the June 17th rain shortened
show. But Saturday July 8th will mark a first for Brownstown Speedway with a topless night for Late
Models and Mods. Late Models will pay 2000.00 to win with mods paying 1200.00 and the Bombers
paying 500.00. The fan response on the topless event has been great and its nice to see something new
and different at the speedway.
Twin Cities hosted the Mark Clark Memorial paying 1000.00 to win for Super Stocks. The car count
was 22 which I found very disappointing for a 1000.00 to win show. Jerry Adams took home the win
and the grand followed by Jeremy Hines, Randy Moore, Chris DeWeese and Tim Clark. Twin Cities
will be off this weekend for the fair but will return July 8th with some more Super Stock Action.
Paragon Speedway had 68 sprint cars on hand for the KISS series event last saturday night. Local
Favorite in these parts Kevin Briscoe of Mitchell hauled in the win. Strong runner Chris Hillman took
home the Super Stock feature and John Thomas captured the Bombers.
This past Saturday night I had a first happen. I rode in the pace truck during the parade laps of the
Late Model Feature which I found exciting but trying to take pictures hanging out the back sliding
glass window didnt work out as the truck made for a little bit of a bumpy ride. Then I went to the
infield to watch the race. It was a different world then sitting in the stands. The vibration I felt coming
from the cars was the most awesome feeling and being that close to them in turn 3 and 4 was
something else. I know you all are thinking WHAT???. I just wanted to share that with everyone
because in the stands you watch and feel the excitement. The infield was kinda straining on the neck,
but to feel the cars vibration through my whole body was an experience I was glad I got a chance to
have. I have asked my husband several times what it was like to be down there (He works on the
backstretch) and it was like no different, but Honey let me tell you how wrong you are!!!
Well I hope you all have a safe and great fourth of July Holiday. I just want to say Happy 18th
Birthday to my Daughter on July 3rd. Boy where did the time go, I remember taking her to her first
race when she was 3 weeks old at Bloomington Speedway!! Any way be safe and for those who are a
little clumsy dont blow off any digits!!
Felicia Nunn
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