TERRE HAUTE — Chasing points can draw out the best and worst of times in racing. Love them or hate them remain as much as an intergal part of racing these days as the green and checkered flag.
With the season rapidly drawing to a close the chase for points can be as heated as a late summer sun.
While the bulk of the attention surrounding points battle focus on the sports biggest series Formula One, NASCAR Nextel Cup and Indy car, many of the weekly short tracks that dot the American racing scene also have their own heated point battles.
No where are the battles tighter than at nearby Lincoln Park Speedway where all four of the track divisions titles are still up for grabs.
Much like a year ago, Terre Haute drivers have made their presence felt in a big way at the dirt oval.
Especially in the sprint division, where three local drivers still have the opportunity to win the crown. Adding to the suspense of the chase is that the trio contains a rare father-son duel.
The Carmichaels – Kenny and Kenny Jr. – have battled fellow Terre Haute racer Shawn Krockenberger throughout the summer for the sprint title.
At one point, the trio were separated by a scant two points. Although the senior Carmichael has opened up a slim 23-point advantage, the veteran racer says the race is far from over.
All three combatants, all of whom at one time have led the points, know full well how the complexion of the chase can change on any given night.
“There’s nothing guaranteed. All it takes is one bad night and you can lose any advantage you might have,” warns Carmichael, a seven-time track champion..
Like Carmichael, Krockenberger is a past champion, Krockenbeger in go-karts, Carmicheal in sprints and stocks. Experience from past championship runs can prove a valuable tool when the points battle get tight.
“There’s nothing like experience. It’s not something that just comes your way, it’s something you have to earn,” voiced Carmichael, the current and defending LPS sprint points champion.
Krockenberger has been involved in his share of point races en route to 13 karting championship runs. He says experience helps, but the simple philosophy of racing to win takes care of the points.
“If you worry about the points, you’ll never win races. You focus on winning and the points will come. My goal is to win races. What will happen will happen,” voiced Krockenberger, who has one feature win and two others escape him on the last lap at LPS this summer.
The younger Carmichael knows that all too well. His attempts at running for points in the past have not produced the results he was looking for.
“Every time I’ve chased the points, whether at Lincoln Park or in the Midwest Sprint Car Series, has not worked out well for me. I tended to overdrive my race car when I was under pressure,” confessed the 21-year-old Ivy Tech student.
If the title comes to a showdown between himself and his son, Carmichael wouldn’t be at all disappointed if he finished second.
“Yeah I’d like to see him win but more so I’d want him to earn it.It will make him a better race driver down the road,” voiced the Terre Haute businessman who also leads the points in stocks at LPS.
It helps to have friends among the competition when the championship is on the line. Bomber points leader Ritchie Hawkins found that out over the weekend when he lost a transmission and had to borrow a ride in order to maintain his points advantage.
“I’d like to have the points championship, but I race to win. Win the races and points come with them,” voiced the five-time winner at the track this season.
His nearest rival, Lloyd Walls, who is also from Terre Haute, knows he faces an uphill battle if he hopes to catch overall leader Hawkins for what would be his third straight bomber title.
“If we could win that third straight, it would be quite an accomplishment. Ritchie would have to have a couple bad nights for that to happen. We race hard every Saturday. We race to win,” said the four-time LPS 06 feature winner.
Some say the weekly track titles are overrated, but you would be hard-pressed to find any past champion who feels that way.
Bill Pollitt of Riley won track titles at Paragon and Lincoln Park back in the early ’80s. He treasures those championships still today.
“I remember how proud I was to share the same stage at an awards banquet with Sheldon Kinser and Ken Schrader, who won USAC sprint car championship those same years,” recalled the proud Pollitt.
“It any guy tells you they don’t mean anything, it’s probably because they never won one,” smiled the former stock car racer.
It’s been a eventful summer for local sprint car racer Dusty Wright. First of all, he got married earlier this summer and this past weekend he was a feature winner at Paragon Pretty, reasons for a lot of smiles around the Wright household these days.
Joe Buckles can be reached at jbuckles@gte.net.
Softball Scene
Trackside: Big racing leagues not the only ones chasing points
- Softball Scene
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Swingers win state title
The Swingers from Greencastle double-dipped Carlisle Plaza 10-7 and 8-6 to win the ASA coed novice state title in Lafayette last weekend.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Brent D. Long Tournament a success on and off field
Somebody forgot to tell the Tykal’s American team that they weren’t the favorite in the Brent D. Long Tournament last weekend at Spencer Field.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Team Bud takes third at coed state tourney
Following last week’s news that local softball fortunes had improved with Crawlworks/All American Auto Repair’s seventh-place finish in the Amateur Softball Association men’s Class D state finals, this weekend’s news is even better.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Wabash Valley slowpitch team takes seventh at state
News from the state softball front has improved as a result of Crawlworks/All American Auto Repair’s seventh-place finish in the ASA MSP Class “D” state tournament this past weekend. With their finish, this is the first local team with a .500-or-better record in state tournament play.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Tough tournament trail
Results from various ASA state tournament play continue to trickle in and unfortunately for local softball interests, they are disappointing. The combined record for the Outkast men’s team and the Ladies Last Call women’s team was one win and four defeats.
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Valley softball teams fail to impress in ASA tourneys
“Disappointing” might be the operative word to describe the outcome for Wabash Valley softball efforts in the ASA men’s slowpitch Class D (North) and men’s slowpitch Class E (North) state tournaments last weekend.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Copeland’s wins its first Show-Me’s coed tournament
Results are in for the Show-Me’s coed city softball tournament and Copeland’s are the new champions.
The eight-team affair was divided into two four-team pools, with the pool winners matched in the championship game. -
SOFTBALL SCENE: Valley squad wins Bedford tourney, series titles
This past weekend the Crawlworks/All American Auto Repairs squad ventured to Bedford to participate in another leg of the Tanel 360/Dudley Challenge Series. In doing so, Crawlworks/All American Auto Repair not only captured the tourney title but also annexed the season-long series title.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Sign-up now under way for city slowpitch championship
Arrangements for the Show-Me’s city slowpitch softball tournaments have been completed and interested teams are encouraged to sign up.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: The talent ladder for local softball
I would like to open this week’s column with a “thank you” to Tribune-Star sportswriter David Hughes for his excellent article featuring local softball star Kevin Kull, which ran in Wednesday’s paper.
The article, which chronicled Kull’s rapid rise to prominence, was a much-discussed topic around the ballpark Wednesday and Thursday evenings. In addition, it provided me with an idea for this week’s installment of “Softball Scene.” -
SOFTBALL SCENE: Teams give some pep to area men’s softball
Wabash Valley softball action picked up briefly at Spencer Field last Saturday as four men’s slowpitch squads competed in tournament play.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Coed slowpitch softball tourney raises money for cancer research
Last weekend, Hamilton Center and the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department co-hosted a co-ed slowpitch softball tournament to raise money for cancer research.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Valley teams strong at tournaments
The results are in from last weekend’s Bedford All-Nighter and Wabash Valley softball interests fared well in the 42-team men’s slowpitch tournament.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Local adult softball teams gearing up for action
Well softball fans, it’s time for yet another season of adult softball in the Wabash Valley.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Wabash Valley well-represented in state tournamen t
The Wabash Valley was well-represented in the ASA Coed Class D/E state tournament last weekend at the Avon softball facility.
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Budweiser team has mixed results in national slowpitch regional tourney play
The local Budweiser men’s softball squad ventured to Columbus, Ohio, this past weekend to participate in the 82-team ASA MSP national regional tournament.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Myers family softball tradition carries on
This past Jan. 10, local softball icon Wayne Myers passed away leaving behind two brothers, Fred and Bill, son Terry, daughter Elaine as well as grandchildren Haley, Whitey and “Chicky.” In addition, the Indiana Amateur Softball Association was left without its commander in chief.
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Softball Scene: Softball moments of years past
With the summer softball season coming to an end, I thought it might be interesting to look to past Softball Scene columns and dredge up a few old memories from seasons gone by. This type of column also serves as a reminder to those presently playing that in a few short years, your achievements will be largely forgotten by those who will be playing in future seasons.
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Softball Scene: Valley squads fare well at state tournaments
The results from the Indiana Amateur Softball Association’s MSP Class “C”, “D” and “E” state tournaments are in and local softball interests fared well. Of the five local men’s teams participating, four managed to come away with winning records.
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Softball Scene: 8 Valley softball teams competing in 5 different state tournaments
This weekend several local softball teams are vying for titles in Amateur Softball Association state tournament play. In all, eight local squads are competing in five different state tournaments.
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Softball Scene: Outkast heating up at right time with state tournament approaching
Local softball player and enthusiast Ryan Dehart recently made an astute observation when commenting on the Outkast softball squad. He said, “they’re getting hot at the right time of the year.” Lending support to Dehart’s claim was Outkast’s showing in the recent Hooter’s Invitational hosted by Indy Sports Park.
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Softball Scene: Get scoop on upcoming men’s, co-ed tournaments in Wabash Valley
Several questions have arisen concerning the upcoming city tournaments for men’s and co-ed softball teams. In an attempt to dispel any rumors and to address the questions, I will now address callers’ concerns.
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Softball Scene: Terre Haute ready for first-time city tournaments in July
The Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department, working in conjunction with several interested softball parties, will be hosting city championship tournaments for both men’s and coed softball teams.
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Softball Scene: Hit Men making their mark on travel softball scene
I have recently noticed a dearth of young softball squads coming up through the ranks. In short, I am interested in knowing who will replace the Wabash Valley’s top-caliber talent as they fall pretty to age, injury work and family obligations.
- Softball Scene: Valley teams have mixed results in state tournaments
- Softball Scene: ‘Old School’ softball at Saline City withstands test of time As the college football season begins and Wabash Valley adult softball action starts to wind down, those interested in a dose of “old school” softball should travel to Saline City this weekend.
- Softball Scene: Crawlworks’ hard work to host tournament pays off Recent Softball Scene columns have been devoted to efforts to raise funds for various causes. The opening segment of this week’s column will stick with that theme.
- Fund-raising tourneys a great way to contribute to community
- SOFTBALL SCENE: Crawlworks prevents Valley shutout Thank goodness for the efforts put forth by the Crawlworks men’s slow pitch team in the ASA MSP Class D state finals. Without their 6-2 finish, local softball efforts were almost shutout in ASA state tournament play this past weekend.
- Softball Scene: Several Wabash Valley softball teams preparing for state-tournament action The next three weekends should prove interesting for local softball squads as several local teams will be competing for state titles. Hoping to improve on last year’s second-place finish in the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) women’s class C tournament, the Chop Shop women’s team will be traveling to Kokomo this weekend. Chop Shop’s second-place finish at state earned it a nationals’ berth, and the squad finished fourth.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Swingers win state title
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