PUTNAMVILLE —
The 25th annual version of Indiana Sprint Week is now officially in the record books and the latest chapter will go down as one of the most successful in recent years.
Solid spectator turnouts at all seven venues, strong car counts and the usual, tight, competitive racing made for a special run in the U.S. Auto Club-sanctioned series.
Storylines abounded on numerous fronts, from Levi Jones’ championship run, a pair of couple first-time winners and seven nights of racing that generated six different winners.
The Wabash Valley was well represented with the strong and consistent runs of Sullivan County native Chase Stockon and the startling but well deserved Terre Haute Action Track win by Ray Morgan Racing – all together, a great 10-day run that survived near-record heat, a pair of rain postponements and a troubling economy that is starting to make its presence felt at short tracks across the Hoosier state.
The big winner of ISW had to be Jones, who once again displayed the canny knack of knowing the ins and outs of championship runs. While going winless in the seven-race stretch, the Olney, Ill., driver was always knocking at the door.
“I think we had a second, two thirds, a fourth and two fifths,” voiced the newly crowned champ.
“We got a lot of things figured out with our motors. Car-wise we just went a little too far on some adjustments at times. At other times, maybe not enough. That’s just part of racing.”
Now a four-time ISW champion, one would think Jones would pretty much take his latest title in stride. Not so for the ultra-competitive Jones, who developed the unrentless trait to win during his high school basketball playing days.
“It never gets old winning championships,” Jones said moments after a memorable victory lane ceremony shared with his young son. “That’s what everybody here tonight started the week trying to do. That last corner it was four wide going for fourth or fifth place.”
It was more than family and friends quick to offer congrats to the newly crowned champ. His car owner Tony Stewart took time from a busy schedule to make it to Putnamville Sunday.
“[Stewart] drove all night after driving a sprint car at Williams Grove [Pa.] to be here, so that made it even more special,” Jones said. “He gives the team what it takes to be here so it’s always nice to have him around.”
For feature winner Dave Darland, it was another well-deserved visit to victory lane at a track he has pretty much ruled over the years.
Like Jones, Darland was taking time to relish the moment. He’s been part of ISW since its creation and although he is now a 17-time ISW feature winner, his latest checkered flag was as special as the first to veteran racer.
“It doesn’t get old,” Darland said. “It’s always fun winning sprint car races. I’ve been fortunate to have won probably 250 sprint-midget or Silver Crown races over the years. If you can win the sprint car races, especially during Indiana Sprint Week, it can be a blast.”
Long considered one of the finest drivers ever to pilot an open-wheel race car, the veteran driver is once again teamed with car owner Jeff Walker.
“I’m very fortunate to be driving a great race car,” voiced the elated Darland in victory lane. “Things are going good for Dave Darland. Too bad we couldn’t have got hooked up with Jeff 25 years ago.”
• ISW newsmakers – After several unsuccessful attempts to land one of the coveted ISW dates, LPS promoter Joe Spiker not only succeeded gaining a show but ended up with the deciding championship race.
His car count was third highest for the series with opening night at Gas City at 47 the highest. The low was at the big half mile at Terre Haute, coming in at 30.
Was there a happier or bigger victory lane celebration than the one locally? Daron Clayton propelled Ray Morgan Racing to the win at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds. If the name Ray Morgan sounds familiar, yes, it’s the same Fairbanks racer who was a frequent sprint car racer at area ovals a few years back.
The popular former racer is back in the sport after a 15-year hiatus, fielding cars on the World of Outlaws sprint circuit and teaming with Clayton in area non-wing sprint shows. The Action Track visit and resulting win was the third in a row for the pair that joined forces only a week earlier.
The pair hooked up after Morgan learned of Clayton’s financial struggles that were keeping the Illinois driver sidelined.
“He’s one of the finest non-wing drivers around and when I found out he was sitting because he was underfunded I sacrificed my finances to help him out,” beamed Morgan moments after the Wednesday night win. “It’s been worth every penny so far. We’ve been out three times and we have three wins.”
The win couldn’t have come at a better time or place for Morgan, who now calls Terre Haute home.
“To win at my home track, to win the Don Smith Classic, it couldn’t get much better,” offered Morgan, who survived one of the track’s most spectacular crashes as a driver several years ago. “Don helped us so many times in the past. [Smith] is a good man. It’s a privilege to win a race named in his honor.”
Stockon continues to make his efforts felt in USAC circles. His ISW runs produced four top-10 finishes good enough for sixth place in final points. More on this talented Valley racer, including some high marks given the Sullivan native by his fellow USAC racers in an upcoming column.
Joe Buckles can be reached at jbuckles4@frontier.com.
Sports
TRACKSIDE: Indiana Sprint Week rises above heat, rain, poor economy
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IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, stands in his team pit box as he waits for the start of the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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Top guns, again
For the sixth time in his Indy career Friday, three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves won the Pit Stop Challenge on Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Sycamores bow out of MVC Tournament
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Freshman Hambrock, THS seek semistate tennis title
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Coach adds regional host to job description
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Prep roundup: South Vermillion reaches baseball sectional final
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Metro Sports: Chalk up No. 5 for Liz Evans
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Four Indiana State athletes advance to NCAA outdoor track and field championships
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West Vigo advances to sectional championship with walk-off win in ninth
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Wichita State shuts out ISU to force elimination-game rematch
Indiana State starting pitcher Greg Kuhlman did his best.
Actually, he did far better than he ever has previously in an ISU uniform, but while Kuhlman’s gutty pitching effort spoke volumes, ISU’s bats remained ominously silent. -
BOYS TRACK REGIONAL: North gets three winners, South two at Evansville
Terre Haute North had three winners, Terre Haute South two, and the Patriots and Braves finished second and third respectively at the Evansville Regional for boys track on Thursday at Evansville Central.
Hurdlers Cam Stewart and Cole Seward and discus thrower Lee Davis were the winners for North, enabling the Patriots to finish with 60 points to 59 for the Braves.
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Top guns, again
- Local Interest
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman's Evans honored as Great Lakes' top athlete
Rose-Hulman senior Liz Evans earned her fifth career NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year honor, according to results released Wednesday by the U.S. Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees. -
Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Indiana State baseball series canceled
Heavy rain from Thursday through Saturday has forced Indiana State and Tennessee Martin to cancel their three-game weekend baseball series in northwest Tennessee.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman baseball to play DePauw on Thursday after Tuesday's rain
The Rose-Hulman baseball team has rescheduled its non-conference game with DePauw to Thursday night.
The start time remains 7 p.m. for the single nine-inning game that was originally scheduled for today. Tuesday’s scheduled Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at Anderson was moved to Sunday because of rain.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman's Evans honored as Great Lakes' top athlete
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Freshman Hambrock, THS seek semistate tennis title
Having already claimed Terre Haute North Sectional and Greencastle Regional championships in girls high school tennis, Terre Haute South will try to add a semistate title to its 2013 list of accomplishments today as the Braves battle No. 25-ranked Greenwood.
- Prep roundup: South Vermillion reaches baseball sectional final
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- BOYS TRACK REGIONAL: North gets three winners, South two at Evansville
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- College
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Sycamores bow out of MVC Tournament
Indiana State’s baseball was out of pitching, and after a loss to Wichita State on Thursday, the Sycamores were out of second-chances too at the Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament. What the Sycamores weren’t out of was heart, guts and clutch performances from some unlikely sources. But in the end, Friday’s elimination game rematch against the Shockers was a sampling of ISU’s season overall — the Sycamores were out of luck.
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Metro Sports: Chalk up No. 5 for Liz Evans
Senior Liz Evans capped the top career in Rose-Hulman athletics history with her fifth national championship and eighth All-American award at Wisconsin-La Crosse on Friday.
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Four Indiana State athletes advance to NCAA outdoor track and field championships
Three Indiana State seniors and a freshman have punched their tickets to the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in two weeks at Eugene, Ore., with their Friday efforts in the 2013 NCAA East Preliminary at Aggie Stadium on the campus of North Carolina A&T.
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Wichita State shuts out ISU to force elimination-game rematch
Indiana State starting pitcher Greg Kuhlman did his best.
Actually, he did far better than he ever has previously in an ISU uniform, but while Kuhlman’s gutty pitching effort spoke volumes, ISU’s bats remained ominously silent. -
Indiana State baseball now one win from MVC Championship
Indiana State’s Wednesday morning wish list probably read something like this: a dominant complete game effort from starting pitcher Devin Moore, near-immaculate defense to support him, and a steady diet of clutch situational hitting from lineup spots one to nine.
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Sycamores bow out of MVC Tournament
- Sports Columns
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Sunday promises to be big day in Indy
Sunday promises to be a super day in Indianapolis.
It’s the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 followed by Indiana vs. Miami in the third game of the National Basketball Association playoffs. - TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Sunday promises to be big day in Indy
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
A year ago, quarterback Andrew Luck was unable to attend the Indianapolis Colts’ organized team activity practices due to school commitments at Stanford.
Luck, though, went on to have a stellar year for the Colts despite the lack of summer work with the team. Still, in a sense, he is a rookie during this year’s OTA workouts.
“These are my first OTAs. I missed these last year, so I think it’s great. It’s great to get on the field with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff. Obviously, some of us ran some of this stuff [offense] at Stanford [under new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton]. But to get out there with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff is good,” Luck said Wednesday as the team wrapped up its first week of on-field voluntary practice sessions. - Colts hoping for more high marks on draft picks
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- Colts introduce free-agent signees
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
- Terre Haute Rex
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Consultation: Rex manager Brian Dorsett talks with his pitcher and players during a time-out Sunday, July 15, at Sycamore Field. (Tribune-Star file/Bob Poynter)
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
The Terre Haute Rex went through plenty of trials and tribulations during the summer of 2012.
The team got off to a sluggish start to settle for third place during the first half of the Prospect League race, but manager Brian Dorsett rallied the troops to a second-half title. - Metro Roundup: Dorsett, Rex players honored in Prospect League postseason awards
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- Rex turn eye to Prospect playoffs
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
- Colts
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
A year ago, quarterback Andrew Luck was unable to attend the Indianapolis Colts’ organized team activity practices due to school commitments at Stanford.
Luck, though, went on to have a stellar year for the Colts despite the lack of summer work with the team. Still, in a sense, he is a rookie during this year’s OTA workouts.
“These are my first OTAs. I missed these last year, so I think it’s great. It’s great to get on the field with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff. Obviously, some of us ran some of this stuff [offense] at Stanford [under new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton]. But to get out there with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff is good,” Luck said Wednesday as the team wrapped up its first week of on-field voluntary practice sessions. - Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
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- Colts hoping for more high marks on draft picks
- Werner at top of game
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
- Auto Racing
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IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, stands in his team pit box as he waits for the start of the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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Top guns, again
For the sixth time in his Indy career Friday, three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves won the Pit Stop Challenge on Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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- Carpenter wins Indy 500 pole
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Top guns, again
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