TERRE HAUTE — If there were any lingering questions among Wabash Valley motorsports fans regarding the future of racing at the Terre Haute Action Track following an unsettling season a year ago, those doubts were laid to rest in impressive fashion over the weekend.
Thanks to the yeoman efforts of DHK Promotions, the famed oval not only sported a vibrant new look but served up racing that sent a sizable fan turnout home buzzing.
Yes, racing has returned to the Action Track and it couldn’t have been better. The closing laps of the Don Smith Classic provided a brand of racing that the five remaining events on the track schedule will be hard pressed to match. Just bring it on.
A big tip of the hat to Chris Novotney and Tim Wolfe for their countless hours of track prep. The pair were brought in on an advisory bases to get the track back in shape. They went far beyond that and the old place never looked better in or out.
Wolfe noted that they dumped close to 100,00 gallons of water on the half-mile oval between Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. Ripped the surface Saturday morning, added more water, then sheepfooted the track before closing it up. Then ripped it a second time raceday morning.
Among those in attendance Sunday was Tri-State Speedway track owner-operator Tom Helfrich, who also owns the Midwest Sprint Car Series that sanctioned the event.
Few people in racing can claim to have as much experience (51 years and counting) and expertise of preparing a dirt surface as Tom. Local officials didn’t pass on the opportunity to seek his input in the prepping of the track Sunday.
Helfrich was not only impressed with the way the facility looked but the eagerness on the part of the DHK group to make the track raceable under less-than-ideal circumstances.
“Like most other people here today, I would have preferred to have run at night, but this is the cards that were dealt us,” Helfrich said prior to the feature event.
“I think everybody came together and salvaged this show in a remarkable way compared to the way the track has been treated in the past.
“I think they did the right thing, doing what they did but it is more nerve-wracking doing a day show. [DHK promoters] were willing to work with [MSCS]. You know the worst thing that can happen when you’re in this kind of situation is for egos to lock horns. Nobody wins when that happens. These guys are very willing to ask for our input. They are willing to learn.”
One would have been hard-pressed to find anyone with a bigger smile on his face Sunday night than Sam Stockon. And for good reason.
Not only did his grandson Chase Stockon put on a stellar driving performance, but Sam also had to sense a measure of pride with what the MSCS series had to offer.
He founded the MSCS but had to relinquish controls of the series two years ago due to his declining health .
It was his grandson’s drive that Sam wanted to talk about at day’s end, however. He recalled when Chase made his sprint-car debut at the Action Track six years ago at the tender young age of 14.
“I really didn’t want him running this big half mile, but it’s something he and his dad wanted to give a try. I took him aside and said, ‘This it the way it is. At your age and your experience, you’re going to start at the back of each race,’” Sam Stockon said.
“’You’re going to be smooth. If you’re not smooth, I’m going to make you go up and sit it the grandstand.’ He passed several cars in his heat, worked his way half up through the field in the C-main and just seemed to gain confidence from there.”
It’s pretty evident that Chase, a student at Ivy Tech, has always taking a liking to the Action Track. Charging from 21st to ninth Sunday certainly revealed what a quick learner he is.
One his fellow racers and good friends, Dusty Wright of Seelyville, was battling Chase for a top-10 spot late in the main event but was caught up in a nasty four-car mishap.
Dusty emerged from the incident surprisingly only bruised and shaken, but his ride did not fare as well. His car received extensive front-end damage. Running a family operation, the Wrights now face an uphill battle of getting the personable young racer back on the track.
A visit to the Action Track wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t culminate in a day of rubbing shoulders and sharing stories with long time-supporters of racing at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds.
Among the name grabbers here Sunday were NASCAR driver Jason Leffler and World of Outlaws competitor Kraig Kinser. Both enjoying a rare Sunday off from their respective series.
Leffler kept a close eye on his fellow California driver, Damion Gardner, while confessing he misses his days of racing on the dirt. Kinser is back in the sprint cars after a brief stint on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck circuit. He spent the afternoon helping out fellow Hoosier racer Danny Holtsclaw.
Kinser confided that he harbors no ill feelings about his failed attempt to make it the stocks and looks forward to getting back on the Outlaws tour once Mother Nature gives them the green light.
It was nice renewing acquaintances with former Terre Haute Star sports editor Kent Harris on a day set aside to revive much of the history of racing at the half-mile oval. An avid race fan over the years, Kent shared some of his more memorable visits to the track, which started back in the track’s early beginnings in the 1950s.
Also seen strolling the pits Sunday were Bob Durr, Bill Kauffman and Bill Hopton, whose THAT Racing group helped revive racing at the track back in the mid-1990s.
He might not have been racing Sunday, but local racing buff Don Bradbury was still sporting a big smile resulting from his recent exhilarating experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Along with brother Jon, Don participated in the Richard Petty’s Driving Experience program at IMS. An avid race fan, Don proudly confided he got his stocker in the 130-mph range under the watchful eyes of program officials.
He’s not ready for the Brickyard, but his time behind the wheel of the stocker gave Don an even greater appreciation of what the NASCAR good ‘ole boys do each weekend at race tracks across the country.
Chuck Boehler up at Terre Haute North High School passes along word that the school’s Career and Technology Department will present its 14th annual “Thunder at North Day” today on the school’s west parking lot.
The program runs from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. If Mother Nature fails to cooperate, they will try again Thursday.
Joe Buckles can be reached at jbuckles4@verizon.net.
Sports Columns
Trackside: Action Track is back and it couldn’t be better
- Sports Columns
-
-
KEGLER’S KORNER: New members of GTHBA Hall of Fame
The “winter” bowling season has come to a close, and with that realization, it’s time to find out who are the newest inductees to the Greater Terre Haute Bowling Association Hall of Fame.
-
COLLEGE REPORT: Rockville’s Greene helps lead Illinois State to MVC title
Rockville grad Lindsey Greene recently completed an outstanding freshman season for the Illinois State softball team, helping lead the Redbirds to the Missouri Valley Conference championship and a runner-up finish in the NCAA regional tournament.
-
REDNECK QUAKER: Wabash Valley duo gets hooked on bow fishing
I would like to introduce you to a couple of fine, very polite young men, Eric Taylor and Craig O’Neal.
-
FROM TERRE HAUTE TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES: Thatcher having a good 0-for-May
San Diego Padres’ left-handed relief pitcher Joe Thatcher has yet to allow a run to score in the month of May.
-
RUB OF THE GREEN: Hogan, small of stature, left big footprints
With the Crowne Plaza Invitational being played at Colonial Country Club today, it conjures up images of the man himself, Bantam Ben Hogan, who won so often at Colonial it became known as “Hogan’s Alley.”
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU baseball has pluses, minuses for tourney bid
Last Thursday, when Indiana State’s baseball jumped around in a celebratory dogpile after clinching the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship at Bob Warn Field, no one thought that a little over a week later, the dreaded NCAA Tournament bubble would fly over Terre Haute. -
HUGHES, NEWS & VIEWS: Questions abound for Indy 500, Manning, baseball sectional
Phones are ringing less frequently in the Tribune-Star sports department this week.
-
TRACKSIDE: Sprint car event could generate close racing
One of the hottest and most competitive weekends of the 2012 motorsports season gets under way tonight at the Terre Haute Action Track with the scheduled running of the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Castroneves a safe bet at Indy 500
The field is full for the Indianapolis 500 and the race should be another good one.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Subtle switch has fostered MVC baseball parity
When Indiana State was crowned as the regular season baseball champion of the Missouri Valley Conference last Thursday, it marked the fifth different regular season champion the league has had since 2005.
-
REDNECK QUAKER: Charter trip on Lake Michigan a chance to catch some big ones
If you want to fish the big water for salmon and walleye, Greg Allen is the man to talk to or better yet, to go with.
We had two Dad and Lad teams on this beautiful day in the first week of August. Lake Michigan had a nice chop with the sun coming up over the horizon of the water. -
Lord Byron Nelson: Golf's true gentleman
This weekend at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas, they are commemorating the 100 years since the birth of their tournament’s namesake. “Lord Byron”, as he was known to the world, was the first professional golfer to have a tournament named for him, when the Dallas Open Invitational was renamed the Byron Nelson Classic in 1968, and there was good reason for that. Not only was he a very accomplished golfer, he was a great ambassador for the game because he was such a great gentleman.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU has done enough to be in NCAAs
When you get older, you’re supposed to get wiser. I don’t know if I qualify, but I’m trying.
-
TRACKSIDE: Mulling over the biggest weekend in motorsports
We’re approaching what has traditionally become one of the busiest and most prestigious weekends in all of motorsports.
-
RAMBLIN’ RECK: A good week to be a Sycamore
This week is a big one for sports fans and is off to a good start, particularly for Indiana State fans.
-
Hughes, News & Views: Hutson getting ready for final stretch toward Olympic Trials
If Kylie Hutson were a cross-country runner, she’d be approaching the final stretch of her biggest race in about three weeks.
-
TRACKSIDE: Spiker has begun to revive racing in Putnamville
Since his recent arrival on the Wabash Valley motorsports scene, Lincoln Park Speedway promoter Joe Spiker has certainly made his presence felt in Indiana sprint car circles.
-
RAMBLIN’ RECK: Clauson, 22, to make rare jump from USAC to Indy 500
Bryan Clauson will be a busy young man this month.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
-
REDNECK QUAKER: Ten-year-old harvests first bird
Ten-year-old Ethan Kelsheimer from Shepardsville is an outstanding young man.
-
TILL IT'S OVER: Super Bowl champ Weatherford enjoying humanitarian role
Last month, Weatherford traveled to Ghana to help lay down the foundation for a school.
Then last weekend, he was the leading man of the inaugural Rush the Punter 5K. The event benefits the United Way program Success by Six, which helps young children to get a head start on reading and other skills. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: TH’s Murans back in the Derby … this time with favorite
When Terre Haute native Paul Murans experienced his first Triple Crown horse racing run as part-owner of Mucho Macho Man in 2011, the experience was — to borrow a phrase from one-time Marquette coach Al McGuire — seashells and balloons.
-
TRACKSIDE: Helfrich: Short-track racing has good future
When questions arise regarding the current state of sprint car racing, whether they be at the local or national level, one doesn’t have to search much further for the answer than veteran promoter Tom Helfrich.
-
RAMBLIN’ RECK: May means it’s time for some thoroughbred horse racing
It’s May, it’s May, the wonderful month of May as the words sort of go in a famous musical.
-
RUB OF THE GREEN: Sometimes this can be a confounding game
To be sure, the great Sam Snead certainly knew what he was talking about when he delivered his favorite axiom, “The sun don’t shine on the same dog every day.”
-
COLLEGE REPORT: Roberts takes coaching position at UNC-Greensboro
Terre Haute native Mike Roberts is continuing his climb up the college basketball coaching ladder, recently departing Rice for a spot as the associate head coach at North Carolina-Greensboro.
-
REDNECK QUAKER: Hoosiers try their hunting skills down under
How would you practice with a bow and arrow to harvest a kangaroo? Jump up and down while shooting or mount a set of springs to your shoes?
-
RAMBLIN’ RECK: Following the changing Illinois coaching scene
Catching up on some coaching changes and some other business:
-
On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
-
FROM TERRE HAUTE TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES
Two former Wabash Valley players are hot as a firecracker, two more have joined new teams, and a fifth played a bit part in major league baseball history.
- More Sports Columns Headlines
-
KEGLER’S KORNER: New members of GTHBA Hall of Fame
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Romney Campaigns Ahead of Claiming Nomination
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Panetta: Asia the 'Project' for New Navy Grads
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Los Angeles Bar Bans Bachelorettes
Hamster Plays Dead
Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert
Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend?
LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
