TERRE HAUTE — It’s time to sit back and reflect on a weekend of top notch open wheel racing at the state, national and international levels while preparing for the NASCAR invasion of Indy this week.
Although the Action Track was sorely absent from this year’s USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks, interest in the series remains high among Wabash Valley fans.
Action Track favorite Dave Darland emerged as the series champ as the grueling eight-race tour took the the checkered flag Saturday night at Haubstadt.
Darland edged pre-series favorite Jon Stanbrough and Levi Jones for his third ISW title. He posted a pair of wins and five top three finishes during his championship run.
The series offered four different feature winners in eight races with Stanbrough taking three checkered flags.
Stanbrough’s chances of repeating as series champ were doomed on a disastrous night at Bloomington when he failed to make the starting lineup.
Darland’s winning run comes six years from his last and a decade since his first. He remains a fan favorite and one of the most underrated open wheel racers of his time. His inability to land a legitimate shot at an Indy car ride over the years speaks volume for the sorry state of open wheel racing these days.
A period of time in which a driver’s ability to land a big car ride is determined more on how well he sells himself in a corporate board room rather than his talents on the race track.
That old cliche “nice guys finish last” may apply to Dave’s failure to make it to Indy but those who know the sport well can tell you the 41-year-old’s time in a sprint-midget-champ dirt car ranks as some the finest ever.
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• Disappointing to lose F1 — After viewing the very entertaining German Grand Prix over the weekend one can’t but help but think how disappointing it will be not to have Formula One back at Indy next year.
There’s probably only a handful of fans in the Wabash Valley that share this view, but in the big picture the developments do not paint a rosy picture for the sport no matter what your choice of racing might be.
One has to give Tony George credit for standing up to Bernie Ecclestone’s ridiculous financial demands but the bottom line is neither the Speedway nor F1 comes out looking good.
As one who has tried in recent years to understand the motives of the Dave Allisons and Ecclestone’s of the sport one can’t help but be skeptical of the direction the sport is headed.
One thing is certain; the fans continue to take a back seat to the increasing trend of greed and egotism in racing. On a more positive note, the announcement that the motorcycles of the Moto GP will be at IMS next fall will be a big plus for race fans whether they be four or two wheel supporters.
• • •
• Big winners — A tip of the hit to a pair of Valley racers who notched feature wins over the weekend.
Sullivan’s Chase Stockon took the sprint feature at Paragon and local racer Ron Smith the bomber feature at Lincoln Park Saturday night.
Joe buckles can be reached at jbuckles@verizon.net.
Trackside
Trackside: Interest in Indiana Sprint Week remains high for Wabash Valley fans
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TRACKSIDE: Chase Stockon hopes momentum stays with him in Terre Haute
Momentum, an element that can be as elusive to a race driver as that perfect setup, can spell the difference in winning or running at the rear of the pack.
It’s a force difficult to achieve and maybe even harder to maintain. One learns quickly to make the most of the opportunity when it comes his way.
It’s something Chase Stockon will carry with him coming into today’s Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Only days following the biggest victory of his young and promising career, the $10,000-to-win USAC feature at Lawrenceburg, Stockon followed that up with another rich payday this past weekend at Tri-State Speedway. -
TRACKSIDE: Stanbrough continues points chase after recent skirmish with rival
Veteran sprint car driver Jon Stanbrough has never been one to hide his distaste for chasing point championships. It simply doesn’t bode well with his style of racing.
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TRACKSIDE: Brett Andrew plays role in developing NASCAR's new body styles
The recent announcement from NASCAR regarding the approved body styles for the 2013 Sprint Cup Series follows extensive wind-tunnel testing that was a year in the making.
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TRACKSIDE: Stockon takes giant step forward in USAC
One of the more impressive and welcomed storylines of the recently completed Indiana Sprint Week was the emergence of area driver Chase Stockon on the national sprint car scene.
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TRACKSIDE: Indiana Sprint Week rises above heat, rain, poor economy
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.
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TRACKSIDE: Late models may have no long-term future in Indiana
Reflecting on what was billed as the biggest week of the summer for dirt-track stock-car racing … while preparing to shift gears for the busiest week of the year for non-wing sprint-car racing in the Wabash Valley.
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TRACKSIDE: Summer heat has made this ‘The Hell Tour’
It is fittingly billed as “The Hell Tour” for many of the Midwest’s leading late model stock car drivers and their crews.
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TRACKSIDE: Retired driver LaJoie spreads the word of safety
In his roles as past driving champion and television analyst, Randy LaJoie has rightfully earned the reputation as a major contributor to the sport of auto racing.
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Trackside: Stanbrough on track at midseason
When veteran driver Jon Stanbrough ushered in a new season in Florida back in February, he found himself facing a pair of unfamiliar challenges.
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TRACKSIDE: Clauson bucks the IndyCar trend
On the surface, the distance from the dirt oval at Lincoln Park Speedway to the massive, paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway may appear only a few miles apart.
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TRACKSIDE: USAC Midget Classic not nearly as revered as it once was
It might be three years removed from its birthplace but the Hut Hundred USAC Midget Classic still holds a special place in the hearts of Wabash Valley racing buffs.
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TRACKSIDE: What could have been: Indy’s folklore got richer this week
It’s a question that will linger for years and only add to the folklore of the Indianapolis 500.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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TRACKSIDE: Near-capacity crowd turns out for opening night of racing
Opening night at one of the midwest’s premier short track operations can be like no other time of the year.
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TRACKSIDE: Racing season has promise
With several “test and tunes” sessions and season openers having already taken the green flag, it’s a sure sign the Wabash Valley racing campaign is shifting into high gear.
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TRACKSIDE: Valley racing showed best, worst of times in 2011
A look back on the 2011 Wabash Valley auto racing season reveals the best and worst of times the sport has to offer.
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TRACKSIDE: Menard's victory at Brickyard momentous for family, race fans
Who says one of those familiar bright fluorescent-colored Menards race cars can’t find its way to victory lane at Indianapolis?
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TRACKSIDE: After a delayed start, the Terre Haute Action Track gets season cranked up
Its arrival may have been delayed by several months — for a host of reasons — but the 2011 Terre Haute Action Track season is finally out of the blocks.
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TRACKSIDE: Changes come up on Indiana racing scene
With the highly anticipated USAC Indiana Sprint Week sprint card on tap at the Terre Haute Action Track tonight and the Tony Hulman/Don Smith Classic and a host of events leading up to the Brickyard 400 looming on the horizon, it would appear that it’s the best of times for Wabash Valley racing buffs.
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TRACKSIDE: Fortunes of dirt track racing at Action Track can be written in the dust
In the 40 plus years of covering motorsports, it would appear the process of writing this weekly race column would come together rather routinely.
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TRACKSIDE: Auto racing in May in Indiana runs on history and tradition
Possibly nowhere in the sports world does history and tradition play such a key role in an event’s success and future as that found in auto racing.
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TRACKSIDE: Wabash Valley racing ready to take green flag — even Action Track
Despite having already lost several bouts to the elements, the 2011 Wabash Valley motorsports season has taken the green flag and will soon be shifting into high gear on several fronts.
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TRACKSIDE: Fitzpatrick on track to continue impressive start to racing career
One of the top stories on the Wabash Valley motorsports stage last season was the emergence of Blake Fitzpatrick as a legitimate front-runner on the national sprint-car scene.
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Frightening finish to season at Terre Haute Action Track
The 2010 Terre Haute Action Track season came to a climactic close over the weekend. Unfortunately, the campaign closed on a near-tragic note for the second consecutive year.
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Trackside: Attractive USAC sprint car card this weekend
With the area circle track season rapidly drawing to a close, fans will have a pair of attractive USAC sprint car cards to attend this weekend. Back-to-back shows at Lincoln Park Speedway and Terre Haute Action Track not only offer fans a final opportunity to see the sprints in action one final time, but they also serve as pivotal stops in the chase for the USAC sprint car drivers championship.
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Trackside: Sadler’s wreck brings up memories for Terre Haute racer Sizemore
One of the many fans that viewed Elliott Sadler’s wild crash at Pocono over the weekend with more than casual interest was former Terre Haute racer Paul Sizemore.
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Trackside: Talented young racer Blake Fitzpatrick savoring USAC success
The dust has long settled. The congratulatory phone calls and handshakes are becoming less frequent but that first taste of victory remains as fresh and sweet as ever for the U.S. Auto Club’s newest first-time sprint car feature winner.
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Trackside: Positive story lines in USAC
Reflections on events surrounding a highly successful USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks while looking forward to a crowded schedule of events leading up to this weekend’s Brickyard 400.
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TRACKSIDE: Chase Stockon hopes momentum stays with him in Terre Haute
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