A review of the 2006 Wabash Valley auto-racing season reflected much the same story as that recorded on the national motorsports scene.
Stellar individual performances at the major-league level and those at area ovals were tempered by growing concerns over the uncertain future for short-track racing.
A trend that comes in as the top story on the annual Trackside Top Ten Stories of the Year list, which includes:
1. Uncertain future — The future of racing at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds was a constant hot topic of conversation among racers and fans throughout the ‘06 season. Despite repeated denials by Fair Board officials that the valued real estate wasn’t for sale, weary fans still expressed fears that the Terre Haute Action Track and Wabash Valley Dragway will fall victim to commercial development in the not-too-distant future.
2. Changing faces — Adding to the uncertainty at the Fairgrounds was a round of changes in leadership at the southside racing facility. Both the oval and dragstrip had new promoters this past season.
Morgan County businessman Dave Allison took over the reins at the Action Track in a surprise mid-season move. Allison, who also controls promotional rights at nearby Lincoln Park Speedway and Twin-Cities Speedway at North Vernon, replaced former Sullivan County resident Jamie Reed.
Jim Graham of Bloomington brought his drag-racing promotional experience to WVDragway, keeping racing afloat at the eighth-mile strip.
The changes marked a disturbing trend of instability on the promotional front at the tracks. Allison became the fourth promoter in the last eight years. Adding to the uncertainty, longtime supporter for racing at the Fairgrounds, Fair Board president Brad Anderson, resigned his post late in the year.
3. Divided ways — Open-wheel racing suffered through another year of dissension within its ranks, this time on three fronts. Any hopes that the split in Indy-car racing would be healed never materialized. Winged sprint-car racing floundered as the newly formed National Sprint Tour series led by Steve Kinser went head-to-head with the more established World of Outlaws circuit.
By season’s end, the NST had folded as Kinser and Danny Lasoski announced they were returning to the Outlaws in ’07. The U.S. Auto Club ushered in a new era with its “new generation champ car,” a move that sparked a group of discontented car owners to establish the newly formed Premier Racing Association series.
4. Safety first — The sport on the local scene enjoyed a relative safe season, with the lone exception being the serious injuries suffered by veteran driver Jay Drake in a USAC sprint show at the Action Track.
5. Youth and experience — The Action Track enjoyed a competitive year that found new faces and seasoned veterans in victory lane. Joey Saldana, Darren Hagen and Daron Clayton were first-time winners at the local oval, while Jon Stanbrough and Bud Keading added to an already winning tradition here.
Stanbrough clinched the King of Indiana Sprint Series with his win his sixth win at the Action Track — one of 21 feature wins that earned him national Sprint Car Driver of the Year honors.
6. Terre Haute racers dominate — For the second straight year, local racers continued their winning ways in impressive fashion at Lincoln Park Speedway. Kenny Carmichael (sprints and stocks) and Richie Hawkins (Bombers) won three of the track’s four division titles. Terre Haute drivers swept the top three spots in the sprint and Bomber classes.
7. Terre Haute racer shines — Carmichael’s impressive two-title season is more noteworthy in that it marked repeat championship runs in both divisions. His crowns and nine-feature-win year earns the Terre Haute racer Trackside Driver of the Year honors for the second straight year.
8. Teams shine — Whether it was on the Midwestern short tracks or international road courses, Terre Haute-based operations made their presence felt.
Team Apex Racing USA, under the leadership of David Hunt and Jim Exline, was again a force to reckon with on the Formula BMW USA series with stellar runs at the Canadian and USGP. BWB Racing won a USAC sprint car feature at the new Iowa Speedway and was a solid contender on the Premier Racing Association circuit throughout the year.
9. Indy winners — Three of the biggest marquee names in racing make it to victory lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, adding to its reputation as the Racing Capital of the World with three storybook endings.
Sam Hornish’s dramatic last-lap win over rookie Marco Andretti and Jimmy Johnson’s victory in the Brickyard 400 helped propel the pair to championship drives in their respective series. Michael Schumacher bid farewell to Formula One racing with a record-breaking fifth USGP win at IMS.
10. Wabash Valley Dragway — The Wabash Valley Dragway drew competitors from throughout the Midwest, but it was a strong local contingent that carried off the hardware at season’s end.
When WVD teams gather for their awards banquet Feb. 10, five of the six track champions will have Valley connections. Title holders included Jasonville’s Gary Thompson in Super Pro and Terre Haute racers Kenny James in Pro, Jeff Lathrop in Sportsman, Brad Miles in Motorcycle and Zach Gosnell in Jr. Dragster. The lone “outsider,” Jordan Eaker of Brownsburg, took the High School title.
Joe Buckles can be reached by e-mail at jbuckles@verizon.net.
Trackside
Trackside: Looking back at a big year of racing in the Wabash Valley
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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. -
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TRACKSIDE: Changes come up on Indiana racing scene
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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
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TRACKSIDE: Wabash Valley racing ready to take green flag — even Action Track
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TRACKSIDE: Fitzpatrick on track to continue impressive start to racing career
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Frightening finish to season at Terre Haute Action Track
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Trackside: Attractive USAC sprint car card this weekend
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Trackside: Sadler’s wreck brings up memories for Terre Haute racer Sizemore
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