Archive for Race Reports
Nov
28
Top Gun Sprint Series Race Report – 11.26.11
Posted by: | CommentsDATE: November 26, 2011
SERIES: Top Gun Sprints Series
ADMISSION PRICE: $25 for the pit pass, which is certainly a fair price and better than some other tracks.
FOOD ORDERED: Cheese Dog, Double Cheese Burger. I like cheese, what can I say.
FOOD GRADE: C-. This grade has a good explanation, I assure you. When I got to the track I was starving since I didn’t have lunch and was late to pick up our Factory Driver, so as soon as the concession stand opened I got myself a cheese dog and paid $4.50 for this privilege. It was a good cheese dog, but no cheese dog is worth $4.50 and I’ve had them all over the country. We’re not even talking chili cheese, just cheese. When the racing was over I found myself hungry once again and went to the pits concession stand and ordered a double cheeseburger for $5.50. So for a cheese dog and double cheese burger I was out $10. Now on price alone, East Bay gets an F. But I got some homemade garlic pickles on my double cheese burger (yum!) and even got a free lesson on how to make pickles at home from the lovely woman working the concession stand. Score! And the guys and gals working the main concession stand are super friendly and the food comes out lightning quick and it is very good. I would dare say East Bay has the best run concession stands in the state, but the prices are outrageous at the moment.
DRINKS ORDERED: Nothing.
DRINKS GRADE: N/A. I was broke after paying for my food.
CROWD GRADE: B-. Not the best crowd I’ve seen for a season ending sprint car show at East Bay, but still not a bad crowd.
TRACK GRADE: C. Not the worst I’ve seen at East Bay and not the best. They might want to rethink the inside of Turn One though as a few people clobbered the inside berm, including our Factory Driver who just might have got all four wheels off the ground when he did so.
NUMBER OF SPRINT CARS: 24.
WHO WON:
Heat 1: Brett O’Donnell
Heat 2: Matt Kurtz
Heat 3: Robbie Smith
Feature: Robbie Smith
SERIES GRADE: B. This was a very good field of cars and 24 cars in this economy is nothing to sneeze at. Are there more sprint cars out there? Sure. But this was a good field with multiple drivers that were to be considered legitimate threats to win.
FSCF.com DRIVER OF THE RACE: Danny “The Hammer” Martin Jr. Watching Martin Jr. carve his way from 17th to 2nd was like watching a master craftsman, he is simply on top of his game right now, especially when other drivers were struggling to pass. He went high, he went low, he went underneath people when you didn’t think there was any room down there and his scrap with Steven Darvalics (more on that below) had you holding your breath. Had there been one more caution Martin Jr. may have been standing in victory lane. Honorable Mention goes to AJ Maddox who led for a long time and was strong all night.
FSCF.COM HARD LUCK AWARD: Unfortunately this one is easy – Collin Cabre. Haulin’ Collin had a very fast car that he could put almost anywhere on the track and his scrap with Brett O’Donnell was simply breathtaking and then Collin came rolling to a stop on the track, because he was out of gas…
OTHER NOTES:
- If you missed the heat races you missed some great action. Brett O’Donnell was a rocket and put a sweet slide job on AJ Maddox for the win. In the second heat Matt Kurtz came flying from the back of the field to take the win.
- Speaking of Brett O’Donnell, I’m telling you right now, he is going to win a lot of sprint car races. Brett is fast, fearless and a hard racer. He puts the #11 wherever there is an opening and just goes for it and doesn’t put a wheel wrong. O’Donnell’s scrap with Collin Cabre during the feature was mesmerizing as they passed each other back and forth. I want to start referring to him as “Mr. Electricity” Brett O’Donnell because he is electrifying out there, but then I thought I like “The Bloodhound” Brett O’Donnell better because when he gets a whiff of the front, he is on it. I just don’t know which way to go yet…
- Speaking of nicknames and O’Donnells, we’ve got our new nickname for Mark Ruel Jr. He likes “Peruvian Outlaw” while we like “Kyle Petty” but a top secret member of the O’Donnell crew did us one better…Mark “Peruvian Petty” Ruel Jr. I’m just upset with myself for not coming up with that one on my own…
- Speaking of whom, Mark Ruel Jr. had a consistent night, bringing home a top five finish, and with Tim George’s DNF due to mechanical issues, ended up second in the Top Gun Sprint Series standings.
- It was a Butler family reunion in the #19 pits as Keith Butler and Stan Butler were working on the car and 2010 TBARA champ “The Bushnell Bullet” Shane Butler was driving. It had been a while since Shane has driven at East Bay, but he was smooth out there but unfortunately had his night come to an early end when the cam spud on the back of the motor rounded off. Keith is recovering well from recent eye surgery and should be back on the dirt in the #19 next year, while Shane is looking to do some more dirt racing next year while prepping the #55 he drove at Bristol for a run at the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway.
- Jimmy Ballew had an up and down night. On the first start he went rocketing around the outside and plunked himself into the top five but when the track started to go away so did the handle on the car. Jimmy deserves an atta’boy for the year he has had. This was his first proper season in sprint cars and he looked good all year long and brought home a well deserved fourth place in the final Top Gun points, a scant six points away from defending champ Tim George. Jimmy is picking up a JEI chassis in the off season for next year’s campaign.
- Steven Darvalics was once again in the Shaw Motorsports #24 entry and had quite the scrap with former pilot Danny Martin Jr. as the two of them were coming through the field. At one point Martin Jr. got into the back of Darvalics, which well and truly appeared to be unintentional and just good hard racing, bending up Danny’s front bumper, which he autographed after the race and had it given to Steven. Steven thought it was pretty entertaining and said he was going to hang it up at home. Look for Steven to be back in the Shaw #24 next year.
- Not to overshadow Robbie Smith’s win, I’m just shocked it’s taken him this long to win this season. Robbie has a long history of winning in sprint cars, including pavement and his equipment is top notch.
- “The Jackonsville Jet” Matt Kurtz put in another impressive night, winning his heat and coming home fourth behind AJ Maddox.
- It sure was strange seeing someone other than Gene Lasker in the #02 he’s made famous, but Alex Boerner handled the driving duties Saturday night.
- Shawn Murray probably wants to forget this race, first for jumping the start while he was the leader and then spinning out in front of the field on the second go around.
- Our Factory Driver Flyin’ Ryan Partin had a rough night with timing and fuel mixture issues plaguing the team and then when he spun in the feature the torque tube slid out, thus ending the night.
- Shane Kreidler had a lot of ponies under the hood of his #88 but was disqualified for not going to tech after the race.
- One last point, I really do enjoy going to East Bay to take in a race. Except for the food, the price is right, the staff is very courteous and the track layout makes for good racing.
RACE REPORTER: Todd Michaels
As always, our man about town Gary “Walk Quietly But Carry A Big” Johnson roamed the pits taking pictures for your viewing delight. Enjoy.
Nov
15
Top Gun Sprint Series Race Report – 11.12.11.
Posted by: | CommentsDATE: November 12, 2011
SERIES: Top Gun Sprints Series
ADMISSION PRICE: $15 for the general admission and $30 for a pit pass.
FOOD ORDERED: Nothing.
FOOD GRADE: N/A. I continue my refusal to pay for overpriced track food.
DRINKS ORDERED: Nothing.
DRINKS GRADE: N/A. I continue my refusal to pay for overpriced track refreshments.
CROWD GRADE: B-.
NUMBER OF SPRINT CARS: 23.
WHO WON:
Heat 1: Sport Allen
Heat 2: Robbie Smith
Heat 3: Kerry Glbert
Feature: Danny Martin Jr.
SERIES GRADE: C+. Hey, it is average, but we all know there are more sprint cars out there. Please suspend the Hoosier tire right rear only rule for the final night at East Bay! We said please.
TRACK GRADE: A. The track held moisture and didn’t rut up like it has been doing in the past. Bubba and his staff continued to work the track all night to get it right. Of course that meant the sprint feature didn’t start until 11:10 PM but such is life.
FSCF.com DRIVER OF THE RACE: Brett O’Donnell. The former Florida Mini Sprint Association champion made his first visit to Bubba Raceway Park in a sprint car and he didn’t disappoint. He had a third place finish in his heat race and then backed it up with a solid fourth in the feature, this from a ninth place starting spot. Job well done by the O’Donnell Racing team.
FSCF.COM HARD LUCK AWARD: Kyle Welchance. Kyle finished fourth in the fast heat race and looked to be a top ten car for the feature. Unfortunately, Kyle’s night came to an abrupt end when he got over on his side in turn one on lap three. Kyle was able to walk away, but the car did suffer some damage.
OTHER NOTES:
- The “Jacksonville Jet” Matt Kurtz had an in car camera for hot laps and promised to send the footage to us at FSCF.com. That should be fun to watch! Matt struggled in his heat race as they missed the setup. However, the crew went to work making changes and Matt raced his way to a top ten finish after starting 19th in the feature…Matt is due for a win.
- If people have never had the opportunity to watch Sport Allen work on a sprint car in the pits. they need to spend the extra money to watch him in action. I love how he knows how he wants the car to feel and what he needs to do. It reminds me of watching Sammy Swindell in the pits.
- Jimmy Ballew has quietly put together a nice season for himself. Jimmy had another top ten finish and sits fourth in Top Gun points.
- Danny Martin Jr. said in his victory lane interview that he is unsure of who he will be driving for next season. Danny has stepped into the #43 of Terry Witherspoon to finish the season. Danny did say he would like to continue to drive for Terry, but he does have a new chassis sitting in his shop if that does not happen.
- The feature got off to an ugly start with one red for Kyle Welchance and two cautions (one for “Hot Nuts” Ryan Partin and one for Haulin’ Collin Cabre). Once they got some green flag laps under their belts, the action was fast and furious. Martin, Robbie Smith and Sport Allen carved through early traffic like a hot knife through butter. Smith then dogged Martin through later traffic and showed Martin his nose a couple of times. Allen lost touch with the front two when he encountered heavy lapped traffic.
- Former pavement specialist David Slawiak made the tow to BRP. It was his first dirt experience other than driving the push truck a month back at BRP. Slawiak suffered all night from engine issues… Is this a sign of the pavement pounders making the switch to dirt for next season? I’m just sayin’.
- Nobody asked me, but I’d like to see late model super shoe Ivedent Lloyd, Jr. in a sprint car. The man can drive.
RACE REPORTER: Brian Penrose
Also, our man about town Gary “Walk Quietly But Carry a Big” Johnson roamed the pits of BRP to take a boatload of photos for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.