It's too bad that several of this year's UMP DIRTcar Summernationals regulars likely won't be around for the final two races. But can you blame them? After touring thousands of miles around Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana the past four weeks, the final two events in Ohio require a six-hour drive from the third-to-last event in La Salle, Ill.

The two contenders for the $25,000 title, Randy Korte and Dennis Erb Jr., are sure to show up along with a handful of other regulars, but it's MORE

I've never been a fan of using an orange cone for restarts. Besides the fact that the rope attached to the cone can rip off someone's fingers if the cone is struck — it's happened before — it's a action-inhibiting way to restart a race.

So the other night at Vermilion County Speedway in Danville, Ill., I was glad to hear at the drivers' meeting that the race director announced there would be no cone. When the green flag flies, as long as drivers are nose-to-tail, they're free to pick a groove MORE

If the weather holds tonight in Quincy, Ill., I'll tie my personal best streak of 11 consecutive nights of Dirt Late Model racing. I know, I know, the real diehards of the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals can boast longer streaks from the days before the series took every-Monday breaks.

But 11 in a row is my record, and it goes back 18 years. When I used to have a real job, I meticulously planned my vacations around Florida Speedweeks and the Summernationals, milking as many hours as I could out of a MORE