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Quick Time: Mid-season driver awards

June 27, 2012, 12:54 pm

By Todd Turner

DirtonDirt.com managing editor

Take a quick lap around the proverbial dirt track with managing editor Todd Turner for roundup of Dirt Late Model racing through the latest weekend of action along with some other quirks of racing (along with occasional ax-grinding). Quick Time, one of the newest features of our website, will appear every Wednesday at DirtonDirt.com:

Frontstretch: Drivers of the Week

National: Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., is still looking for his first win of the season on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, but he’s closer after contending in weekend events at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C., and Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Va., where he finished second and third.

Regional: Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., reeled off four straight nights of top-two finishes on the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals to take the points lead on the 29-race circuit. His home-state victories came at Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown and Fairbury American Legion Speedway.

Weekly: D.J. Troutman of Hyndman, Pa., scored a two-victory weekend on a pair of mammoth tracks, winning June 22 in Super Late Models at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway, and winning June 23 at Allegeny County Speedway, his third straight Limited Late Model victory at the Cumberland, Md., oval.

Crate: Mickey Trosclair of Luling, La., the NeSmith Chevrolet Series weekly points leader, notched his 14th and 15th victories of the season June 22-23 at Hattiesburg (Miss.) Motorsports Park and Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss.

Turn 1: Mid-season awards

With Fourth of July just around the corner, it’s time to weigh in on a few driver awards for the first half of the season:

Top driver: It’s by no means clear-cut, but Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., has dominated the World of Outlaws Late Model Series with seven victories and is on track for a record-breaking season in total victories. Honorable mention: Billy Moyer (12 victories overall), Don O’Neal (eight Lucas Oil Series victories).

Breakout driver: He’s been a player on the scene the last few seasons, but Gregg Satterlee of Rochester Mills, Pa., has had more traveling success than ever in 2012, including $5,000 victories at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway and Winchester (Va.) Speedway. He’s only finished outside the top five once in June and finished third in Appalachian Mountain Speedweek points behind Tim McCreadie and Rick Eckert.

Top newcomer: No single driver has set himself apart here, but we’re keeping our eye on Adam Martin of Talladega, Ala. (three Super Late Model victories at Talladega Short Track); SUPR rookie Shane Hebert of Lafayette, La. (won his first Late Model start); Robert Baker of Bryant, Ark. (Comp Cams Super Dirt Series winner); Dustin Strand of Grand Forks, N.D. (two victories at River Cities Speedway); and Trever Feathers of Winchester, Va. (first Super victory at hometown track on June 9).

Most Improved: He was on our Most Improved list last year, but 16-year-old Tyler Reddick of Corning, Calif., has raised it another notch with the steadiest runs of his career in the first half of 2012, contending more regularly on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and also making the Dream XVIII starting lineup in his first appearance at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

Comeback driver: After just three victories last season (none after July 28), Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., has turned things around with seven victories in the first half of 2012. His victories include the $15,000 Bama Bash, two Appalachian Mountain Speedweek victories en route to the title, and three World of Outlaws Late Model Series victories as he’s joined the pursuit for the series-leading Lanigan. Honorable mention: Matt Miller.

Turn 2: Late Model math

In a perfect world:

• No preliminary race would have more laps than cars.

• Race purses pay at least 10 percent of the winning purse to every feature starter.

• All numerical ties in series points would be decided by most victories, most runner-up finishes, most third-place finishes, etc.

Backstretch: It’s hot, baby

Drivers through parts of the country are girding for extreme temperatures in the coming days with triple-digit heat expected. For instance, forecasts at the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals event at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway are calling for 109 degrees — yes, 109 degrees — on Friday.

At racetracks affected by the heat, fans, drivers, crew members and officials have to be prepare to stay hydrated and find a spot in the shade as much as possible.

One track, Thunderhill Raceway in the fittingly named Summertown, Tenn., has cancelled Saturday’s action because of heat and drought conditions. The track’s water source is limited and the city has set restrictions to conserve water. Thunderhill’s $3,000-to-win Super Late Model event will be rescheduled.

Turn 3: Not a bad payday

How many WISSOTA Late Model special events pay $700-to-start? Few, if any, but that’s what drivers who qualified for Hibbing (Minn.) Raceway’s Governor’s Cup earned in one of those rare rainouts where promoters elected to split the purse rather than make up the race.

The 18 drivers locked into June 23’s rained out feature were each cut checks of $705 from what would’ve been a $3,000-to-win race — without the wear and tear of battling on the racetrack. It was even a richer payoff for the 25 drivers in the $6,000-to-win modified event as they picked up $1,120 apiece.

The Iron Range Racing Association thanked drivers for trying to help pack the track in trying to race on a rainy night, but after the night was a washout, promoters decided it would be too burdensome on longer-traveling drivers to return for a raindate.

“This decision was not made lightly after several hours of discussion,” according to the Hibbing website.

The track also offered fans a $5 discount on either of the next two Hibbing races with Saturday wristbands, and children 6-12 will get a $5 refund upon producing those wristbands.

Turn 4: Turn back the clock:

Five items from this week in Dirt Late Model history:

June 25, 1987: Roger Dolan of Lisbon, Iowa, notched the second of his four series victories on the season with NASCAR Busch All-Star Tour triumph at Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa.

June 18, 1996: Rusty Cummings of Minden, La., won his lone series race of the season at Baton Rouge Raceway on the Southern United Professional Racing circuit. Cummings led every laps in outrunning 11th-starting Ricky Kirkland.

June 30, 2000: Leading the final 37 laps at Raceway 7 in Conneaut, Ohio, Ryan Markham of Ashland, Ohio, survived a souring engine to earn $5,000 and his first-ever Mid-Atlantic Championship Series victory. New Yorkers Mike Wonderling of Wellsville and Dick Barton of Ashville finished second and third.

June 29, 2003: Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., earned $3,000 for a victory at McCoy Motors Speedway in the Kentucky Klassic, the Bluegrass State's longest running dirt race. Former race winner Steve Barnett was second followed by Timmy Yeager.

July 2, 2005: Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas, Calif., captured his first series victory of the season at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway en route to a five-victory season and championship on the Western Dirt Late Model Tour.