DirtonDirt.com exclusive
Fast Talk: Flaky talk about Green Valley
Here’s the latest edition of Fast Talk, a DirtonDirt.com feature appearing each Monday and sponsored by Out-Pace Racing Products. Staffers Michael Rigsby, Todd Turner and Joshua Joiner gather weekly for a roundtable discussion about who’s hot, who’s not and other issues regarding Dirt Late Model racing (edited for clarity and length):
Todd Turner: They say March comes in like a lion, but at Green Valley Speedway it was more like a snow leopard — complete with white stuff and freezing temperatures that turned the Bama Bash into a bizarre event eventually snowed out after 61 laps. Fortunately for Michael and I, it was Joshua along with videographer Webb Dillard and photo contributors who braved the weather for that one.
It must’ve been a pretty surreal scene, Joshua, and a reminder that our nearly year-round schedule with early and late-season events can throw us a few curveballs with the weather.
Michael Rigsby: That was one of the more memorable events I can remember in dirt late model racing. It wasn't just flurrying, it was really snowing. It's amazing to me they could even pull off a race with it coming down like that, but by all accounts it didn't affect the track much at first. Lost in all of that was the fact Steve Casebolt pulled off one of the more improbable victories in recent memory in a brand new team. Overall a wild weekend.
Joshua Joiner: I think everyone at Green Valley Saturday night was amazed by the weather. It literally snowed the entire night. At first the flurries were light enough that they really didn't seem to reach the ground, much less to have an effect on the track surface, but there was no doubt the track was too wet after the snow picked up under the lap-61 yellow. It was really just a crazy situation, one that I'm sure everyone there will remember for quite a while. I'm sure Steve Casebolt will remember it, anyway. The snow worked out quite well for him, giving him his biggest victory since Eldora's $100,000-to-win Dream.
TT: Let’s talk about winner Steve Casebolt, whose new connection with Tennessee-based D&R Motorsports — Danny Dishman and Ron Ivey, who had supported Ray Cook’s program in recent seasons — led him to his first trip to Green Valley and a $16,016 payday.
Casebolt has been off-again, on-again in recent seasons, sitting out the first half of 2012 and picking his spots a little more selectively than the days he was running the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series full time. He’s a thoughtful driver most of us enjoy dealing with, so it’d be nice to see him more regularly, especially if the new backing can help him hit some big races. What do you all think the likelihood of that?
MR: The situation with Steve is usually pretty simple. When he gets in good rides, he runs well — and it looks like this is no different. It didn't hurt that those guys and that team have won at Green Valley before, so they have a pretty good setup for that place. But yes to answer your question, if Casebolt is in a good situation, he's gonna have a good year.
JJ: Talking to Steve after the race, I'm not sure how much racing they plan to do. I don't think we'll see them taking too busy of a schedule as opposed to more of the selective approach that Casebolt had last year, just racing a little more often. Either way, they've hit the ground running with the new partnership. Wherever they race, they should be a legitimate contender. One thing unique about the new team is it will likely bring Casebolt to the South more often. They're were talking about going to Cleveland this weekend and maybe even running some of the Cook-promoted Spring Nationals events over the next few months.
TT: Side-by-side racing was limited at Green Valley and most of the drama revolved around tire wear, but the pole-starting Casebolt and fellow front-row starter Shane Clanton swapped plenty of paint at the outset. Neither driver seemed too happy with the other, but I suppose it was simply a battle for what was the critical No. 1 spot at the outset. How did you guys see it?
MR: Yeah I didn't see it as more than that. They knew the race to the front was a big one. I really wasn't put-off by it. Shane my say differently though, ha ha.
JJ: If it wasn't for the snow and tire wear, the first lap likely would've decided the race. Fearing too much water might freeze the surface, track crews didn't wet the track too much Saturday and unfortunately it produced a dominant line of rubber around the middle of the track that everyone wanted to be in. As far as the deal with Casebolt and Clanton, it was just a situation where they both went for that rubber in the middle groove and one came out ahead of the other. I'm sure they'd both swap opinions if Clanton had ended up out front, but either way, it just looked like a hard racing deal to me.
TT: The other major race of the weekend came Sunday at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C., with Jared Landers of Batesville, Ark., while shaking off mostly forgettable runs during Speedweeks, roaring from fourth to first and leading all 60 laps of the March Madness feature for his first Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series victory. Landers clicked off a few early-season victories last year, too, but never put together much consistency throughout the season. Do you think this might help get him over the hump?
JJ: I'm going to withhold judgement at this point. Cherokee is the de facto home track for Barry Wright Race Cars, so it's not surprising that Landers ran well there. While I'm sure it's a huge momentum boost for Landers and the entire Clint Bowyer Racing program, I want to see them do it out on the road more consistency before I can say Landers has broken out of his slump.
MR: Not to sound to cliched, but it can't hurt. Jared is a confidence guy. He needs to run well and to keep running well, and getting this win will take a little bit of pressure off of him I think. I actually ran into him out to eat one night at Speedweeks after an event, and could tell that he really just needed that one good run to get him over the hump. Either way, it's fun to watch him flat-out wheel.
JJ: And yes, that move by Landers on the first lap was just awesome. I don't think anyone expected it, and quite honestly, I don't think anyone else would've considered trying it other than him. It was impressive and it earned him the victory.
TT: As Joshua mentioned, also noteworthy at Cherokee was the four Barry Wright Race Cars drivers in the top five at the 4/10-mile oval near the Hall of Fame chassis builder’s shop: Landers along with Bowyer teammate Steve Francis, as well as AES Racing teammates Jonathan Davenport and Dennis Franklin.
It’s easy to forget that Barry Wrights were mostly off the national scene up until a few years ago, and now BWRC is back with a vengeance with the house car team collaborating with Bowyer’s program along with far-flung drivers like Florida’s Mark Whitener making a mark. Wright’s crew, who famously had Scott Bloomquist in the house car during his Hav-A-Tampa Series domination in the 1990s, has had their ups and downs, but it seems like when he’s determined to put his cars in the conversation, he’s successful.
MR: Don't let the suspenders fool you, Barry is shrewd, smart, and one of the best guys in the pit area when it comes to getting cars dialed in. He may have been away for awhile, but he's back, and possibly stronger than ever.
JJ: The Barry Wright cars have been strong for the past couple of years. Working with Bowyer's team, Wright could have even more room to improve his product as I would think Bowyer's financial backing for the team might allow for some testing and development that Wright might not be able to do with the house car program on his own. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here. I'm expecting even more success.
TT: The biggest off-track news last week was the new Hoosier Tire-only rule for the Lucas Oil Series with the options of six compounds for the right-rear corner of competing cars. Joshua is working on a driver reaction piece we’ll publish later this week, and seeing a sneak preview of that, it’ll be interesting to see how the new tire rule plays out.
The goal is to save drivers from having to haul such a wide variety of tires, but it limits drivers who favor American Racer Tires and must be embraced by the regional drivers who only run with Lucas Oil at their home tracks. One thing for sure with tire rules — it’s nearly impossible to make everyone happy. The jury will be out until we see driver reaction at the next few series events, but what’s your first blush reaction?
MR: My first reaction to tire rule stuff of any kind is to defer to the experts. Rick Schwallie joined me for a VideoCast this week, and he discussed a lot of the things that went into the decision that really do make a lot of sense. Like you said Todd, someone will always be unhappy, and this is just another example of that in Dirt Late Model racing.
JJ: I applaud Lucas Oil officials for trying to take steps to help out racers and teams. I think the approach they've taken with the rule might be a step in the right direction, but using a single tire company always leaves someone out. In a perfect world, limiting compounds and constructions for Hoosiers and American Racers would be ideal, but I know that's easier to sit here and say than it probably is to get done. So at least the Lucas Oil Series is trying to do something to help the drivers.
