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Fast Talk: Does victory mean T-Mac's fully back?
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. We have two guest panelists today Eldora Speedway announcer Dustin Jarrett and World of Outlaws Late Model Series publicist Kevin Kovac subbing for Michael and Joshua (edited for clarity and length):
Todd Turner: Thanks for joining us guys, and I’ll bend a few questions later to glean expertise from both of you about your racing interests. Let’s start, though, reviewing the national touring winners from the weekend.
On the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, Jimmy Owens looked unbeatable at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway for his second straight series victory before West Virginia transplant Eddie Carrier Jr. — a Lucas Oil regular so far in 2013 — notched his first series victory in five seasons at West Virginia Motor Speedway.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series lost one North Carolina race to rain (Lucas Oil lost a Roaring Knob race to bad weather, too), but Tim McCreadie scored a Tar Heel State repeat at 311 Motor Speedway for his first series win as he continues to try and climb back in the points chase after struggling way back on the opening series weekend.
What strikes you guys about these winners? For me I was a bit surprised we didn’t see an Owens sweep as he appeared to get into one of those zones the last few weeks. It was good to see Carrier win one in his “home state,” although we Kentuckians still claim him as our own. And as my friend Michael often says, a successful McCreadie ratchets up the excitement with the Outlaws.
Kevin Kovac: Obviously I witnessed McCreadie's win on Saturday at 311 Motor Speedway, and it was good to see him giving his trademark handclap to the fans in victory lane for the first time after a WoO show this year. Although T-Mac wasn't feeling 100 percent physically (he said he was a bit under the weather all week), he had his car up on the outside lip for most of the distance, looking like vintage Topside Timmy. Remember, after he won his first WoO race of the season last year, also at 311, he went on a tear of 16 straight top 10s that included a stretch of nine straight top fives — a streak that made it look like he had found his groove. He slumped badly over the final 15 races, though ... I don't think that falloff is going to happen this year. He's already off to a much stronger start this year (his first top-five last year was actually his win at 311, but this year he already has five top-fives), so I think T-Mac is going to be a force.
Dustin Jarrett: McCreadie is indeed one of those people that fans just like to see win, although lately, those wins have been all too sporadic. And I guess that what jumped out at me about T-Mac's win at 311. It simply wasn't expected by a lot of people. I believe it's too early to tell if he's getting "back into form" so to speak, but I think the sport needs a consistent McCreadie.
On the Lucas Oil side, Owens recent success is already striking me as a 2012-type of year where he slowly gets rolling and then look out. As you mentioned Todd, he didn't win at WVMS, but he was in the mix against a strong field of competition that included some solid non-regulars like Richards and Birkhofer. And that's what makes Carrier's win even more impressive. Kudos to him.
KK: Owens has certainly come alive. That relatively slow start seems to be a distant memory now. And it was great to see Eddie Carrier Jr. get a big win in his home state — he's one of racing's good guys, so congrats to him. I'm sure he was elated last night.
TT: Let’s kick around thoughts about regional winners this weekend, too. Bring up whoever you’d like, but I was impressed with Chad Simpson’s sweep at 34 Raceway and Quincy Raceway in events tri-sanctioned by the Corn Belt Clash, Sunoco American Late Model Series and MARS DIRTcar Series. There aren’t really any classic ALMS guys there, but there the other two series were represented well along with several UMP stalwarts from Illinois — a solid field overall. And before anyone says Simpson had the home-track advantages, while he’d raced at 34 before, it was his first visit to Quincy. Beating Brian Shirley, Jesse Stovall, Terry Phillips and Brandon Sheppard among others on back-to-back nights ain’t a bad weekend’s work.
DJ: The regional mix of talent at both 34 and Quincy was quite impressive. It's hard to say Chad Simpson has flown under the radar this year, but I think that's how a lot of people feel. By a lot of drivers' standards, he's already had a banner year.
KK: Chad Simpson is a guy who really seems to be coming on. He's been steadily making more noise against tough competition the last few years — fast times with the WoO and a near-WoO win at Shawano a couple years ago, for instance — so to see him sweep a regional-series weekend that included some strong Midwest runners bodes well for him. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him win a national series event this year. He's due for one.
DJ: Regionally, I was happy to see Davey Johnson get the ULMS win at Sharon. I can't remember the last time Davey J. won a sanctioned event of any kind. As a kid growing up, he was a driver I always pulled for. Of course, as both of you know, we're unbiased as journalists, but I couldn't help but smile when I saw The Juice in the Sharon headlines Sunday morning.
KK: I also noticed Randy Weaver's $5,000 win down in Cleveland, Tenn., on Saturday. It seems like he's been up front just about every time he's raced this year, and with a WoO tripleheader coming up in his home state this weekend it'll be interesting to see if he can contend for a win.
TT: Feel free to weigh in here, too, Dustin, but I’m going to ask Kevin to rack his brain for some World of Outlaws insights he’s gleaned so far on the series. Does Shane Clanton benefit from the emphasis on the potential Josh Richards-Darrell Lanigan title showdown? Does the Morgan Bagley-Dillon Wood-Eric Wells rookie chase shape up as one of the best you’ve seen? Or surprise us.
KK: Clanton is flying below the radar a bit. He hasn't won since the opener and the spotlight seems to be shining on Richards and Lanigan so much, but Clanton is the only driver with a top-10 finish in all 10 events so far. He also showed some championship-type mettle at 311 — after falling from a transfer spot in his heat because he got a flat, he rallied to salvage an eighth-place finish in the main event. Not spectacular, but minimizing the damage on a rough night is the kind of thing drivers need to do to contend for a title. If Clanton can get his crew settled for the rest of the year, he should have staying power.
DJ: I agree 100 percent, Kevin. Clanton's been quietly consistent this year. Obviously, he's rattled off a few wins, but he's also had that consistency is what it takes to win a title. Hearing all the Lanigan-Richards banter probably allows Clanton to just kick back and smile while he just keeps on keepin' on.
KK: Rick Eckert has been quietly solid so far this year, too. He came from ninth to finish second at 311, giving him three runner-up finishes already.
As for the WoO rookie battle, it has the potential to be very interesting. Bagley broke through for a career-best sixth-place finish at 311 and Wood recovered from heat-race trouble that put him in his backup car to get his first top-10 of 2013. Wells, the rookie leader, also survived a mid-race tangle to finish a respectable 11th.
TT: Turning to Dustin, it’s been several months since Eldora announced it was expanding the Dream and World 100 weekend to three-night extravaganzas with lots of racing laps each night. What’s the feeling around the Big E regarding those races this year, and what do you think of the changes, Kevin?
DJ: It's been a positive vibe thus far, especially on the drivers' side of things. They're always looking for the opportunity to turn more laps at Eldora and now they have that chance. I think it's even more important now since the April 13 ALMS show at Eldora was rained out. That's one less chance for track time, so the three-day format should help a few guys — younger drivers probably more than anyone — get a better handle on the track.
DJ: Of course, I'm still trying to figure out exactly when Eldora’s Roger Slack, Larry Boos and Chad Schmitmeyer are going to find time to sleep, ha, ha.
TT: I think the Thursday shows might have a really neat feel, a little less pressure-packed and kind of a "freebie" for drivers to get comfortable at a track where previously the weekend could end with a single bad lap.
KK: The thing I've always found unbelievable about Eldora is just how difficult it is for drivers to get experience there if they only go for the big shows. I mean, you get three practice laps on Friday before time trials, and then you might only get 15 more laps, tops, in a heat or non-qualifiers' race. It's no wonder that the veterans hold so strong at Eldora — it takes a long time for up-and-comers to get laps there. Three nights of racing should definitely help the learning curve for a lot of drivers.
DJ: On a fan side, it helps to build up the hype for the "big" event on Saturday which, of course, is what it's all about.
TT: Let’s peek ahead to next weekend where Kevin will be no doubt wearing University of Tennessee orange to the WoO tripleheader at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tazewell Speedway and Duck River Raceway Park. What strikes me is, for Tennessee, drivers will get a taste of three distinct tracks with Smoky Mountain (one of the track’s larger ovals with some NASCAR history), Tazewell (highest-banked track I’ve ever seen) and Duck River (a classic bullring). What Outlaw drivers have the versatility to win at places where the home-track advantage can be significant?
KK: I guess we should play a lot of Rocky Top this weekend, huh? This is a rare type of tripleheader for the series — only twice before has the series run at three different tracks in the same state in consecutive days.
DJ: I definitely think a non-WoO regular will get at least one win, maybe two, during the Tennessee tripleheader. Richards strikes me as someone who should run well at Duck River so he's my pick to notch the win there. Tazewell could end up being a survival of the fittest with a regional driver getting the win. Is it safe to say there may be a few ruffled feathers and bent sheetmetal after this weekend?
KK: Richards and Lanigan obviously have the versatility to win anywhere, on any type of track. Really, the top-five drivers in the WoO points (including Clanton, Eckert and McCreadie) have separated themselves a bit from the pack and are the most likely to be strong each of the three, distinct tracks this weekend.
Tazewell is probably the wild card. it’s so small and high-banked, and things happen so fast there, it's a place that's well-liked by many Outlaw guys, all of whom rarely visit it. McCreadie told me on Saturday that he's not exactly looking to running at the Taz, but he noted that it's his chassis builder Sanford Goddard's favorite track so he'll have to suck it up and try to fight through his struggles there.
Sanford, by the way, did admit Tazewell is his favorite track. He said it's a place that racers might not like but the fans love, and I think that will be proven by the crowd on Saturday night. Tazewell always seems to draw huge numbers of fans.
