DirtonDirt.com exclusive
Numbers tell story after 18 Speedweeks events
By Todd Turner and Andy Savary
DirtonDirt.com
The door of John Blankenship's No. 23. (thesportswire.net)
A by-the-numbers review of 18 races from Georgia-Florida Speedweeks action for Super Late Models, made up of Feb. 6-22 action at Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, Ga.; North Florida Speedway in Lake City; East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla.; Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla.; and Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. (complete Speedweeks coverage):
0: Pies in the face of World of Outlaws publicist Kevin Kovac, down two from 2013.
1: Average number of lead changes in 18 races. Six races had no lead changes, including all three features at Golden Isles.
2: Doubleheader events during Speedweeks as Golden Isles and East Bay each ran two complete programs in a single day to make up for rainouts.
3: Brandon Cameron’s finishing position at North Florida, the best performance among drivers competing in a single feature event.
4: First-time winners at Volusia’s 43rd annual DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment, the most since 2004.
4: Lead changes in Billy Moyer’s Feb. 14 victory at East Bay, the most in any Speedweeks feature.
5: Tracks where Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., competed, more than any other Speedweeks driver.
5: Flat tires before a lap was a single lap was complete in East Bay’s Feb. 13 feature.
6: Heat or consolation race victories for Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., tops among Speedweeks drivers.
8: Super Late Model races Kyle Bronson competed in before grabbing a victory in his stunning World of Outlaws Late Model Series upset victory in Volusia’s finale.
8: Top-five finishes for Brandon Sheppard, the most of any Speedweeks driver.
12: Age of Michael Lake of Uniontown, Pa., the youngest Speedweeks driver who entered the Warrior Race Cars house car at Bubba Raceway Park.
13: Cars entered at North Florida Speedway, the fewest of any Speedweeks event.
13: Years between Speedweeks victories for Davey Johnson of Latrobe, Pa., who captured East Bay’s finale.
13.854: Seconds around East Bay Raceway Park for track record-holder John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., who lowered Eddie Carrier Jr.’s mark from the previous night.
14: Speedweeks races won by drivers starting in the front row. No winner started worse than fifth.
14: Speedweeks drivers from Georgia, the most of any state. Eleven drivers represented Florida and 10 were from Pennsylvania.
15: Feature starts for Gregg Satterlee of Indiana, Pa., the most of any Speedweeks driver.
16: Total Speedweeks winners, likely the most ever in Super Late Model Speedweeks history.
17: Age of Bobby Pierce, the youngest Speedweeks winner.
18: Speedweeks complete events, one fewer than last year’s record-setting 19.
21: Number of drivers failing to transfer to a Speedweeks feature race.
26: Number of states represented by Speedweeks drivers, four more than last year. That’s not counting Canadian driver Ricky Weiss.
29.7: Average car count at Bubba Raceway Park, nine fewer than last season.
32.7: Average car count at Golden Isles Speedway, which had a multi-day event for the first time since 2011.
34: Drivers posting at least one top-five finish, two fewer than last year. Of the 34 drivers, 15 had a single top-five finish.
38.5: Overall average car count among five tracks, down 1.4 from last season.
40: Average car count at Volusia, down 10 from last February and down 28 from 2012.
40.2: Average age of Speedweeks winners, two years older than last year. More than half the winners were at least 41 years old.
43.2: Average car count at East Bay, more than three over last year’s average.
48: Cars entered Feb. 18 at East Bay, the most of any Speedweeks event on a night when MavTV televised the Lucas Oil tour's first live event. Last year’s highest car count was 55 at Volusia.
56: Age of Billy Moyer, the oldest Speedweeks winner.
97: Drivers entering at least one Speedweeks event, 17 fewer than last year. The all-time record was 175 drivers in 2004.
740: Total feature laps in 18 events at five tracks, led by East Bay’s 225.
1,842: Friendly jokes at the expense of Lucas Oil Series marketing director Wayne Castleberry at East Bay’s opener after he was plunked on the head by a rock that contributed to a delay in opening night action.
12,177: Average steps per day logged by DirtonDirt.com reporter Todd Turner.
34,100: Dollars earned by Brandon Sheppard from feature purse winnings, the most of any driver. Five drivers (including Scott Bloomquist, Brady Smith, Steve Francis and Billy Moyer) earned at least $24,000.
157,000: Dollars paid out in winning purses in 18 feature events.
