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The Busy 2010 Season Ahead
Late Model Mark
PINSON, Ala. (January 27) - The very busy 2010 season is at hand and ready to sling some dirt nationwide after two early and very frigid races here in the South. The Ice Bowl was completed with temps in the twenties, a popular winner, Randall Walker in the Supers, and Tim Busha in the Crates. Last weekend the "Baddest Bullring in the South" hosted the Winter Classic with great car counts and superb racing, some railbirds described the racing as the best in years at Johnny Stokes venerable Columbus Speedway. "Dangerous" Dane Dacus won a thriller over stout 31-car field while William Thomas won a squeaker over Ronnie Johnson. That wraps up the January specials and now brings us to the start of the regular season for most of the major touring circuits.
The Lucas Oil Series tour has a strong slate of shows, so far there is 41 races in 18 states booked. Some of the nations biggies will be under Lucas sanction, races such as the Show-Me, North-South, Topless 100, Hillbilly 100, and Jackson 100. Florida host 6 events, Kentucky and Tennessee host 4 events to lead the states with the most events. Should be fun to watch the stout lineup that will race the whole tour try to wrest the title from Scott Bloomquist. With the Lucas rule of multi-tier tire rules, it will be interesting to see if any teams will get popped for altered tires. Some tracks that had a date last year have been squeezed out of the loop due to the high cost of holding a show. A trio of young guns will join the tour, Austin Hubbard, Brad Neat, and Bub McCool. I have the opportunity to catch as many as 8 Lucas shows in my area, lucky me!!
The World of Outlaw tour is huge and can make you dizzy with all the shows booked as of now. It would be frightening to tally up the fuel bill for the teams who run the whole tour. This series covers a lot of miles, 21 states and a visit to Canada comprise the 51-race schedule. Pennsylvania leads the tour with 6 races while New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin host 4 races each. I like that the fact that tire rules are open. Cedar Lakes big show, the USA Nationals, falls under the WoO umbrella this year, that makes a great show even better. Can anyone take the crown from Josh Richards? I have 2 chances to catch a show, Tazewell or Green Valley, the GVS show is on July 4th and should be a ripper!
A couple of Southern tours have real nice schedules out, the ageless Southern All Stars just keeps plugging along, 24 races at 13 tracks. Georgia has 6 dates while Tennessee and Alabama have 3 races. First time visits to Whythe in Virginia and Whynot Motorsports Park in Mississippi highlight new tracks. I have a whopping 9 races close to home, 3 at Talladega, 4 at Cleveland, and 2 at Boyds. On of my favorite tours is the Southern Regional Racing Series based in Tennessee. This tour has turned some heads down here with large, quality fields at good tracks with nice racing. 22 races are listed so far at 8 tracks. 14 races in Tennessee, 5 in Alabama, and 3 in Georgia. Defending champ Jay Brinkley will have his hand full in staying number 1 no doubt. Green Valley in Alabama and Thunder Hill Speedway in Summertown, Tennessee, lead the way with 5 shows each. Should be a wild and fast show on Thunder Hill's super-steep 33 degree high-banks. Highlight of the schedule is a $10,000-to-win show at Duck River Speedway in Wheel, Tennessee.
Out in Arizona, the Southwest Dirt Racing Association is yet to release a schedule but great news for that tour is that a nice series sponsor has come on board with a very nice point fund, Total Seal Piston Rings have inked a deal to support this growing series. Things look bright for the series, California, always an interesting state when it comes to Dirt Late Models, has a new tour, the brainchild of Santa Maria Speedway promoter Chris Kearns. Called the West Coast Shootout, this new deal will have 11 races at 6 tracks. Bakersfield Speedway and Santa Maria lead the way with 3 races each highlighted by a 2-day show in May at Santa Maria paying a state high, $5000-to-win. Overall in the state, there are at least 36 races at 8 tracks for Late Model teams throughout the season. The Western All Star Series, it's future is in question. Sad if true.
2010 will feature many discussions in many areas, engines, tires, rules, and penalties. There will be bickering between open-engine teams, the new CT525 engine, spec engine racers, and of course the Crates. Spec tires, open tires, or multi-tier tire rules will light up message boards. Inverts will ruffle feathers and the severity of penalties for altered tires will raise folks dander. Then the big subject down here, spoiler heights, 12 inches, 8 inches, the heated talk continues non-stop. Should spec and Ct525 teams race with 12 inch blades or 8?? The debate rages on and on. 2010 should be a wild ride so saddle up and hit the trail, the season starts soon!
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