My thing with racing is that it should be about the driver, and, of course his pit crew. I remember, sometimes back in the sixties, someone asked Richard Petty about what percentage the car played in being a winner. The first time he answered that, as I recall, he said it was 75% equipment. Later in the sixties he restated that opinion to being 50-50. In a sport like ours I would have to agree it’s more like 50-50. A good driver in a bad car can only do so much. A bad driver in a really good car can only do so much. It’s a blend of man and machine, or, in the early days it was. Now, it seems, there is always the equation involving all those things I’ve already mentioned. I’m frankly tired of hearing about a driver needing “clean air”.

The exciting thing going on this week is that, for once, first time in a long time, we aren’t going to have to hear about “clean air” tomorrow night. In fact, the term “aero loose” is going to be replaced with terminology not heard in the sport for a long time. NASCAR is returning to the dirt track bull ring from which it came all those years ago. Tomorrow night, clean air will be replaced with mud flying. What part “down force” will play in the race tomorrow night is unknown, but I don’t expect to hear it out of the mouth of any of those announcers chosen to cover the race. I imagine the Waltrip brothers will be providing commentary and that will be a shame for such an event, but whatever I have to put up with to watch that race, I intend to do so. Oh, I’ll still mute the “Boogity” crap as I absolutely cannot abide that term coming from that voice, but I will be eagerly awaiting what comes after no matter who is commentating.

The Camping World Truck series, as everyone knows by now, or should know if you’re a race fan, will be competing on the dirt surface in Eldora, Tony Stewart’s showcase track. NASCAR would have you believe that Richard Petty won the LAST dirt race on a track in Raleigh, NC, in 1970, but if you check out our Forum Posts, you will see that at least two Grand American races were run on dirt AFTER that date and the Forum posts lists those winners. In fairness to NASCAR, it is their opinion that Grand American racers were not a major touring division thus they can justify their statements about Raleigh and The King. Having lived through the Grand American era and having actually attended several of those races, I can confirm that Grand American WAS a full-fledged touring division of NASCAR. NASCAR has, for its own self-serving purposes, chosen to overlook that division and its rich history of great drivers. Nothing really new there. NASCAR threw away all the Late Model Sportsman records from the days when such heroic drivers would race 3, 4, or even 5 times a week on short tracks around the South. The Goodys Dash Series, a great division from the 90’s is never spoken about these days and those races were usually very competitive and awesome.

I am excited about Eldora tomorrow night, not because it is a “return to NASCAR’s roots” as some call it, but because for the first time, we are going to see some of the best of today’s NASCAR boys slug it out on a dirt surface. While equipment will play a part in the outcome, I am thinking that it is going to be more about the driver when the green flag drops. The main event, or events, consists of three segments with time for the boys to work on the equipment during the breaks. Oh, I know some of the teams have tested at Eldora, and I know that several of the drivers entered have plenty of dirt track experience, but even so I want to see what happens when there is no clean air to be had! Should be no fuel mileage issues so we can throw that out. We should have some good flat-out, mud-slinging races.

I would hope that NASCAR allows the event to unfold as it should. There are no current NASCAR officials, to my knowledge, that have experience at the dirt track NASCAR level. As I think of that, I think of Dan Scott, the NASCAR official at the Columbia Speedway when I ran my first race there. I remember him telling me before the race that the car I had bought just two days before from a former competitor at the track, was not really fast so Dan recommended I stay low and out-of-the-way. That night I finished second in the heat race, then ran second until the last turn of the last lap of the feature, right on the bumper of the leader. I was sort of “pushed aside” by a more experienced driver coming out of turn four and I finished third in the feature by a matter of a couple of feet. I wish I had known about aero-loose back then! After the feature,Dan came down for the flag stand to tell me he had no further advice for me other than to just keep driving as I had that night. That’s what I mean about NASCAR allowing the race to unfold as it should. Let the boys race. Let them get dirty. Lord, I remember how dirty all of us would be after a dirt track race. The thought of that brings a smile to my face even today, some 40 plus years later.

I read somewhere this week that the trucks will use a “record number of windshield tearoffs” during the Eldora event. I had to laugh at that one thinking back to a race on the dirt track in Savannah when I was running second and got tagged by a car trying to pass (not accusing Johnny Mallonee but, well you know our history) and had to pit to get the fender pulled off the tire. One of my crew, Tommy, took a wet towel and attempted to clean the windshield which did nothing but smear the mud across the entire surface where I was trying to look. It would have been nice to have tear-offs then, but then I wouldn’t have such wonderful memories of seeing the track through mud-covered glass.

So, folks, let’s see what NASCAR will offer us tomorrow night. I hope it’s not a one time event. I seriously doubt we will ever see Nationwide or Cup cars run dirt again, but the ARCA cars do a couple of times a year. When you really sit down and consider the facts, the Camping World Truck Series is as close to the early racing we all enjoyed as anything NASCAR has in a major touring series. Maybe, just maybe, this event will influence NASCAR to give more support to the local dirt and short track series across the country. Those were our “minor leagues” at one time and gave us a feeder systems for up and coming drivers.

We also need to remember that the Cup teams will be at Indy this weekend. I remember the time when Big Bill France was escorted from the Indy property because that “class” of racers didn’t want anything to do with “our class of racers” and we weren’t welcomed there. Overall, the NASCAR series at Indy has been a success, more so in the early events, but it is still a race of interest. There was the tire issue and other issues through some of the later racers, but it is somewhat exciting for the old-time race fan to see OUR teams running on such a historic racing venue. I am hoping this weekend will be another exciting and competitive race. After all now NASCAR has to live up to the very exciting Indy 500 this year. That’s the kind of competitive racing we should enjoy at Indy. As for “kissing the bricks”, I’m not a big fan of that but I guess we have to live with it as part of the tradition. But, speaking of tradition, I’m hoping the guys racing Eldora don’t wear WHITE driving uniforms. As my Mama used to say “white is not for the race track”. When the dust settles over Eldora tomorrow night, I’m sure I’ll be thinking of those days on the dirt tracks. I’ll be thinking of friends made there like Johnny Mallonee, and I’ll be thinking of how the red clay dust used to swirl as it went down the shower drain after a race. Thanks, NASCAR, for reviving part of the past which means a lot to so many of us.