A Historic Night for NASCAR - July 24, 2013

I don't necessarily prefer to be called a "purist" when it comes to being a stock car racing fan. Nor do I prefer "old school" or whatever terminology happens to be out there today. I prefer to simply be known as a race fan. Someone who has spent so much of his life involved in racing in one capacity or another. It's that simple.

I do enjoy hearing folks refer to "throwback", a term often used to described Dale, Sr., or using such euphamisms as "dirt is for racing, asphalt for getting there". Having raced both type surfaces as an owner/driver, I preferred the asphalt as it seemed less expensive at the time than dirt. Having driven for two teams where I was paid to drive, I preferred the dirt because it was simply more fun. It was fun to slide through the turns although I never mastered that skill as did some of my competitors. I like the way the dirt surfaces seemed to be more forgiving in the fender rubbing competition I enjoyed with so many competitors. The few pictures I have remaining of my racing career that include the race car, will always show a "doughnut" somewhere on my car. I like close racing and, as they say, "rubbing is racing" so I can point back proudly that what I did was racing.

I, along with literally thousands, if not millions of race fans, had anticipated the Camping World Truck Series event at Eldora Speedway last night. The crowd was there for sure, standing room only. How long has it been since that has happened at a NASCAR race? I can't remember the last time. As for the television audience, all of the comments I've seen last night and this morning on all the sites I visit, with the exception of two or three, were complimentary. I absolutely left my recliner only once between 7:00 p.m. and 11:40 when the telecast went off and that was during a commercial for the obligatory rest room break a man of my advanced age finds necessary periodically.

The event, in my mind, was spectacular for several reasons, not the least of which was having Ken Shrader on the pole as the oldest pole winner in NASCAR "history". That was an event in itself, and I was proud for Ken. He has been around for a long, long time and in my humble opinion has never received the accolades to which he should be entitled from NASCAR. What he showed at Eldora was that he still has it. Although the race didn't go quite the way he would have liked, he accomplished a great deal. Whether or not AARP will cancel his membership after that display of youthfulness last night is still under consideration.

It was wonderful to see Dave and Ryan Blaney, father and son, racing in the same event. Just something about that adds to the event for me. Oh, there are brothers racing of course (the Dillon boys), and father and grandfathers as car owners, but I think Ryan Blaney is a part of the future of the sport while his father is a part of the past and present of the sport. Ryan Blaney excites me for the future prospects of the sport.

And, as for the excitement for the future of the sport, what about Kyle Larson. Yes, I watched the event at Daytona in February where he wrecked the leader to win and I wasn't too impressed by that, but I have come to respect what that young man has accomplished and continues to accomplish. He will surely play a huge part of the future of NASCAR.

Norm Benning! What can you say about the tenacity of that man. Watching him in that qualifying race to get into the main event only served to reinforce my belief that "if you can dream it,you can do it". Great job Norm. Although the race didn't work out too well for you, it was great to see you in there living the dream.

As to Scott Bloomquist, I had expected, as did many, that he would be a force to be considered. He unfortunately made a bad call not to run a front sway bar, as we were told, and he was never a factor other than being the first truck to be lapped.

Some of the comments I've read on other sites this morning talk about a boring race. I didn't see that. What I saw was, at times, FOUR WIDE ON A DIRT TRACK and I'm not talking about those parade laps. I saw two young men, Dillon and Larson, battle with a veteran racer, Newman, to a very exciting finish. Obviously, with Austin and Ty Dillon, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney coming along, we have a great future in NASCAR and that doesn't even consider Chase Elliott who did not compete last night.

I was a little miffed at some of the "history" NASCAR allowed to be presented last night. I won't argue with their "expert historians" as to the first career start for Richard Petty OR the first career win for Richard Petty, both of which they got wrong big time. I know Richard won the last GRAND NATIONAL race on dirt in Raleigh, NC in September, 1970, but I refuse to accept NASCAR's total refusal to acknowledge that there was a Grand American Division that raced on dirt long after that date and that division was a touring division of NASCAR with some really great drivers like Wayne Andrews and Tiny Lund.

So, as for my humble opinion, I'll leave you all with this: I do hope that last night was not a one night fling for NASCAR. I hope the trucks will return to Eldora and perhaps other dirt tracks. I would like to think that Nationwide may also make an attempt at some point in the future. I don't dare dream the Cup cars ever will. I also think that those fans watching on television last night who have never been to a dirt track race will be looking up the closest weekly racing dirt track near them and plan to attend this weekend or in the very near future. If nothing else happened last night, I think Tony Stewart and the fans informed NASCAR, loud and clear, that "grass roots" is more than just an adjective to define from where the sport arose. It is, in essence, the life blood (or life MUD) that brought the sport to the venues like Darlington, Daytona, and Charlotte.

As I think about the relatively dim lighting under which I raced on the dirt tracks back in the day compared to the brightly lighted tracks at Daytona, Charlotte, and Bristol, along with other lighted tracks, I also think of the dust we used to raise as the slammed and banged around those bullrings. Last night, in Eldora, there was dust, there was "rubbing" and there was some slam-bang racing. But. did you notice what was also present? Smiles! Hundreds and hundreds of smiles. Almost every one there was smiling from ear to ear and I was watching all the fans and crews as well so it was more than the drivers. Did you see the entire crowd, more than 20,000 on their feet those last few laps? That, folks, is what racing should be about. I would suppose the dust has settled in Eldora this morning. But I would bet the smiles are still around and I'm betting folks are talking about that event around the world.

Tim, to your summation, I add YES, YES, YES & YES!

Norm Benning picked up a fan in my home last night!! He reached down and showed us what it's all about.

Never having watched Scott Bloomquist before last night, he certainly turned out to be the bust of the night for whatever reason. As I stated in the Tuesday night Chat, I hoped he wouldn't look like Steve Kinser in a Cup car. Unfortunately he did.

Like you, I watched every single moment. Schrader earning the pole as the oldest driver in NASCAR history was just icing on the cake.

Personally, I'd cut the number of heat races to 4 from 5 and kill the last chance race and add all those laps to the feature. I grew up in Richmond watching the Grand National cars run 250 laps and 300 laps each year in our two races at the half-mile dirt Fairgrounds. 150 laps was not enough of this great racing. The feature should be a minimum of 200 laps. Also, let's add pit stops and kill those segments. Let the crews have a chance to shine, too.

Just my opinions, but I loved this event. Stupendous. As I've already stated in another post, lets drop Fontana, Texas, Kansas City, Las Vegas, New Hampshire and Chicago from the Cup schedule and add dirt venues. Anybody else up for that?

Oh... one more thing... take "slide job" out of the vocabulary of the announcers. Mikey picked it up from DW and it was way too overused last night. My only complaint about the event was having to listen to Mike Waltrip and Phil Parsons. Please get us some real announcers next time.

fantastic evening of great racing. I really enjoyed all the positive energy that was floating around. Also liked several tidbits of terminology they were bantering about such as the "track is locked down." All the teams were searching for the advantage where ever they could find it. I think I heard someone say they brought their Daytona car because it gave them an extra 1/2 inch of ground clearance. As JM and I have said, and Norm Benning proved, old guys rule.....

Bloomquist ( an established dirt track legend),had major problems from the git go... Don't sell him short .... And, Steve K. was in the WORST of circumstances in his attempt at "cup racing... I was in town in those days... unreal situation..

ANYHOW.. Yup,Tim..Last Night was awesome.......

The marketeers never got it. Don't think they really knew what they were looking for, but if they are still wondering what made this sport tick, the answer was revealed...in a cornfield, on the outskirts of an Ohio town with a population of 201: Eldroa Speedway. Tickets were sold as far a way as New Zealand and as near as the 48 states. In theory and on paper, it makes no sense.........how can a 1/2 dirt track, built in 1954, garner such attention? How did it one-upIndianapolis,for gosh-sakes? The answer has many parts, but fundamentally, it was all about Passion, Energy, and Enthusiasm........... those mystical elements that often defy logic. See, the size of a given market area, and all such tangible assetsusually have nothing to do with it. Fans bring it with them, and it's contagious. And it was felt at Eldora....through the TV screen, no less!

The part the experts really missed was NASCARhad such venues. Changing geographic and exploring new markets was only at the expense of the existing ones. How many states and foreign countries would be represented if North Wilkesboro hosted theAll Starrace?

Norm Benning flips the bird, thrills Tony Stewart, fans at Eldora
Bob Pockrass

Sporting News

ROSSBURG, Ohio Of all the things that Tony Stewart enjoyed Wednesday night at Eldora Speedway, the coolest involved 61-year-old driver Norm Benning.

In the last-chance race to make the historic NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Stewarts track, Benning survived nearly getting wrecked three times by Clay Greenfield.

Benning, a journeyman driver and Truck Series regular, stuck his hand out his truck window and gave Greenfield a one-finger salute after the spirited battle with a young driver who was just doing his best to get into the big show.

That was the highlight of my day, Stewart said. When Norm crossed the start-finish line, to watch all the crew guys cheer him, thats one of the coolest thing Ive ever seen in NASCAR racing.

The reaction from the garage was because Benning is a series staple. He often runs much slower than most drivers in the field but has the respect of his competitors because he shows up every week and does the best with what he has.

I just never lifted and he drove into me three times, Benning said. I love Tony Stewarts track. Ive been looking forward to this race since the day they announced it.

Bennings truck was so damaged after the last-chance race that crew chiefs and mechanics from several teams helped fix his truck.

To see how excited he was to make the race and see the spirit of the teams as big as all this is, to see five different teams pitching in at a dirt track and fixing somebodys car to get ready for the feature, thats why we all do what we do, Stewart said.

Thats just proof that no matter how big it gets (with) the drivers and the teams, the passion that started in all of this is still in everybody that is here. That was cool to watch. That made my whole event.

I must add my congratulations to Tony and crew, as well as everyone else involved with this race. Eldora was all spruced up like I have never seen her before. Fans were ecstatic and I saw more enthusiasm and pure joy from the TV crews and announcers than I have seen in many years. NASCAR ought to take note.

The race, itself, reminded me of many a Friday and Saturday night spent at a track - back when racing was fun and everyone had a good time. People helped each other then, and that was resurrected again last night when Norm Benning damaged his truck in making it into the main event. One of the announcers (Phil ?) said that when he got back in the pits folks from FIVE teams showed up to help fix the car and get it ready for the Main.

I was kind of hoping Schrader would win, just for old times sake. Kenny was the first actual Cup driver I ever sat down and talked to - he was running a local show at the dirt track in Tucson a day or so before running the Cup race at Riverside. I asked him about Charlotte. I was being transferred from Tucson to Charlotte, and I had never even been to the city. Kenny went out of his way to tell me lots of things about the city and the area, and how friendly everyone there would be. I really appreciated his input.

I really do hope the powers that be see this race as a GOOD THING. Now, maybe Nationwide cars on The Milwaukee Mile ? All they'd need to do is look at some of the ARCA events for the last few years - those guys run dirt every year, and still seem to make it to Talladega also and put on a good show at both places, just fine.

Steve

I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching the entire 7-11:30 broadcast. I had a ton of fun. I would also be willing to bet that just as many, if not more, tuned in on tv than they did for the Daytona 500. Even though the track only held 20 or 30 thousand people.....it was literally packed to the max!

Like Tim said, I was happy to see some of the veterans such as Schrader, Dave Blaney, Kenny Wallace and others starting near the front. Also, I don't think I'll ever consider Norm Benning a 'Start and Park' again! Is it me or does he not favor the late Dick Trickle, either?

The first segment was rather un-eventful, the middle to the last half of the second segment was getting good. But come segment #3, it was easily the best racing of all three series I had seen since last year. I noticed the track was stirring up more dust, and Larson especially was getting COMPLETELY sideways, unlike earlier when they just moderately broadslided. I had noticed that their was really no middle groove; you either ran right against the outside wall, or the inside infield wall. I had an assumption that one of the Dillion's would win, and I was happy that Austin won. Anywhere you look, I was very pleased.

It was kind of like when the trucks announced a return to Rockingham last year, but 10 times better. It seems to me that NASCAR is putting the right foot forward. Even though we may complain about some guys at the cup level and cookie cutter tracks, you have to admit that NASCAR is trying to please the fans one movement at a time. The fans wanted cars that looked like their street counter parts - we got that. We wanted the trucks and Nationwide series to visit different tracks than cup - that's starting to happen. We wanted racing to go back to dirt - well, you see how that turned out.

My prediction is that this was a test - Eldora will be back on the schedule for next year for trucks and possibly a second dirt track by 2015/16. I expect to see more short tracks put back on the schedule like when the truck series originated. I even hoping that the Nationwide series will go to Eldora by 2016, which is probably likely, but at the same time, I don't see the Cup ever going back to dirt. The market that their (NASCAR) is trying to sell Cup races to are to uninformed about dirt racing and probably wouldn't like it. The "old school" fans of yesteryear are jumping on board with the trucks and this will be the series to watch for!!!

-Cody

I got a kick out of journalist Monte Dutton's July 24th blog, titled MARK THE DATE BRIAN FRANCE INVENTS THE DIRT TRACK:

I imagine a NASCAR media guide 10 years from now:

2013: NASCAR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian Z. France invents dirt-track racing.

Really enjoyed the race last night. Seeing Larson and Newman dance side by side through the corners and nose to tail down the chutes took me back to the dirt track at Rockingham in 1965 watching Dad, John Sears, Bobby Webb, Jack Smith and JD McDuffie. The excitement reminded me of when the trucks came to the Rock. I grew tired of them getting the history wrong but I expected it. Only wish I could have been there and seen the racing that was not on camera.

congrats to my local driver norm benning, been watching him and his dad for years at our local dirt tracks..

That was great, Tim!!

And, Dennis I am so disappointed that your Daddy was not given the recognition..that he SO deserved!! Just confirms...they need to check with the Wisest Historians in the Sport of Racing....right here!!

As most of you already know...I am a "Dirt Gal" from the get-go! And although, I was alone while watching Eldora, at the same time..it was like being in the midst of all those Fans! The excitement was so prevalent...that I believe even my dogs felt it!

Every now and then, Slim Shady and I would say something in Chat here at RR. But, other than that...I was glued to every movement on the TV, for I did not want to miss a thing!

Thank you, Tony Stewart....for having the love and passion that you still have for dirt. As was mentioned in another comment...Local Dirt tracks are sure to have new fans, after watching Eldora. Which, only fuels my already flaming love, and passion for Dirt! It is natural...wholesome, and God given...and we all know that anything we consume "without artificial preservatives" is better for you!

Love a good dessert every now and then...but, give me the meat and potatoes...anytime...LOL!!

I think some are getting the feeling that dirt track racing gives you. First it has to be in your blood and a lot of new fans just dont have that gritty feel for racing.

Second ,and here I may tread on some toes but the trucks are very close to what us old guys were racing a few years ago,no spring loaded chassis or a car that looks ticked off when under power-- take one driver in particular. Mr Bloomquist is a pro on dirt no doubt about it but his world was taken away and the hands of time were rolled back. Power isnt the question and a twisted frame set up isnt it. Its knowhow and that means how to use the slide,and I do mean slide, to your advantage. How to cushion off the wall lap after lap or maybe the technique of using another to make a pass all the while not spinning either one out. Lap after lap two drivers did this in the late 60s and early 70s and are here today to tell and or retell these tales.

If you watched the trucks closely you would have seen a difference in how they were set up,from stiff to very soft and the attitude the front took in each turn. power was added as needed and never all of it was used.. This is handling and its built in to the seat of your pants. Ask Bill McPeek about that.

If you took a sprint cup car and tried what those trucks did,well my my wonder what would have happened. AND if you did wreck would other crews come over and get you back in the race????

This race proves the old fact that we use !!! Pavement is for getting to the track--dirt is for racing. I could go on but the point I think is made,we will stretch this new beginning to its farthest point but it comes back ----I LOVE DIRT TRACK RACING and as Lady Keisler says she is a dirt girl through and through

I think Scott should have worn his Ubatubas. His bloomers looked like they suffered from a wedgie.

Amen to your summation, Johnny.

Worth seeing again... Norm Benning makes the Eldora truck show getting final transfer spot in Last Chance race

Double Amen JM and Dave, lol....I'm still on a high from Wed. night and here it is Friday and I'm going to Auburndale Speedway tomorrow, Great short track racing even if its on asphalt......lol

It was a great event. I have to give kudos to NASCAR for being open to doing it. They are obviously listening to the traditional fans with all the recent undoings of unpopular decisions from the past decade. Unfortunately, some decisions like the oversaturation of the schedule with big, boring aero tracks will be harder to undo but I hope they keep listening to the fans and Carl Edwards.