Opening night of the 2011 Eagle Raceway Season

What can be said about the first night of the 2011 season at Eagle? I would say that WOW is nowhere near a strong enough word.

A revamped track surface suffered under strong winds both Friday and Saturday. Of course, it turned dry-slick and even developed a few ruts. But, what do you expect from the first track of the season after a practice night the evening before? I thought it held up pretty darned well, considering.

While working the Pit Shack before the racing started, I kept wondering "will the people ever stop coming???". We ended up with 180 race cars in the pits, besting the old record car count by 30!!! That led to extra time getting every racer entered into the database, and a start time delayed by 25 minutes. As you would expect, it also led to LOTS of racing on the evening; It was well after midnight before the last checkered flag flew. The heats went off without a hitch until the sprints took to the track. A flip on the first lap of the first heat seemed to open the flood gates for more up-and-over action; a total of 6 cars ended up with damage before the sprint heats finished.

Todd Sanford grabbed the first feature win when he was victorious in the Sport Mod A. It was Todd's first win in a sport mod, but far from his first win ever at Eagle. The first thing I did when I got to his car was say "And you passed tech this time!", referencing having his previous victory taken away due to irregularities with his car in the tech area last year. He took it in stride with a smile, and I'm glad for that because I meant it in good fun. Todd's a great guy, and was all smiles after that throughout the entire interview process.

Roy Armstrong took the win in the Hobby Stocks. I didn't get a chance to interview him because he left after the front stretch presentation and getting his car loaded. Taking into account the late hour and the chilly temperatures and wind, coupled with the long drive home he faced, I don't blame him or anyone else who skeedaddled as soon as they could. I was disappointed, because Ray is definitely old-school, and a joy to talk to.

A visit by USMTS regular Jake Neal ended up being a good one for him as he won the Modified A. He was a really pleasant interview; he's very young, but you can tell that he's no beginner in racing. Well-mannered, but with a clear undertone of wisdom beyond his years. You can definitely tell that he's been on the national tour scene and has learned well from the experience.

The Sport Compact feature saw a big pile-up in the first 2 corners, and Maynard Kinnersley ended up rolling his racer. That was scary for those of us who know Maynard, because he's no spring chicken. But, those of us who know Maynard knew what to expect; after the safety crew got him out and he was okay, they righted his car and he crawled back in to continue the contest. Sadly, the Cinderella story ended shortly after that when he spun out and was sent to the pits. Larry Cronin looked to have the race in the bag before flipping with just a few laps left. Ole Olsen won after a pass shortly before the checkers, overtaking then leader Amanda Rhiley. Ole also departed before I could get to interview him.

The Sprint A Main was, to say the least, a GREAT one!! Mark Pace who gets to race only sparingly at Eagle due to work travel, and Jack Dover who races full-time put on a fantastic show for the fans who stayed for the finale. In and out of traffic, high and low, back and forth; they raced and raced, and raced. It's too bad they couldn't both have won, but Jack got him in the end. They were both all smiles in the pits afterwards, and going by that, you would never know who won and who almost won. They both obviously love racing, and knew that they had given it their all and loved every minute of it. Jack has improved SO much with his interviews from when I first did one with him. Well-spoken, great with the fans; he has been around the block enough times to know what he's doing, in racing and out.

All in all, it was a good night; it wasn't a great night because of the length of the show, but it was a good one. Roger told me this week that the car count could be even bigger this weekend, because he's had a LOT of e-mails and calls saying that people didn't have their cars ready for last weekend.

More than 180 cars in the pits??? Again, WOW is nowhere near a strong enough word!!!!

Please, do me a favor and click on the ads you see on this page. They help support this blog, and this site and make it possible for me to have a place to blog at and share my feeling & thoughts with you.

Hope to see you all through the Pit Shack window!

You can read my complete write-up of the night here: 2011 Season opening write-up