Short Track Roundup (02/11/98)
11 February 1998
SHORT TRACK ROUNDUP Daytona Beach, Fla. - Speedweeks 98 is in full swing here in Florida and the surrounding area. With races every night at three or four tracks in the Daytona area it is impossible to see all the action. The crowds for every race are large and the fans seem not to be bothered by the unusually cool weather at night. The racers of course are here in force from virtually every state in the union including Alaska. The week opened with the debut of the Northern All Stars Late Model Series at Lake City (Fla) Speedway and Leslie Essary took the innaugural win on the series. Finishing in second place was Ivedent Lloyd with third going to Jimmy Murphy. In the second race the next day it was Greg Skinner who took the win with Essary second and Murphy again in third. There were only 18 Late Models on hand for the event, a rather poor showing for a series' initial appearance. At Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla The All Star Circuit of Champions opened the 1998 season with four nights of racing on the new 1/2 mile dirt oval. Danny Lasoski dominated the first three nights as he took the wins. Lance Dewease was second on Wednesday with Jeff Shepard third. On Thursday Joey Saldana took the second spot with Shepard third once again. Friday night rain washed out the racing but on Saturday Lasoski was back in Victory Lane again with Shepard second and Dean Jacobs third. On the last night, when there was $5,000 on the line Lasoski was forced to settle for third as Kenny Jacobs took the win and Todd Schaefer finished second. The series then moved on to East Bay Speedway in Gibsonton, Fla. While the sprint cars were at Volusia, the Late Models were at East Bay and Skip Arp wowed the crowd with a dash through the field to take the win in the Hav-A-Tampa 100 lapper. Freddie Smith also came from the tail of the field to finish second and Scott Bloomquist took third. The win gives Arp two wins in the first two races of the season and an early lead in the points. The World of Outlaws have been forced to cancel their first two races in California at Hanford and Perris due to the torrential rain that has fallen. This means that the series will now open on February 20-21 at Manzanita Speedway in Arizona. The STARS Racing Series had their season opener at East Bay Speedway postponed from Friday to Sunday due to rain, and when they finally got the 100 lap event in it was Mike Balzano who grabbed the win with Steve Francis second and Scott Bloomquist third. In the season opening race for the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series at Volusia Speedway Park, Wayne Anderson dominated the second half of the race as he sliced his way through traffic to take the win. Anderson, who will drive a truck on the Craftsman Truck Series this year was really hooked up on the newly paved 3/8 mile oval as he was the only car able to pass high, low and in the middle. Freddie Query finished in second and Matt Hagans was third. The ARCA cars were at the big track in Daytona and Kenny Irwin Jr took home the victory with Mike Wallace second and Andy Hillenberg third. In UMP Late Model action on the dirt at Volusia Speedway Park Tony Izzo Jr. and Ronnie Johnson took wins in the first two nights racing action. The new Volusia Speedway Park is packed every night and the switch in the tracks seems to be making almost everyone happy. The 1/2 mile dirt track is very racy with three abreast racing common in every event. The 3/8 mile asphalt, while still a little green, is still providing two lanes of racing, providing the car is set up right. Kudos are in order for Dick Murphy and his staff who have provided a varied and interesting series of races while maintaining the facilities and tracks in top notch condition throughout the week. There is no lack of things to do during the week here, and racing on the short tracks will continue through Saturday night with ISMA Super Modifieds, DIRT Modifieds, Late Models on both pavement and asphalt and of course the action on the big track gets underway again tomorrow. During the first three days I have been here I have had the opportunity to talk briefly with many racers from all over the country and the central theme that runs through all the conversations is the difficulty of obtaining sponsorship. There is no easy answer to this problem, but from what I have seen in the last few years, those sponsors who use motorsports as a method of conveying their message to the public have been getting a real bargain. As the weather warms up the action all around the country action on the short tracks will continue to pick up. Wherever you live your local track will soon be holding its regular racing show, so head out and see some of the best racing at a bargain price. Have a ball, Ya'll! John Kaiser -- The Auto Channel