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Round And Around: The End Of Speed Weeks At Volusia

The final race was at hand Saturday, ending weeks of shared camaraderie for the extended race family. Volusia Speedway Park hosted the finale with less than 100 survivors answering the call. We counted 57 World of Outlaws late models and 35 Big Block modified cars for the last night. Among the two dozen missing late models were our Wisconsin racers Brady Smith, Terry Casey, and Luke Roffers. Danny Schlieper?s back was so sore that he couldn?t bear to be hugged, George Scheffler pieced together his car one more time, and Jake Redetzke put off a return to the winter storms back home.

Schlieper took quick time for the finale to put him at the front of his heat, but three others were light at the scales. This sent Jeff Isabell, Peter Mantha, and Patrick Sheltra to the back of their heats, none of them transferring to the main. The first heat began with Redetzke wrecking on the first lap, then Earl Pearson Jr. flipping three times to bring out the red flag. It took time to safely extricate the former champion from Florida before transporting him to the hospital, but Pearson was reported to be awake and alert. We appreciate the wisdom of the announcers to avoid all chatter during this time, as well as not replaying the accident on the Jumbotron. We left the arena without knowing his condition, but trust the safety measures taken helped his outcome.

One mod heat disqualified a top finish due to rough driving just prior to this incident, and the rest of the night?s events ran much less dramatically. A single B main for the mod field transferred the final eight to the 50-lap feature. ?The Doctor? Danny Johnson may not have made the late model main, but was on the pole in his mod and led the initial laps. Jimmy Phelps and Dan Planck put on the best show, swapping the lead while running in tandem for many circuits until suddenly Planck suffered a flat tire to bring out the fourth caution of the race. Pitting for fresh rubber, Planck joined the back of the pack as Billy Pauch took the point. At the midway point another caution regrouped the field before Jimmy Horton made his move to the lead, making up for his week?s bad luck with a win on the final night.

Horton?s first visit to victory lane in two years came about with strange sounds coming from his power plant. ?I got a little jingle?, claimed Horton, adding, ?It jumped out of gear. I thought it was the motor. We put it back in gear and it went.? The previous problems that kept him from finishing were finally over, and Horton?s name was logged into the record books. Behind him, many watched as Planck threaded his way back to the front, running out of time after racing to third place. Right behind Planck were the other pair of winners of the week, Brett Hearn and Pauch, with Pat Ward and Johnson right behind. Hearn began in the ninth row, Pauch in row twelve, making their runs even more remarkable. At the end of their week at Volusia, Hearn and Pauch were tied in points for the championship, and both earned the title.

The late model 50-lap finale began with four provisional starters at the back of the pack to make up a field of 28 as well. Rick Eckert, Dennis Erb Jr., John Blankenship, and D. J. Miller were the final four after the heat winners drew their starting positions. Tim McCreadie drew the pole, but never led one lap. At the drop of the green flag Billy Moyer took charge, surviving the opening lap caution to repeat the feat. Josh Richards challenged the veteran until getting past Moyer for one lap, the same action repeated one more time, then Moyer led the hard-charging field to the end. Late-race cautions were due to Shane Clanton?s departure, then McCreadie?s third place ending with a flat with ten circuits left. Only three laps from the end another yellow banner came out when Tim Fuller joined McCreadie with flat tires, leaving fifteen cars still on the lead lap for the final tours around the oval. Moyer?s Victory Circle Chassis proved to be aptly-named as he earned his third win of the week as well as the championship for Volusia?s series.

?It?s been great?, claimed Moyer, adding, ?I don?t know if we?re going to top this or not.? Receiving his championship award from DirtCar Racing?s Tom Deery, Moyer retained his humble demeanor, knowing success can end as quickly as it arrives. We have seen at least five major chassis builders run their creations here, and their work is never done. The air was damp, the chill of the 50?s getting into our bones as the final program came to an end just after 11:30 Saturday night. Jack Deery wished us a safe trip home, for his wife was stranded in the Chicago airport due to the winter storm. It was a visit from more home racers that gave us a good route to take to avoid the mountains, since we still haven?t solved our turbo problem and had no power to stay up to speed. The final 50/50 winner was Wisconsin racer Danny Gracyalny, who won more than most the racers here. Sometimes things just work out.

Our thanks for a great week, even though there was no wireless signal after the first days. My daily reports were sent from my laptop perched atop the waste receptacle in front of the track office every day, quite a feat when coordinated with the daily blower cleaning the place. We were truly sorry to have to be leaving Florida, knowing our white-knuckle trip home would be with a welcome of another foot of new snow. Our problems seem minor considering the latest tornadoes had killed people and destroyed a lot of homes. Our progress, or lack of it, is quite another story, which will come next. It was quite cool to see Ryan Newman win the Daytona 500, as he and Clint Bowyer both were here competing just two days earlier. That?s the beauty of Speed Weeks in Florida. We now return you to normal mode.

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