TRACKS: Non Winged Sprint Cars and Open Wheel Modifieds race at Bloomington
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
June 25, 2001HARRELL PIPE & SUPPLY NIGHT
BLOOMINGTON, IN (June 24, 2001) - The great folks from Harrell Pipe and Supply will be bringing us a great evening of racing at Bloomington Speedway on July 6. Plan on being with us to enjoy some of the best racing entertainment you'll find anywhere.
NON WINGED SPRINT CARS
It seems as if it has been an awfully long time since the Bloomington Speedway fans have had an opportunity to watch the ground-pounding sprint cars battle on the famous red clay. On July 6 they will be back; and the sprint drivers will be trying to earn as many points as possible toward the coveted Bloomington Speedway track championship. Because of terrible treatment by the weatherman, the championship will be decided by fewer races; and they will have to make the ones still to be run count. Who are the favorites? Look for those up front to do everything possible to stubbornly cling to their lead. Kevin Thomas has the points lead followed closely by Kevin Briscoe, only five points back. Young Josh Cunningham is turning in great finishes and is only 14 points out of the lead. Two time Bloomington Speedway Sprint Car champion Derek Scheffel is always a threat; and he is only twenty points out of the lead. He has been running well of late at other venues; and he is certainly a threat to come to the top as the season wears on.
The wily veteran Dave Peperak, Kevin Chambers, Critter Malone, Jared Fox, Danny Holtsclaw and Eric Burns make up the balance of the top ten; and you can bet that they haven't given up on the Bloomington Speedway championship. They know that they have to start finishing better; but they believe that they can do it.
Just out of the top ten are Jason Knoke in the Law Brothers car, Jimmy Laser, and Jason Setser in the Midwest Tubing car. Knoke is an exceptionally smooth and smart racer in a good solid car. He very seldom does anything stupid; and he will make the other drivers pay for their mistakes. Laser has continually improved. However, the big wild card among the dark horses is Jason Setser. His career has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster. A new sponsorship deal came through a couple of weeks ago that took Jason out of the Greg Staab car and put him in Stealth/Gaerte that Jay Drake drove to all of those USAC feature wins last season. However, about a week after getting the car he crashed it hard at Gas City. The team worked all night to get the car repaired for Twin Cities. Prior to the Twin Cities feature, Jason's father and chief mechanic said, "We had to straighten the chassis; but it's not 'close enough', it's perfect."
However, early in his heat race, Setser got collected by J.T. Stapp; and both of them took a wild ride. Setser got the worst of it and sustained a broken collarbone and a severe headache. It remains to be seen how long he will be down. If he doesn't miss too many races, he is certainly capable of coming through the pack.
O'NEAL WOOD PRODUCTS OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS
The O'Neal Wood Products Modified class continues to be very competitive. There are a lot of the drivers that make it a point to be at Bloomington Speedway every week; and that has turned the points battle into a real dog fight. Don't miss the next round of this battle.
The Tire & Wheel Center Super Stock class is another class that has a lot of dedicated competitors. As it does with the modifieds, this fact makes the points race pretty much wide open. While a win will certainly guarantee a gain in the points race, consistent good finishes are more important.
Pits will open at 4:30 PM; grandstands open at 5:30 PM: hot laps get underway at 6:30 PM; and racing begins at 7:30 PM, General admission is only $10 while pit admission is $20. As always, children 12 and under are admitted free with a paying adult.
Some of our most loyal fans live and work in Spencer and Owen County; and we decided that it was about time we did something special for them. And, June 8 is the night. We have teamed up with WKST 92.7 to provide coupons good for $2 off of the regular grandstand admission price. Watch for the coupons in the Spencer paper.
NON WINGED SPRINT CARS
We are well into the season; but, thanks mainly to the weatherman, we have only had one non winged sprint car show. By June 8 we hope to have the second one in; however, with each passing week every program becomes more important in the chase for the Bloomington Speedway sprint car championship. It still looks like the battle may come down to duel between two Kevins (Thomas & Briscoe). However, Dickie Gaines, Jason Knoke, Derek Scheffel, Eric Burns, and Jason Setser could also be in the thick of the points competition.
O'NEAL WOOD PRODUCTS OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS
The O'Neal Wood Products Open Wheel Modified points race is led by Matt Boknecht; but, John DeMoss, Adam Sasser, Richie Lex are all close behind him. However, Boknecht always runs well at Bloomington Speedway; he will be doing everything he can to insure that he stays at the front of the Bloomington Speedway points battle.
The real story, however, may well be Lee Hobbs. He has advised us that he is planning to go for the modifed title. He is taking a little extra time to plan his strategy; and he has not given up his quest for the title.
TIRE & WHEEL CENTER SUPER STOCKS
The Tire & Wheel Center Super Stock is probably the class that has been upgraded the most during the past few years. A few years ago this was a beginners' class and a large portion of the cars were pretty rudimentary. Today, the cars are much more sophisticated; and they are very nearly a dirt late model. For many of the competitors the only difference is the stock clip used on the super stock.
Greg O'Neill won the first two feature events; but Terry Arthur, Jeremy Hines, and Mel Bigham are up their battling with their fellow driver for the championship.
Pit gates will open at 4:30 PM, the grandstand gates will open at 5:30 PM, hot laps will start at 6:30 PM, and racing will begin at 7:30 PM. General admission is $10 for this event; and pit admission is $20. Overnight camping is permitted.
Text provided by Tim McKinney
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit
The Racing Photo Museum and the
Visions of Speed Art Gallery.