This week is an
exciting and historic one in NASCAR. For the
first time in decades, one of NASCAR's premier series will race on dirt. It's all
going to happen today at Eldora Raceway. This is odd for us, since almost all
of our races are on the weekends, but when it comes to dirt racing, it’s normal
to race mid-week. This race is something new, something fresh, something
unknown. With that, comes anticipation and stories to watch during the race.
Here are three stories I'm keeping an eye on as the Truck Series prepares for
this special race.
Could dirt racing in lower premier
series give up-and-coming drivers important experience?
Eldora might help up-and-coming drivers
gain valuable experience... experience no other track on this circuit can give
them: Dirt racing experience. Why would this be important when they will only
drive on asphalt in the future? Dirt experience can give you better control of
your car. Many top drivers in the Sprint cup have raced on dirt: Jimmie
Johnson, Clint Bowyer, and Kasey Kahne just to name a few. Jimmie, for one,
likes a really loose race car. The reason why is probably because he raced dirt
trucks for an amount of time in his career. All three have credited their dirt
experience to them have better control of their car. In dirt racing, you slide
through the corners, which, when on asphalt, can make you more accustom to a
loose race car. Driving loose can be a benefit, if you can handle it. Many of
the up-and-coming drivers have already had dirt track experience, which shows that this can be a beneficial skill. Giving
all of these new drivers, though, a taste of dirt racing, with a truck that
weighs about as much as a Sprint Cup car, provides them with a unique
opportunity. Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing the Nationwide drivers eventually
run a dirt race. Nationwide and Truck cars have different bodies, but I don't
see why they couldn't both race on dirt. Maybe we will see this in the future. I
would enjoy it… and I don’t think I’m the only one!
Who will win? Who are the favorites?
Of course I had to talk about everyone’s
favorite question coming to a highly anticipated track: who will win? Who
knows, especially with this being an inaugural race. So who are the favorites? Again,
hard to tell, because of the same reason. It is incredibly hard to find dirt
track stats so I will rely a lot on the three practice sessions. The 2nd
and 3rd practice sessions are more accurate pictures of who to watch
than the 1st session was, because the dirt had been “worn
in”. This resembles more of what the track will be like at the end of
the race. I'll try my best though, to highlight a few potential picks,
including mine.
Scott Bloomquist
Most NASCAR fans wouldn’t know who
Scott is, but he is widely known by dirt fans. He has won multiple
championships across dirt racing, and has actually been inducted in the
National Dirt Racing Hall of Fame! He is said to have 500 wins across dirt, but
has never raced in NASCAR. During the practice sessions yesterday, he said that
this is the heaviest car he has ever raced, which is probably a true statement
since traditional dirt race cars are fairly small and probably half the weight
of the truck he will be driving tonight. In 2nd practice, he placed
14, which is actually down a few spots from his 1st practice run. In
the final practice session, he was 6th. We will have to see how he
handles that heavy truck tonight.
Dave Blaney
Both NASCAR fans and dirt fans
know this driver. He has a long time career in dirt, but also in NASCAR as
well. The NASCAR side was lack-luster, but in dirt, he won a USAC Silver Crown championship,
a World of Outlaws championship, and the Knoxville Nationals, which is a
premiere event on dirt. In 1st practice, he was 3rd and in 2nd practice, he was
in 2nd. He dropped a little, though, in the 3rd practice, placing 12th.
His dirt experience, combined with NASCAR experience, makes him one of the top
contenders of this event.
Ryan Newman
Ryan is the only Sprint cup
regular who will be racing at Eldora today. Naturally this makes him a threat;
but he does have dirt credentials to back him up as well. Like Dave Blaney, he
is also a USAC Silver Crown champion. In addition, he has 100 feature wins in
midget cars (a type of dirt race car), which should include many dirt track
wins. In 2nd practice, he was 6th, but in 3rd
practice, he dropped 10 positions. Ryan, to me, would be a good “dark horse”
pick.
Austin & Ty Dillon
Austin and Ty are two "young
guns" who have raced on dirt. I put them together in the same paragraph
because I think there both evenly matched. In 1st practice, they
were 4th and 5th, and in 2nd practice, they
were 1st and 2nd! They did break their togetherness in
the 3rd practice, though, being 5 positions apart. If one of them
has the small advantage, it would be Austin, naturally, since he was ahead of
Ty in all three practices. When it comes to their dirt history, in my opinion,
Ty has the small advantage. Both have raced Legend cars, Bandolero cars, and
Late-model cars. Austin won 3 premier events in 2007, including the All-star
Shootout at “The Dirt Track” just outside of Charlotte Motor Speedway, but I
can’t find any other stats, concerning wins. Ty also won the All-start shootout
(the next year), and has more than 15 feature wins. With equal amount of
talent, it will be interesting to see which one places better in the race.
Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson has to be the #1 pick for
Eldora this week. Kyle has stellar stats on dirt, so much so, that he was even
complemented by Tony Stewart. He has raced USAC midget cars, silver crown cars,
sprint cars, and the World of Outlaws Series. In 2011, he became the 2nd
driver in history to win the 4-crown Nationals at Eldora in all three types of
USAC cars, all in one night. Impressive stat. He also has won many dirt races
across the four series. Yesterday at Eldora, Kyle came out of the gate strong,
finishing 1st in 1st practice, but did fall back to 3rd
and 9th in 2nd and 3rd practice. Still, that’s
not that bad. I fully expect Kyle to be in the top 5 as the finals laps go
down.
Ryan Blaney
I was leaning toward Kyle Larson, but
I wanted to pick someone a little different for Eldora: Ryan Blaney. Being the
son of an accomplished dirt racer, Ryan has raced on dirt as well. He raced
quarter midgets, Bandolero cars, legend cars, and late models, and found quick
success. He has won races in all four types of cars, and even won the PASS
South Super Late Model Series Championship in 2011. In the 1st
practice session, Ryan was right behind his father in 3rd. In the 2nd
and 3rd practice sessions, he finished 9th and 20th.
I think he'll be another driver that is in the top 5 as the final laps
approach.
The winner of the
inaugural Mud-Summer Classic might not be any of the drivers I just
highlighted. One thing I do know, though, is that this race will be interesting,
exciting, and a little crazy!
NASCAR's safety at dirt tracks
Dirt track safety came up a while
back when Jason Leffler tragically passed away after injuries he sustained
during a dirt racing crash. Is NASCAR safe racing at a dirt track? Eldora
doesn't have any SAFER barriers, which might come as a shock to some people.
The truth is, Eldora isn't any different than any other dirt track. The reason
dirt tracks usually don't have SAFER barriers is this: Low budget. Most dirt
tracks are "local tracks" that have small budgets. SAFER barriers are
very expensive and to put them around the track would not be affordable for
most dirt tracks. Therefore, they go to the next cheaper option. Usually, this
is just metal, or concrete. Not very comforting, isn't it? The good thing is
most race cars never go over 145mph at these tracks. It's still dangerous, but
not as much as it would be if they were going the speeds of a regular NASCAR
track (170-180mph). Also, almost all the vehicles that race on dirt tracks have
HANS devices, and a very strong steel roll cage around them. With NASCAR cars,
they have both of those as well, and thankfully much, much more. I will still
be a little nervous, knowing the walls are concrete, but they'll be going at
slower speeds (no more than 125mph) and the cars have incredible safety built
in, which makes me feel better. There is one more question though, as I
conclude: If this race at Eldora becomes a regular on the Truck Series
schedule, will they put SAFER barriers in then? I honestly don't know. I think
if bad wrecks concerning the walls become a problem, they will, but if it
doesn't, I doubt it. Even with the Truck race, I still don't know if they would
have the money for it. NASCAR would probably have to help them. The good thing
is, I don't think the walls will be a concern in the end.
Now, with all of that said, “Let’s go dirt track racing,
boys!”
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