“Behind the Checkered Curtain”
February 23, 2004
By Mike Leone

Ahhh…opening day- there’s just nothing like it for us race fans. It’s all the sights and sounds that puts a smile on our faces and makes us glad that we’re back again to do it all over again for another year.

It’s seeing the new shiny cars unload, catching the first smell of methanol, racing to put your blanket down to find your perfect seat, scouring out the facility to see what’s new, chatting with friends you haven’t seen all winter, hamburgers cooking on the grill, the call from 50/50 girls and program sellers, and I could go on and on, but ya’ll know exactly what I mean.

For some, the above starts in February at Florida Speedweeks, others may have to wait until April, maybe even May to see racing in some parts of the country, but if you’re in central Pennsylvania and it’s the Saturday following the Daytona 500, you know that means- sprint car racing at Lincoln Speedway.

Situated just west of the Adams/York County-border in Abbottstown, Adams County lays the Pigeon Hills of Lincoln Speedway- named after President Abraham Lincoln, who gave the “Gettysburg Address” on November 19, 1863 some 10 miles west.

Lincoln (the speedway that is) has always had the propensity to get races in and always give it their best try nonetheless. Saturday, February 21 was no different. With snow still blanketing the overlooking hillside and adjacent shaded golf course, high temps predicted in the mid-40s, and precipitation of both natures littered all over the Keystone State, racing was on.

While just about any other track would have thrown in the towel, Lincoln not only went on with their program, but probably was the only track in the commonwealth that could have even got the show in.

Snow showers fell from the sky with temps in the low to mid-30s for over half of my trip from the far western part of the state before turning to light showers and around 40 degrees in the Port Royal vicinity. By the time I reached the Capital Beltway some breaks in the cloud cover developed, but off and on sprinkles and light showers persisted until about five miles north of the track. Pulling into the muddy parking lot saw the temps skyrocket to wind-blown 47 degrees and a mostly cloudy sky- but hey it was opening day who cares, right?

Thoughts of snowy western Pa. were a distant memory when Joe Harz’s #88H and his new truck and trailer are first in line. Harz’s now third-year driver, Fred Rahmer, was one of the first to buy a pit pass as the gates opened at 12 noon sharp and said a brief, “How’s everyone doing,” before he shot through the crowd and headed toward the pit area. That must have been an omen because five hours later, Fred Rahmer was in victory lane ending an unthinkable Lincoln winless streak that dated back to October 5, 2002.

How do you know it is opening day in central Pa.? Fans are waiting in line to get in despite the weather conditions, people don’t mind what they look like or care that they have mud all over themselves and their vehicle, no one cares that there only 20 sprints and just 9 finish the feature, there were more passes at the concession stand line than there was on the race track, no one complains when the races start a few minutes late and the grader appears on the track at different points in the program not because of the roughness of the track but because water is running onto the frontstretch from the melting snow, and fans cheer when colder airs moves in ushering in a brief snow shower.

The fact that Fred Putney and company got the track in any kind of racing condition let alone a raceable, smooth, dust-free afternoon surface is admirable. The fact that only nine cars finished the feature was another thing and goes back to the above question…How do you know it is opening day? It looked like over half the drivers were way over anxious and you certainly could tell they hadn’t raced all winter. Most of the accidents and spills definitely were uncalled for and was something you wouldn’t see in July. Some of the guys spent more time on the hook and in the pits and fixing their cars than they did racing.

Opening day experience at Williams Grove Speedway will have to wait a week as they pulled the plug on Saturday for Sunday’s scheduled opener due to wet grounds and unworkable track conditions. In 2000, I watched then teenager Kasey Kahne score an upset win on opening day at Williams Grove in his father Kelly’s #23K. Four years later from the couch instead of the grandstands, I watch Kahne nearly pull off another upset, this time in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup race at Rockingham (NC) in Ray Evernham’s #9.

I’m not a big NASCAR fan as the first two races are probably the last two of the year that I’ll watch in their entirety; however, seeing Kahne run up front like he did and nearly pull off the win was great. His last lap near pass for the win and honest non-staged-like interview put a smile on my face and was a breath of fresh air. It sure is neat to see sprint guys like Kahne, Stewart, and Newman contend for the win.

Boy you have to feel for Carl Long, who barrel-rolled after being shot into the wall and ended up with a destroyed race car- the only Cup car he possessed. Long was only at the Rock because of the short field and was equipped with an old used engine and borrowed wheels and tires. Reminds you of the days gone by, but sure no Cinderella, storybook ending.

One thing in observing that I never noticed or paid attention to is that the numbers on the roof face toward the infield rather than grandstands like local racing. My guess would be the difference in location of the information/scoring tower and for camera television purposes.

Darrell Waltrip’s comments that Cup racing is the only series that could race that long and produce a finish that close was typical from the “Oval Office” as they now refer to it as. First, how many racing series actually run 4 or 500-mile events? And second, go to any Saturday night short track and you can usually find a close finish. Now grant you, you’re not going to see that many races decided by .01 of a second no matter the distance, but it’s where it came from just like his comments on the new point system, which he stated is basically the best thing since sliced bread. I understand that he works for NASCAR, but don’t try to b.s. those of us that truly know better. Makes you appreciate how genuine Bob Jenkins and Larry Nuber were in the days of ESPN.

If Kahne was going to lose that one, I was glad to see Matt Kenseth come out swinging after NASCAR’s brass probably changed the point system for basically his amount of wins last season. Despite only one victory, Kenseth was consistent and later in the year may have raced for points rather than for wins, a syndrome that happens to racers all over the country at a short track near you.

I found it laughable how everyone seemed puzzled how Kenseth and Kahne, who pitted under green, could restart ahead of Jamie McMurray, who pitted following the caution, until Mike Joy piped in with the answer. Now whether or not he knew personally or it came from elsewhere is beside the point. The answer was quite simple and really is similar to scoring at a local track.

Because NASCAR now freezes the field and it was determined that Kenseth and Kahne didn’t lose a lap, the two went to the tail of the tail of the field. Then when all of the other lead lap cars including McMurray pitted under caution, they came out of the pits and was rightfully behind Kenseth and Kahne, who both pitted first. The answer would be the same at any track that doesn’t race back to the yellow to count the additional lap. Maybe I should try wearing a helmet when discussing a scoring issue like the NASCAR officials, who were explaining the procedure to McMurray’s crew- just kidding!

Okay, I know, enough about NASCAR. It’ll be interesting to monitor 410 winged sprint car counts across the nation, which have slowed dropped at all of the major events throughout the nation the last couple seasons. Numbers have been low at these opening events across the nation. Volusia barely had enough cars for a full field during Florida Speedweeks then the following week at East Bay counts, which always have far exceeded Volusia, only jumped to the low 30s. Lincoln opened up with a meager 20 against no competition. The World of Outlaws’ opener at Manzanita (AZ) drew 32 and 31 for the two nights.

What in the world is going on with the All Star Sprints schedule? First, Lincoln cancels their May date. Second, Emmett Hahn’s Sprint bandits book a two-day show at Little Rock (AR) when the All Stars thought they had the event. Third, the scheduled March opener at Oglethorpe (GA) was never on the track’s website and now has been postponed to September. And finally, a mini-August PA Speedweek appears to be scrapped because of the sanction fees.

Some dates to put on your calendar for can’t miss unique shows…May 15 at Mercer 410 sprints, ESS/NRA 360 Sprints, & PA 305 Sprints, June 25 Central PA Speedway BRP Modified Tour $2,500 to-win and 358 modifieds $1,000 to-win, and August 13 Lake Erie Speedway USAC Sprints.

In 1798 John Adams stated, “Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any others.” Is it any wonder why we have the problems of today? Groups like the ACLU makes Adams and our fellow Founding Fathers role over in their graves. You think about that. E-mail will make its way to the inbox at mleone@infonline.net.

- posted by Deon @ 8:00 AM