“Behind the Checkered Curtain”
By Mike Leone
April 8, 2004

Rain can make one do crazy things. Case in point, with cold, wet weather shrouding the Northeast last weekend and tracks falling to cancellations faster than Georgia Tech fell behind UConn Monday night, the search for a sprint car race with dry weather was on.

700 miles later the “Show Me State” was the end destination as myself and pal Rick Rarer crossed the Midwest via I-70 as the thermometer rose from 37 to a sunny 71 degrees by the time we pulled into the parking lot at Saint Francois County (Fairgrounds) Raceway.

Located about an hour south of Saint Louis, just north of Farmington, Missouri off highway 67, Saint Francois would commence the 2004 campaign for the All Star Circuit of Champion Sprint Cars.

This 1/3-mile high-banked track is a cross between Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Speedway and Ohio’s Attica Raceway Park. The track was conducive to two and three groove racing throughout much of the night, but by feature time (after an e-mod feature), the track slicked off and took rubber on the bottom turning into a follow-the-leader train.

Guy Webb’s gang would bring 15 card-carrying members, who would look to get revenge on last year’s whooping by local Tim Montgomery. While SFCR has some quality local cars, the statement by All Star announcer Justin Zoch they have one of the toughest weekly sprint fields in the country is a stretch by any imagination.

This year’s group of All Stars is one of the most interesting and diverse crosses of racers in some time. While the amount of “full-time stars” is down, the quantity is up. The only question is how long will many of these “rookies” last on Webb’s vigorous slate.

Led by Chad Kemenah, the driver of the Jimmy Harble #15K, is almost a lock for a third straight crown barring any unforeseen setbacks. This is probably the only team that is equipped to run the entire 20-state plus Canada docket. The first weekend of action did nothing but solidify those expectations for the Findlay, Ohio racer who has jumped out to an early point lead.

Greg Wilson: The driver with the most realistic shot of knocking Kemenah from the top returns to pilot the Bob Hampshire #63. With Kemenah’s recent marriage to Hamp’s daughter Tracy, these two teams have become family. The Benton Ridge, Ohio will continue to add to his 12 career All Star wins in ’04 and will look to better his career best fourth place ranking last season.

Danny Smith: One of the true “Outlaws”; the Danville, Indiana great always spends a lot of time on the All Star trail, but has made a living racing sprint cars by picking and choosing his way to fame. Last year, the driver of the #4 earned his first championship taking the now-defunct GLOSS crown. Smith kicked off the All Star campaign with his 25th career ASCoC win on April 2 at Paducah, Kentucky in his first race since losing his crew chief, Jim Bennett, to a heart attack.

Dale Blaney: The ’95 & ’96 champion now has the distinction of the All Stars’ all-time active winner. The Fowler, Ohio resident will be behind the wheel of Fritz Andrews’ #72 once again looking to break his fifth place tie of 44 wins with brother Dave.

Kelly Kinser: This Bloomington, Indiana veteran joins Smith and Blaney as three of the semi-regulars that could easily challenge Kemenah if they stuck with the entire tour. Kinser, like Smith, runs his own operation and picks and chooses smartly where he wants to race. The #4K is always a threat especially on the bullrings.

Bill Rose: The Plainfield, Indiana racer will pilot his red #6 for the third straight year on the All Star tour. The former wingless standout should be able to improve his point placing once again after a ninth in his ’02 rookie season and a seventh last season. A first win could be right around the corner.

Phil Gressman: The Clyde, Ohio racer will sub for an injured Bruce Robenalt through at least mid-August, if not the entire season in the #98. Gressman brings a wealth of talent and experience to probably the least financed team on the circuit. Robenalt was ninth in his first full season last year. Gressman would like nothing more than to add to his three career ASCoC wins and give Team Robenalt their first career win.

Ryan Coniam: One of the most interesting combinations of the circuit finds the Burlington, Ontario racer teaming with long-time Ohio driver and car owner Pete Grove. Coniam earned rookie-of-the-year honors racing his #6c last season, but will step into the #70 driven for most of ’03 by Kenny Jacobs, who took third at the Knoxville Nationals.

Jeremy Campbell: If there is a wild card on the tour, it would be this 20-year-old Monroe, Michigan wheelman. This driver has the talent, equipment, and road-experience from the defunct WoOII Series, to turn some heads and get his first career ASCoC win. The #10c is a perfect two-for-two in dashes after winning at both Paducah and St. Francois.

Barry Ruble: This seemingly low-dollar family operation from Burton, Ohio appears to improve its operation eeach year. The former asphalt late model and Sharon sprint winner ended three straight years of finishing 10th in points last year by improving to eight. Ruble carries an in memory of his late engine builder Jim Brauer on his car and has added Cody Prosser, son of racer George, to his crew.

Paul May: The Terre Haute, Indiana resident leads the large rookie crop in his #71m. The young 25-year-old stand-on-the-gas racer will undoubtedly score his first career ASCoC win at some point in ’04, most likely on a bullring. The 2002 GLOSS Champion will certainly turn some heads.

Tim Hunter. The Killbuck, Ohio former 360 standout has added the Ray Pullins #29 equipment to his arsenal. Though there is no lack of desire or fear, the experience factor of being on the road may hamper this hard-charger. If Hunter can keep his cool, the 26-year-old driver of the #2H will turn in some good runs.

Jon Agan: If the name sounds familiar, it’s because this 25-year-old racer is the son of National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Marketing Director, Craig Agan. This rookie-of-the-year candidate certainly appears to have the equipment to turn in some quality runs with his #4.

Eddie Lynch: This driver no doubt will certainly get confused across the country with Ed Lynch, Jr., but the Springfield, Illinois driver would like to create his own legacy. This third-generation racer will chase the rookie-of-the-year in his #29 after years of running hit and miss shows throughout the Midwest.

Brock Mayes: This Bucyrus, Ohio driver brings the least experience of all to the table. The former 305 winner just earned rookie 410 honors last season at Attica and Fremont, Ohio speedways in his #11B. The 24-year-old driver will be glad when the tour graces the Buckeye state.

Motor problems at Paducah kept another rookie-of-the-year hopeful, Jan Howard, from action at St. Francois. Other rookies expected to hit numerous shows include Ohio driver Ben Rutan and Michigan’s Chad Blonde, a $2,000 Mercer winner last season.

Along with the 15 above All Stars, St. Francois boasted another 30 cars made up of a mix of track regulars, a few Knoxville cars, and other Midwest runners. A few of the non-All Star heavy hitters included Terry McCarl, Ricky Logan, Jerrod Hull, brothers Tim and Joey Montgomery, Jim Moughan, and Terry Babb.

Four heats, a C, and B main would set the 24-car field. Heats were shared by Campbell (from fourth), Alex Shanks (second), Babb (first), and Knoxville regular Jesse Gianetto (first). Agan topped the 10-lap C from the outside pole, while May topped the B from the pole.

Though Kemenah would lead all 40 laps from the pole for his 14th career All Star win, which was worth $5,000, he clearly didn’t have the fastest car. Blaney, McCarl, Logan, Kinser, and Campbell all seemed to be faster, but Kemenah had the starting spot and track conditions to his favor that was good enough to hold off his challengers.

Blaney turned in a second after starting fifth, but was unable to make a move on the “used-up” track. The ’95 & ’96 champion was just hoping Kemenah would slip off the bottom just enough to allow him to get under, but that didn’t happen. McCarl started third and finished a close third (second straight night) right on Blaney’s bumper. Logan started fourth and finished fourth in one of the best-looking cars. Long-time driver for Guy Webb’s #51, Jerrod Hull, came from 12th to place fifth in the #12.

The e-mod feature ran before the All Star feature. That wasn’t so bad, but having a 30 or so minute intermission after the e-mods was uncalled for especially on a very chilly night that started an hour late when people were already departing. Then we wonder why our sport struggles to not only reach a new fan bas, but preserve the existing one.

A call goes out to Curtis Boyer, who qualified for the feature both nights with a 360-powered engine. The New Haven, Missouri racer finished 18th at Paducah and 16th at St. Francois in his #72.

Five of the 35 cars at Paducah did not show at St. Francois meaning 51 cars competed over the two days.

Team of the week: Marshall Skaggs. Ya’ gotta love this team. The name is a perfect fit for the Skaggs Trucking #606. They’d fit in just fine at any speedway in Texas or the any part of the south for that matter. This team fits the racing redneck stereotypical mold.

Name of the week: Jesse Gianetto. Not only do I love the name (it’s an Italian thing), but the big bulldog on the side of the black #D1 is really kewl and pretty intimidating.

The shot at pulling the double at Kenny Schrader’s I-55 at Peverly, Missouri went out the door as the track was dark and the last remaining trailers were exiting the track around midnight as we made our way back northeast.

St. Francois accounted for my ninth race of the year at my 72nd career track in the 12th different state. Since October 18, 2003, I have added Ohio Valley (WV), Midway (OH), BeaveRun (PA), Mid-Ohio, Bridgeport (NJ), Indianapolis Speedrome (IN), Anderson (IN), and now St. Francois (MO) to my list.

How amazing is it that Lincoln Speedway has got in all seven of their scheduled shows? While you may say that doesn’t sound like a big deal, remember, Lincoln opened up on February 21! That’s pretty remarkable for a Pennsylvania track in springtime or any time for that matter. Cris Eash’s 37th career Lincoln win Saturday was worth $2,500 for the Hanover driver. A call goes out to Johnstown racer Dan Shetler, who led the first 11 laps and a finished a career best Lincoln finish of fourth.

Pennsylvania racer, Brian Paulus, made the headlines Saturday by winning the World of Outlaw race at Texas Motor Speedway. The Mechanicsburg native passed Kraig Kinser on lap 28 to win the 30-lap $10,000 to-win event for his second career WoO win. The young Kinser came home second just missing his first ever WoO win. Following the race, Kraig’s dad Steve, who finished fifth, was recognized for winning his 500th career WoO A main victory recently in Houston, Texas.

Robert Frost once said, “A liberal is a man too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel.” You think about that. Ideas for another spur-of-the-moment jaunt can be e-mailed to mleone@infonline.net.
- posted by Deon @ 10:15 AM