The Hoosier Race Report: Victory and Heartbreak

By Danny Burton

Danny Burton’s Hoosier Race Report appears courtesy of OpenWheelRacers.com

Bloomington, Indiana… Last night at Bloomington was the final sprint car program of the year and it was one to remember for the off-season. It was the classic story line of one having victory in his sights before things went very wrong for him. And another was in the right spot at the right time, showing that Yogi Berra was right: It ain’t over till it’s over. Jon Stanbrough was the beneficiary of Dave Darland’s misfortune, namely a flat tire at the very end of the race. Stanbrough won by literally inches as Darland slid across the start/finish line after his tire blew on the last turn of the last lap. And, if this wasn’t enough, a last turn/last lap pass decided the UMP modified feature as well.

This trip would see my son, in a rare night off from work, and me making the journey one last time to Bloomington this year. The 2005 sprint car top ten would be honored before the racing started. We had hoped to see Bloomington’s PR guru Chuck Welsh, who continues to recover from injuries received earlier this year from an accident at the track. But Chuck must have been outvoted and could not make it. At any rate, the knowledge that the old boy is improving will do just fine.

For the record, Kevin Briscoe was the top point getter, followed by Kenny Carmichael, Brady Short, Bobby Stine, Mitch Cunningham, Steve Rone, Kevin Besecker, Kenny Carmichael Jr., Jon Sciscoe, and Brent Beauchamp and Kent Christian, tied for tenth.

Gas City was rained out, and USAC wasn’t running anywhere else, so quite a few non-regulars were among the 42 cars signed in. Bryan Clauson is a done deal for now in the Keith Kunz 67. Kevin Briscoe was in the Tony Fox 56, while a pair of youngsters were wheeling both of the Briscoe family’s cars, namely Arin McIntosh and Kyle Cummins. A.J. Anderson was in the potent Fox Brothers’ 53, which has seen several drivers do well in the ride this year. USAC visitors included Dave Darland, Mat Neely, Tom Hessert III, Daron Clayton, and Darren Hagen.

There would be five heats and two B Mains. And, in addition to that, the running order was reversed, meaning that the sprints would run last instead of first. As I warned my son, it would be a long night, but a fun one all the same. Having Jerry and John around for insight and/or comic relief helped keep the night from dragging.

Neely was quick qualifier at 11.194 with a very fast track with 30 of 42 qualifiers below the 12 second mark. Kevin Briscoe won the first heat, taking Kent Christian and Brent Beauchamp to the feature with him. Mat Neely led the parade to the B Main. Darren Hagen, Jason Holt, and Daron Clayton ran one-two-three in the second heat. Mitch Cunningham used the low groove to perfection in taking the third heat over Bryan Clauson and Billy Rose. Jon Stanbrough came from sixth to win the fourth heat. Chris Babcock was second and Tom Hessert III was third. Dickie Gaines took the fifth and final heat over Kenny Carmichael and Dave Darland.

The two last chance races had some fine cars with the top three from both making the feature. Mat Neely won the first over Bobby Stine and A.J. Anderson. Chris Guinn took the night’s only tumble as he did a couple of cartwheels. Chris was okay and his car didn’t appear to be torn up that badly; hopefully he will be at Lawrenceburg this evening. (This is being written on a Saturday morning.) Brady Short was the victor of the second B Main over Danny Holtsclaw and Steve Rone.

The time was well after 10 p.m. and the features started with Mike Cawood taking the super stock main event. Next was the modified, which featured three leaders, including Shelby Miles, who led twice. But he was bottled up in lapped traffic at the end, enabling Richie Lex to take the win on the last lap. From here it was the best modified race I’d seen at Bloomington in a long time, and one of the best races, period, ever.

Last would be the sprints, with Briscoe and Darland on the front row. Behind them, ready to pounce, were Stanbrough, Clauson, Carmichael, Neely, Short, Anderson, Hessert, and Gaines in tenth. Right away Clauson took himself out of contention by spinning on the first turn. On the re-start Darland took the lead over Stanbrough with Clayton running well early before fading. Lapped traffic became a factor at around the halfway mark as Darland and Stanbrough wove their way around some good cars. Neely had moved to third by now, followed by Briscoe, Gaines, Anderson, Hagen, Hessert, Carmichael, Holtsclaw, and Short. At about lap 16 the second yellow flag came out as Brent Beauchamp spun on what had become an all-black track with rubber covering the red clay from top to bottom. On the re-start Darland re-assumed his advantage, with Stanbrough not letting Dave get too far away. With five to go Anderson had cracked the top five and was knocking on Briscoe’s door, with Gaines, Hagen, Hessert, and Holtsclaw behind. And coming around for the checkered, it happened. Darland’s right rear tire, which had taken a beating all of the race, disintegrated, sending Dave sliding across the start/finish line and giving the win to Stanbrough by inches. Other cars were crossed up at the checkered, with a few doing some spinning of their own. Neely was a steady third and Anderson did get around Briscoe for fourth. Gaines, Hagen, Bill Rose, Hessert, and Holtsclaw were the second five. The time was 12:40 a.m., Saturday the 17th. But having well over 100 cars in the pits will make some programs run late, as any short track fan would know.

It had been a long day, beginning at 6 a.m. Friday with a Union meeting. And Friday night would not yield much sleep either. But for the last sprint race at a beloved track, one doesn’t mind or question. One goes and enjoys.

Later today it’s off to Lawrenceburg for winged sprints (the All-Stars’ annual visit to the ‘burg for the Hoosier Fall Classic), traditional sprints, and modifieds, too. And then it’s off to the mountains of North Carolina for our annual inspection of the Blue Ridge Mountains east of Asheville. The trip, the time, it’s all priceless and worth it all.

Hoping to find Martha Stewart’s ankle bracelets on eBay, I’m…

Danny Burton

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