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RACING SCENE column - (Cal. teams @ Indiana Sprint Weeks) – By Tim Kennedy
LOS ANGELES – The annual USAC National Sprint Car tour was competitive in 2019 as usual. Events took place at eight dirt speedways from Thurs. July 18 through Sat, July 27 with Mon. and Tues. off-days for teams to recoup. The eight features had six different winners--Shane Cottle, Tyler Courtney, Chris Windom, Justin Grant, Courtney again, Kyle Cummins, Kevin Thomas, Jr., and Cummins again.
There even was an ISW preview USAC point race this year on Wed. July 17 at Eldora Speedway in Ohio. It attracted 28 sprint cars for the mid-week date. USAC added it to the schedule after a May 10 Eldora race was rained out following qualifying and three heat races. So Cal driver Brody Roa left home earlier and raced at Eldora for the first time. Brody was 12th fastest of 28 qualifiers, ran fifth in his heat, started 12th and finished 17th in the 30-lap main.
Total ISW car counts in order were: 43 at Gas City (Thurs.), 38 at Plymouth (Fri.), 40 at Kokomo (Sat.), 30 at Lawrenceburg (Sun.), 32 at Terre Haute (Wed.), 40 at Putnamville (Thurs.), 41 at Bloomington (Fri,), and 40 at Haubstadt (Sat.).
ISW rounds one through eight in order had two leaders and a lead change; four leaders & four lead changes; two leaders & two lead changes; one leader (L 1-30); three leaders & three lead changes; one leader (L 1 -30); five leaders & SIX lead changes; two leaders & two lead changes. There were 17 flips during the eight ISW events, but no serious injuries. Round one had two flips, with following events recording four, three, two, none, two, three and one.
A great way for home-bound fans to watch highlights of every ISW main event is via the internet on You Tube.com. Every night shortly after the feature, main event highlights ranging in time from 2:42 to 4:23 minutes were shown on You Tube. These videos captured passes near the front and lead changes. Accompanying audio named the drivers involved.
It was a great way to follow ISW progress in addition to reading detailed accounts by USAC's Richie Murray for each event. ISW videos on You Tube are still available. You Tube videos (with total times in parenthesis) are: Gas City (3:48), Plymouth (3:12), Kokomo (2:42), Lawrenceburg ((2:52), Terre Haute (4:23), Putnamville (2:43), Bloomington (3:51), and Haubstadt (2+ minutes).
USAC-CRA sprint car teams made some or all of the 2019 ISW tour. They were: Dad Brett and driver Brody Roa (Maxim 91R), Max Adams (Maxim 5m), Matt McCarthy (McCarthy Maxim 28m), and car owner Dwight Cheney (Maxim 42). Hoosier Dave Darland was Dwight's driver for the first four ISW events. Then Dave drove his own No. 36D and the Cunningham 17c. Scotty Weir drove Cheney's 42 in the final four events after driving cars 23s and 4p earlier in ISW. Periodic drivers at Perris Josh Hodges (No. 74x from New Mexico) and Nor Cal's Joe Stornetta (No 04 Burton) also competed.
The weather during ISW as usual was hot and humid (75%+). It was especially hot and humid throughout the Midwest this year according to national TV weathercasts during July. It even rained shortly after the fourth night main event checkered flag at Lawrenceburg. At least no ISW events were canceled by rain this year. Rainouts were a concern when I attended all the 1996 and 1997 ISW races.
Car owner Cheney departed for the Midwest on Monday, June 17 for his 36-hour tow. He missed the USAC-CRA June 29 event at Perris. He towed his two 2018 Maxim chassis with Ron Shaver engines in his 2008 Freightliner hauler with a 450 Mercedes-Benz engine. One Shaver engine has the Shout head motor for long-tracks (PAS, Terre Haute and Knoxville). The second Shaver engine has an All-Pro head and is used on short tracks.
Dwight's recent drivers in USAC-CRA have been Max Adams, R. J. Johnson, Danny Faria and Dave Darland, who has raced both No. 42 cars. Dwight's last feature victory came at Santa Maria Speedway on July 1, 2017 with Max Adams driving.
Dwight's No. 42 sponsors are: Steve Wilson's Racing Optics, Inc., of Las Vegas, Golden Harvest of Indiana (a chemical company for farming), Mesilla Valley Transportation, Steelco.USA.com, and Mike Curb (Darland's sponsor). Steve Wilson is the son of the late Indy 500 driver and USAC Midget feature winner Dempsey Wilson. Steve also is the father of retired 410 ci sprint car driver Seth Wilson.
Dwight wanted to race at some local Indiana tracks with Darland as his driver prior to ISW. Darland had a 2019 early season ride in midget/sprint car owner/driver Chase Briscoe's No. 5 Maxim. Ford-backed Briscoe won the televised NASCAR truck feature last year at Eldora and the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Iowa Speedway 250 feature on July 27 in the No. 98 Ford. Sponsorship dollars for the No. 5 sprint car did not materialize so it was parked. Dave then picked up the Mike Drucker No.17gp USAC ride. A broken axle and nasty flip at Eldora Speedway in May destroyed that car. So Dave and Dwight reunited for ISW.
Their first race was June 22 at Gas City. Next was June 23 in the annual Kokomo Speedway Bob Darland Memorial race that honors Dave's late father. Dave, 52, and his wife Brenda have a son and two daughters and now have three grandchildren. At Gas City Dave (in Cheney's 42) finished fourth in the main. At Kokomo Dave started third and finished fifth in the feature. They raced next at Haubstadt in SW Indiana and Dave qualified the 42 Maxim 17th, but rain canceled the event. On Sunday, June 30 at Haubstadt Darland finished 11th in Dwight's car.
At the USAC Knoxville, IA half-mile event on July 5-6 there were 51 sprint cars present. Darland (in No. 42) was 14th quickest of 20 drivers in qualifying group one. He was second in his heat and 20th of 24 drivers in the feature. On July 6 Dave qualified ninth fastest of 24 in group one. He was fifth in his heat and won the B-main. He finished 16th of 24 in the 30-lap feature.
During time between races Dwight slept at the home of USAC No. 5g sprint car crew chief Derek Claxton. He kept his No. 42 sprint cars at a large race shop in Anderson, IN., a block from the famous “Little 500” quarter-mile speedway. The shop contained six sprinters, including those of the No. 5g Goacher Racing Team (driver Chris Windom).
Dwight flew home to So Cal early in July to check on his rattled mother following the 6.4 July 4 and 7.1 July 5 earthquakes near Ridgecrest and Trona. With everything secure at her residence, Dwight flew back to Indiana from LAX Sunday night, July 7.
ISW RACE RESULTS: Gas City – Adams, who moved three months ago from Loomis, CA to Kokomo, IN, won the C-main, was P. 6 in the B, and raced from 22nd starting to 13th place in the A-main. Darland (42) was P. 3 in his heat and 20th in the feature. Roa was P. 6 in his heat and 7th in the B-main to just miss advancing to the A. McCarthy was 9th in his heat and 12th in the C.
Plymouth – Adams was fifth in his heat, third in the B and 13th in the A-main. Darland was fifth in his heat and 7th in the B, just missing the final transfer to the A. Roa placed 8th in his heat after flipping hard in the third turn in a two-car crash with Californian Chad Boespflug's No. 98. It destroyed Roa's No. 91R. McCarthy was tenth in his heat and the B-main.
Kokomo – Adams – ran 7th in both his heat and B-main. Darland -P. 6 in his heat, fifth in the B, and 17th in the A. Roa – in his backup Maxim was P. 2 in a heat and 14th in the A-main. McCarthy- P. 9 in the B-main.
Lawrenceburg – Adams - qualified P. 6 of 30, was P. 4 in a heat and 12th in the A. Darland (42) Q. 25th, was P. 2 in his heat, and 22nd to 11th in the A. He was named the hard charger of the A-main. Roa – Q. 20th, was P. 1 in his heat and 21st in A.
Terre Haute – Adams - 4th in heat, 8th in the 30-lap feature. Scotty Weir (Cheney 42) - 5th in a heat, P. 2 in B, and 14th in A. Darland (No. 36d) - 20th FQ and dropped a valve. Roa - 2nd in a heat and 17th in the A-main.
Putnamville – Adams – Q. 9th, won his heat and placed 17th in A. Weir (42) – Q. 19th, 7th in heat and 5th in C. Darland (17c) P. 3 in heat, and 19th in A. Roa – Q 20 of 20 in group one and 9th in heat (out).
Bloomington – Adams – P. 2 in heat and 18th in A. Weir (42) P. 7 in heat and 5th in C. Darland (17c) P. 3 in heat and 8th in A. Roa – P. 5 in heat, 13th in A.
Haubstadt – Adams – Q. 3rd fastest in his group of 20. 10th in heat, P. 5 in B, 12th in A. Weir (42) P. 9 in heat, 7th in C. Roa – Q. 5th fastest in his group of 20. was P. 2 in his heat. Started A-main on pole and finished 7th. Hodges made all eight A-mains and had finishes of P. 16, 10, 24, 18, 11, 16, 13, and 20th. Stornetta ran at two events and had P. 9 in a B-mains at Gas City and Kokomo.
Cheney departed Indiana for home Monday, July 29. On Tuesday, July 30 his hauler had a front tire blowout on I-40 near Needles on the California side of the border. He was able to keep his rig out of a ditch, but the incident delayed him about three hours. He arrived home in Glendora at 10pm Tuesday. Dwight said he will have his No. 42 racing in Perris August 17 with Danny Faria driving.
Final 2019 ISW driver point standings show Hoosier C. J. Leary with 564 points and runner-up Brady Bacon with 552. Others of interest in Cali are: P. 11 Adams 300, (92 behind P. 10). P. 12 Hodges-299, P. 15 Roa-224, Darland 223, and McCarthy in a tie for P. 52 with Stornetta. McCarthy only raced the first three ISW events before returning home. A total of 81 drivers raced and scored at least ten ISW points.
Leary took home the ISW P. 1 check and traditional huge rocking chair prize as the first-time ISW champion. He drove the Reinbold-Underwood No. 19az and did not win an ISW feature, although he led 29 of 30 laps at round one and finished second. His consistency was impressive--his worst finish was tenth at round eight.
Leary revealed he started talking to Andy Reinbold about the 19az ride for the 2019 season at the early November 2018 Oval Nationals event in Perris. They finalized their 2019 deal in late November at the annual USAC Turkey Night Midget GP in Ventura.
The No. 19az won a USAC-CRA Perris feature on Oct. 20, 2018 with Justin Grant driving. Leary and the No. 19az won the third USAC National Sprint feature of 2019 at Ocala, Florida on February 16. His numerous up-front finishes and point accumulation have kept him the point leader most of the season. He is on-track to win the 2019 USAC National Sprint driving crown in No. 19az if he continues his strong performances.
The No. 19az team knows how to win. Hunter Schuerenberg has driven it to USAC-CRA victories twice this season (on March 9 at Peoria, AZ and May 25 at Perris). Watch for it and second-generation USAC driver Leary November 7, 8 and 9 during the PAS Oval Nationals.
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