Copper on Dirt Reactions

Now is the winter of our discontent. Well it might not be that bad but coming home from Phoenix back to the Midwest was tough. It was a great weekend of racing and a first chance for me to visit historic Manzanita Speedway.

Friday Night

-We arrived at the track around 6:30. It’s safe to say that Manzy is located in a rather “industrial” part of Phoenix. This is probably a blessing for the folks in Phoenix however. It doesn’t look like the track will succumb to high real estate prices like Ascot and other tracks on the West Coast.

-Some of the locals capitalized on our rookie status to the track and sucked us into parking in their lot, only to charge us five bucks for the privilege. We made sure not to repeat the mistake on Saturday.

-As hot laps came to an end, it was time for the National Anthem-but it was never sung. Instead it was God Bless America and America the Beautiful. I found that a little unusual. Perhaps it was performed prior to us arriving there.

-All three classes of cars really flew around the half-mile. With nary a wing to be found in the pits it was fun to see them really back it in. I’m an equal opportunity sprint car fan, but I do love a non-wing show.

-The format of the event was to run the heats for each class on Friday and consolations and features on Saturday. The feeling I had walking back to the car after Friday’s show was like going to a new restaurant with a great menu, only to eat the appetizers. It was a good move though as we would have been out of there very late had they run all the features.

-No surprise that the Tony Stewart teams are going to be strong throughout the year. Tracy Hines had a great night winning his heats in all three divisions, and two of those running for Stewart.

-It’s always a great night when everyone comes home on all four wheels.

Friday night ended early for me. We headed out soon after the final heat of the evening and back to the hotel. After being up for class at 6:30 and traveling all day I was one tired pup.

Saturday Night

-Not falling victim to the parking bandits we found a real nice location outside turn three amongst all the haulers. Little did we know that parking there would make the trip out of there after the show an event unto itself.

-We watched the show from the pits. We weren’t able to follow the action as closely because of the restricted views but the pits are a great place to watch a race.

-It was a rough weekend for the East/Klatt team. Stephanie Mockler got upside down early in the Clorox/Ford 6 car during one of the prelims. Luckily she was ok but her car was done for the evening. Bobby East driver of the 4e for the evening managed to make the show but was running in the back before finally dropping out. So much for the Ford “factory” cars. It was interesting to see Mockler drive the OHV Ford and Bobby an Esslinger.

-Cole Carter had an amazing run through the field in the midget feature. Cole started in the last row and finished seventh. On that big track with a stout field, passing 20+ cars cannot be an easy task. Cole is one of my favorite drivers and I was real happy for him to put together such a great run.

-Another driver who continues to impress me is Darren Hagen. Coming from the fourth row and nearly pulling out a victory was very impressive. I was told Hagen was running low on fuel down the stretch and that could have cost him victory. In addition to his strong run in the midgets, he came from the seventh row in the sprint car feature to take second. This kid has a bright future and I’ll sure enjoy watching his career progress.

-Speaking of bright futures, freakin’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr.! That’s quite an accomplishment to win a forty lapper in the sprints and follow it up with a fifty lap silver crown victory. He had to work hard for both of them and looked great doing it.

-There’s a great crop of young talent in USAC. It’s a good time to be a fan of the sport.

-The Kruser gets credit for the most exciting finish of the night, winning the midget feature on the last lap.

-There were a few flips on this night but everyone will be back to race again.

-It was a new experience playing chicken with all of the tow-rigs trying to get out of the parking area after the show. I think more than a few of the drivers cursed me out as a nosed our mighty Ford Fusion out of the lot. It’s an interesting feeling of having the bumper of a semi inches from your window.

-I’m sure USAC and the Manzanita crews had to be happy with the inaugural Copper on Dirt. The crowds looked good both nights and drew a great field of cars and drivers.

Overall it was a great trip and I’m very lucky to have had the chance to go. It’s going to be tough to sit and wait another couple of months to smell the sweet methanol fumes again and hear the growl of a sprinter at speed. I can’t wait!

For a complete summary of the weekend's racing, check out www.usacracing.com.
Scroll down on this page for some photos from the trip.