Cornhusker Midget Challenge

After night number two of the Cornhusker Midget Challenge at Junction Motor Speedway, two things became very clear to me.

1. After spending some time with some very big time auto racers, it re-affirms my desire to become one myself.

2. After running across the Junction Motor Speedway infield from turn four to turn three carrying a fuel jug, it reminded me of just how out of shape I am!

It was a great couple of days and some of the most fun I've ever had at the races. As I may have mentioned before, the team of Terry Klatt and Bob East agreed to let us host them during their stay in York for the POWRi/USAC show at JMS.

Tuesday

The day started with driving to the York Airport (yes, York does have an airport) to pick up Bob. I must admit I felt pretty cool to be picking up Bob East. I've been following all forms of USAC racing for a long time, so it was a big thrill to meet him again and have a chance to talk to him a little bit. I could probably spend days thinking of questions to ask him.

After we got Bob into a vehicle, my dad and I met up with him and the rest of the team at JMS later on. We had a few decals made up that Terry agreed to place on his car for us, so he put them on as soon as we got there. It was a real trip to see the Moses Motor Company logo on the car, along with the Oval Operations decals.

Don Droud Jr. is the driver for the week and we were all hoping for a good run but unfortunately problems with the fuel lines prevented that from happening. Jr. was not able to finish his heat race and it put him far back in the first B main.

The crew consisting of Evan, Dave, and Kevin worked hard to get the problem fixed. They believed that a fuel line was failing and the cause of some blockage. They were able to get the car ready in time for the start of the B, but that is where the evening ended.

Everyone was disappointed but that's racing. Sometimes the car is perfect and things work and sometimes the car just doesn't want to cooperate. Tuesday night was the latter.

Aside from following the ups and downs of the 4 car, the A feature was very fun to watch. The surface for some reason was very abrasive and claimed the tires of many cars including leader Jerry Coons Jr. After dominating much of the race in his Wilke-Pak car, he was forced to stop and change a flat right rear tire, ending his chances for a big victory.

With that misfortune Josh Wise inherited the lead but it was short lived as Danny Stratton passed him for the win. I was happy to see Stratton win in his Esslinger Ford over Wise in his Toyota.

While the night didn't go quite as well as I had hoped it was still a great time seeing the midgets at JMS again. Rodney Droud made the trip to help Jr. and I had a nice time talking some racing with him. In fact, between the two of us, I do believe we managed to find solutions to most of the racing world's problems.

Wednesday

I went to the store early on Wednesday morning and sure enough, the crew was already there working on both of the cars. Hell by the time I got there, they had been working for a couple of hours. Because of the problems on Tuesday night they decided to switch cars and run their Belleville midget.

Those guys sure worked their butts off, sweating over both cars for most of the day. Watching them toil in that hot garage, it really made me appreciate all the effort they put into those cars every day, all day before they even get to the track!

I've always felt that crew guys on any team don't get the credit they deserve.

I bought the team some pizza and cold drinks and had a very interesting time sitting around at lunch, listening to some war stories. Later on Dean Ward stopped by. Ward is a former racer himself, and has helps out on Terry's cars from time to time.

On this night Dean was helping out Chad McDaniel from Concordia, Kansas. Chad’s team even made a stop at the dealership to have Dean help them with some timing issues in the motor. They even fired the midget and drove it up and down the service road!

The Klatt team finally finished their day and loaded up to head back to McCool.

My dad opted to sit in the stands but I of course wanted to be where all the action was. I met up with the team and actually helped clean the car between races. They were nice guys to put up with me getting in their way for a second night in a row.

I did feel pretty big time though, with a little dirt on my jeans, working in my Ford apparel on the car. Granted, I did nothing compared with the rest of the guys, but they made me feel like part of the team.

The night's racing started off real well. Jr. started fifth in the heat and looked good moving up. He eventually took the heat race win. Everyone was happy with that and excited for the feature. Jr. earned some good passing points and we figured he'd have a good starting spot in the A and a chance to have a good run.

During the "downtime" between races I got to know Kevin and Dave a little better. They’re both real interesting characters and fun guys to joke around with. They sure know their racing, or at least made up what they didn’t know to fool an amateur like me!

I’ve watched many a show from the pits but never as closely associated with a team as I was that night. It was interesting getting some inside opinions on the politics of USAC racing.

Wednesday had its share of tense moments. Throughout the course of the evening there was the usual exchange of words between members of rival teams and even a shove, but luckily it never amounted to anything more.

As the time for the feature neared I helped to get all the spares ready. The pits at JMS are located along the backstretch, and the work area is located outside of turn four, so we had quite a nice hike over there.

After we dropped off our equipment in the work area, Dave and I took some seats in the grandstands and the feature began. Right away it looked like the great night we had been hoping for was not going to happen. Jr. just didn't look comfortable in the car.

A Danny Stratton tip-over sent us running back to the spares, but I knew with such a minor flip they wouldn't let any of the crews to work on the cars. Rather than going back to the seats I stayed down in the work area.

A few laps later there was another flip, this one more serious. As soon as they opened up the caution period the crews poured out of the gate and onto the track. Jr. had come to a stop near the entrance to turn three, so we toted all that equipment across the infield and up the banking to where his car was.

I tell ya, I started well out lugging that fuel jug, but by the time I made it across the infield I was gassed. My final obstacle was jumping down off the berm. It looked a little sticky down there, but hey, I was in a hurry jumped anyway. I landed in ankle deep mud and nearly lost my shoe! Of course I didn't want to let a little thing like that stop me and finally made it to the car.

Jr. and Evan talked about what the car was doing and what could be done to make it better. Bob had come over to where the car was parked on the other side of the catch fence and told them adjustments to make.

I helped to pour some fuel into the car as they finished making the adjustments. I had hoped that perhaps there was something they could have done to make the car better but it just wasn't that simple.

Jr. ended up 11th on the night. Not terrible by any means, but less than what he and the team were going for.

The second night of the Cornhusker Midget Challenge provided another great feature. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. driving one of Tony Stewart's Chevys passed Jerry Coons Jr. on the last lap for the win. Stenhouse Jr. is a very good driver and I won't be surprised to see him running in some big time races in the years to come.

After the feature the guys started their post-race routine but I had to take Bob back to the airport so he could fly back to Indiana. I said my goodbyes and we were out of there.

I can't thank the crew enough for allowing me to hang out with them and even let a greenhorn like myself help out a little. They're real cool guys and I'm glad that I had a chance to get to know them a little bit.

I helped Bob with his bag and we headed out to the car. Walking through the pits with Bob East, I felt for the first time like a BTAR, even if it was just for a moment.

The two days at JMS were a blast! My thanks to Terry Klatt, Bob East, Evan Avant, Dave Newman, and Kyle Hurst and Don Droud Jr. for all of their hard work and for letting us be a part of their team for a couple of days.

It'll be fun to see them again on Friday and Saturday, this time on the High Banks at Belleville. Hopefully we'll get a chance to celebrate a big victory.