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This past weekends plans took us to Knoxville, Iowa for the final night of the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals three day show. Unfortunately, it took four days to get in one day of racing, and I decided not to make the three hour trip back for the Sunday reschedule. When I arrived just before noon on Saturday with my grandson and former late model driver Rick Coats in tow, one look at the incredibly muddy racing surface had us doubting that we would see any racing at all. But there was a large group of fans and drivers who had been waiting since Thursday for a chance to do some racing, and the officials at the 1/2 mile facility were prepared to do all they could to make it happen. The Knoxville experience is more than just a race, and even though we were not able to enjoy the usual open pit time, there was still plenty to keep us entertained. In fact, the appearance of the jet engine powered dryer, on loan from the Boone, Iowa Speedway, was something of an event in itself. Some outstanding barbeque from the mobil stand across the street, an extended shopping trip through the many souvenier trailers, both independent and driver owned, a quick trip to the Hall of Fame, and visits with several of the race teams parked outside the speedway all combined to fill time until the driver autograph session. That was followed by the free concert by up and coming country star Bridgette Tatum, and as the gates were opened, the clearing skies gave us hope that we would indeed see some racing. No doubt the track crew had done a remarkable job in getting the track ready, but everyone agreed that the track would be bad fast, possibly too much so. This seemed to be proven as hot laps for the 62 cars still around began. No less than three drivers found themselves in wild flips during the warm up sessions, something I had never seen in 50 plus years of racing. First Minnesota driver Nick Kramer flipped his # 40 in turn one. Then the best known dirt tracker from Colorado, Kelly Boen # 07 took a wild ride in turn four. Finally, Wisconsin pilot Tim Isenberg lost the handle on the # 9T in turn one, appeared to save it, then went airbourne in turn two. After all this, officials inexplicably started a second round of hot laps. Maybe they knew what was coming, and wanted to wait it out, as the rain began to fall shortly. When the shower ended, it seemed obvious that there would be no racing, but for whatever reason, track officials seemed to go into stall mode. As a half dozen pickup trucks packed the dirt portion of the pit area, the track remained vacant. After a while it was announced that the jet dryer would be employed again, but it would not fire. Eventually it did, but after a couple of trips around the speedway, the call was made to postpone the action until Sunday. Although probably the correct call, it might have been handled better. A few more of the drivers headed home, one driver who had headed down to Lakeside Speedway in the Kansas City area to race Friday and Saturday, Chris Simpson, came back, and NASCAR star Tony Stewart, a no show on Saturday, hustled back after his Cup win to race Sunday evening. Congratulations go out to Scott Bloomquist, the first two time winner in the six year history of the event. 2009 was the first year that rained played havoc with the three day extravaganza, a remarkable record for dirt track racing this time of year in Iowa. This coming weekend, we are hoping for a better outcome, as pals Darryl, Fred,and I make plans to take in the Saturday portion of the Governers Cup show at Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa. Both the WDRL and IMCA late models will be in action on the 1/4 mile facility, racing complete shows in addition to final night action in several other classes. There is still plenty of dirt track action around the area, get out and take in some racing before the long winter ahead. See you at the track!
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