From T.J. Buffenbarger
After driving through floods and the pot holes on Michigan’s Interstate 69 I made it to Eldora for the third week in a row for the Pennzoil World of Outlaws. When the Slideways crew arrived at the track on Friday around 11:00 a.m., it was like we were transported back in time. The track was dug up due to the rain, just like it looked before the races ten years ago. By the time we returned in the afternoon the track had been scraped and it was business as usual with the lightning fast track.
Friday night probably had the best racing of both nights. The night began as a continuation of last Saturday with three red flags in the first three heat races. Steve Kinser’s crew was starting to unpack the backup car before he was even out of the car.
Dion Hindi also injured his ribs in a flip with Lance Blevins. Thankfully, everyone remained upright on Saturday.
Friday also featured Sammy Swindell vs. Jac Haudenschild. Right from the green flag of the third heat race the pair made contact that resulted in a flat tire for Sammy. It seemed like the rest of the night they were lined up next to each other and were racing very hard.
From out count there were two fist shakes, several slidejobs, and probably some thoughts from the guys in the car not suitable for these pages. That race alone made Friday one of the better Outlaw features I have seen in quite some time.
The hard luck flip of the weekend goes to Nick Nabor. Nick pulls his Stealth chassis with an open trailer, and made the All Star feature last week. After Sammy’s flat tire he made contact with Nabor and Nick was sent for a pretty wild series of barrel rolls. I hope someone noticed Nabor’s run last week, because I think there is some potential there.
Another driver we would like to plug to is Brooke Tatnell. Brooke is trying to get a full season deal to race 70-80 times here in the US. The 7a team with Duce Turrill felt they were going to be able to do that until the funding was cut. Right now they hope to make about 30 races this year. Brooke would be a great representative for whoever put their name on that 7a car, and we wish them the best.
A lot of people from other racing division were wondering the pits on Saturday. I happened to see Jimmy Kite, Dave Blaney, and Rick Nichols and girlfriend Kelly. Many of the people that frequent the Open Wheel Chat Room were also in attendance. So far, everyone has been great. I hope to meet many more people during my 1998 world tour.
Many cars were running the TJ Slideways decal this weekend. I was drooling over the U2 car of Keith Kauffman, 104 of Jeff Swindell, and the 12 car of Greg Litten. Chuck Wilson also had his decals on at Eldora. Make sure to support all of the drivers that run our decal. I’d like to thank everyone that has carried the TJ decal so far this season.
This weekend I’m headed to Attica Raceway Park. Gene Frankert’s race track should be used as a model for every track in the country on how to present a racing program. Attica’s program is usually over by 10:15-10:30 p.m. every week. If you get a chance, take in any race at Attica. It is well worth the trip.
Just some final notes…We will have updated results from Attica Saturday morning. In addition, I will be on Racing World again on Saturday live from Fremont. Make sure to tune in for some great racing talk. Last week in Ohio, and I hope to see everyone there!