In the Groove

Well, this summer has been a lot more hectic than I expected and getting this blog updated has taken more effort than I would have liked.

With all that aside though, I have to say that this past Saturday of racing at the Knoxville Raceway was the greatest I have seen in a long time. The twin features for the 410s were amazing. And if that wasn't enough, the 360 feature was no slouch either.

The unfortunate thing happening this summer is we are steadily losing car count. Mostly this has been due to parts breaking and teams not able to fund repairs. Both of my race teams from Marion, John Hall and Tom Lenz, have suffered season-ending motor blow-ups and that's been disappointing. Other drivers too have left and not been able to return.

And yet, once in a while, we still get a driver returning after being away, like our beloved Brent Antill. He was always a sure-bet pick on any twin features night and more than one person in the pressbox mentioned him as a favorite to win the second main last week. It was almost odd that he didn't win something on twin features night. But it's great to have him back.

Even as we lose good drivers to financial situations, some drivers are really showing how great they are and how much they deserve to be part of national touring series, doing this for a living with great equipment. Not that we want to lose them, of course, because they make our weekly show still the best in the country.

In the 410 class, Mark Dobmeier continues to be the most exciting and watchable driver on the track. Austin McCarl has been very impressive, quickly coming into his own while still showing a lot of his dad's driving traits. Wayne Johnson is easily one of the most gutsy drivers in any class in the United States. It is just mind-boggling that a driver of his caliber, with a pleasant and fun personality, has trouble finding a ride and must eventually buy his own car with his family's help.

In the 360 class, Chad Humston is consistently amazing the way he puts that car in grooves that other people won't try and makes passes work on various types of tracks. Jon Agan has really shown improvement this year, putting himself in position to be one of the top drivers in our show. Nate Van Haaften also steadily improves each week. And really, many of the 360 drivers are threatening to win on any given night.

Summer is heating up now and the Nationals are fast approaching. This is really the time to shine for those who are still able to race.