[Jerry Shaw]

Best food--Terre Haute, because the fair was there. There was a little rib shack that gave you a nice sized order of rib tips for $5.

Best parking set-up--Brownstown

Best views (seats)--Top row, reserved on Haubstadt backstretch is the best seat in racing.

Best track prep--Terre Haute. Kokomo and Bloomington were close behind. Haubstadt not too bad, either.

Best access to pits from the stands--Gas City

Best heat races--Haubstadt

Best Announcers--Bloomington

Best Race--Terre Haute was a phenomenal race. Kokomo and Bloomington were pretty damn good, too.

Best driver on a budget--Jerry Coons was amazing. Chad Boespflug showed, again, that he's a top level talent. Justin Grant, honorable mention.

Horizon Award-- Keith Bloom, Jr. thrilled a huge crowd at Terre Haute and almost won a classic. Runner-up was Wes McIntyre, who was tough as nails, on several nights of ISW.

The Now the World Knows What A Lot of People Already Knew Award- Chad Boespflug. That guy is as tough as anybody and is real good at regrouping and making a comeback, after a setback (spin, when he get passed by several cars, etc.) And Robert Ballou, who continued to show that he's one of the best sprint car drivers in the country. But anyone who ever went to TNT or Eldora knew that already.

Human Highlight Film Award-- Hunter Schuerenberg won more races than anyone else. And might have won his third, this one from the back, at Terre Haute, when he was flying around the top and put it in the wall up in between 3 and 4. And the way he reeled in and went by Windom at Kokomo was impressive, to say the least.

It just goes to show you the level that Bryan Clauson is at, in his evolution as a racer. You never were under the impression that he was having a great Sprint Week. Definitely not by his standards. Yet he still finished second. And third wasn't even close to him.

Chris Windom was dominant in 2011 ISW, that when we came to Haubstadt it seemed more like a coronation, then a race for the title. It was over, no matter what the announcers might have implied.

Jerry