[Jerry Shaw]

Look at the qualifying times! 20 out of the 26 cars had qualifying times that had a 19 on the left side of the decimal point. That's unbelievable. I don't know that I've ever seen the Action Track this fast! Once again, Bob and Reese prepared the track beautifully. Qualifying alone was worth the price of admission. Especially as so many drivers just shot out of turn two and went screaming down the backstretch. Several were still on the gas so deep into turn three that you just had to hold your breath. Tracy Hines was within eight one-thousandths of a second of JJ Yeley's track record (even though everybody knows that Shane Cottle is the REAL track record holder). Coleman Gulick then went out, found the cushion and stood on the gas in yet another demonstration of his bravery. That guy's fearless and tough, too. He took a nasty looking tumble right in front of the grandstand, during the heat race and popped right out and walked to the ambulance under his own power. It's too bad he was done for the night, as he had already made a statement that he was going to be a serious threat tonight. As far as the racing went, the track was probably too fast and we all know what that means. Since everybody's fast, passing is very difficult and that it was. Levi Jones finished second, after starting sixteenth. But that is Levi Jones and this was Terre Haute. He pretty much picked em off one by one, in workman-like fashion and most impressively snatched second away from a very strong Hunter Schuerenberg, right after the last restart with two laps to go. The hard luck awards go to Jerry Coons and Hud Cone. Coons was in third and all over Hunter, trying to take second from him when he got a flat. Man, what a fun summer that Phillips Racing Team must be having, compliments of Jerry Coons, Jr. Coons isn't going to win the sprint title this year, but he has proven a very important point. That he will be among the class of the field whether he's driving for a team with a big budget or not. This has been one of his most impressive driving years, IMO. Hud was a strong top five runner the whole race, until he too had to go to the work area with a flat right rear. And what can you say about Chris Windom? What a year he's had. Not only has he had two powerhouse performances in a row at Terre Haute, where he was never seriously challenged. But he also won the Little 500, won Sprint Week and finished third in an ARCA race at Springfield. He also has a serious chance at dethoning Levi for the USAC Sprint title. If those aren't Driver of the Year accomplishments, I don't know what would be.

It wasn't the best racing I've seen this year, but there sure were a lot of really good moments in tonight's program.

Jerry