I watched qualifications standing at the fence, in the middle of the backstretch. One thing that really stood out was the qualification run by Tracy Hines. Kevin Thomas Jr was slightly faster and Clauson looked faster, but turning in two perfect laps, consecutively, landed Tracy right in between the two. Watching how qualifying drivers deal with what the laws of physics do to their race car exiting the turns at this track and how they deal with their situation has always been one of the factors that makes time trials at the Action Track one of the most compelling things in motorsports. There's a split second where 95 percent of qualifiers must pause to correct the bind their suspension and steering have gotten into. Sheldon Kinser used to come out of turn two lap after lap, as smooth as glass and fast as hell. Hines's two laps made me go back and remember watching Sheldon qualify there so many times, vividly.

Jerry