Here is the ENTIRE article as written last night. They heavily edited it for space, and took out half the interview and race recap.

When you walk through the pit area at Bloomington Speedway you tend to feel a certain “mystique” surrounding you. From the moment you pull into the front gate, all is right to the world for most drivers. After a hard day at work, the drivers load up their racecars and point their NASCAR style haulers, or in some cases, an open trailer pulled by a pickup truck towards the Speedway.

A healthy group of hometown drivers usually inhabit the pit area on a Friday night, so we posed the question to a few of the drivers “Why Bloomington Speedway?”

For Bedford’s Brady Short it’s all about being “close to home.” “One of the reasons we come to Bloomington Speedway is because it is only 25 minutes from home, and where I started racing” the Sprint Car pilot stated. “You always know what condition the race track will be in from the beginning of the night to the finish.”

Defending Sprint Car track champion Jeff Bland, Jr. cites the “always tough competition, and the “feeling of winning at your home track” as the driving force for him racing weekly at Bloomington Speedway. Bland, in only his second year in racing Non Winged Sprint Cars is the defending Sprint Car track champion, a feat accomplished in his Rookie season.

Bloomington native Kent Robinson, a highly regarded UMP Modified racer noted “mainly it’s because it is a short drive from the house.” A long standing Robinson family racing tradition keeps them coming back week after week to the speedway. “My family has been coming here for over 50 years, its nice to see people you know coming to watch you race” Robinson quipped. Having a beautiful facility doesn’t hurt anything either. “We have raced in Kentucky, Florida, Indiana, and Illinois, but Mike (Miles) keeps this place in great shape, its one of the nicest facilities in the country” stated Robinson.

Two time defending UMP Super Stock track champion boiled it down to “basically being the only UMP Super Stock track running on Friday nights.” “We are running for UMP National points this year, and having Bloomington close by on Friday nights helps out a bunch.” Hines said. Another reason for Hines is what Bloomington Speedway does for the drivers. “Bloomington Speedway works hard in the off season to put together a heck of a points fund.” “It really helps out a the end of the year.”

Bloomington Speedway runs three different classes on a weekly basis. Non Winged Sprint Cars, UMP Modifieds, and UMP Super Stocks. We posed the question to our panel “Why do you drive what you drive?”

For Short and Bland, both Sprint Car drivers, the answer was pretty much the same. “Speed!” Short sees racing a Sprint Car as “a chance to go somewhere in racing.” “If I wanted to race for the money, I would race a Dirt Late Model, but its not about that.” Short said. “Sprint Car racing provides more exposure to NASCAR teams.” Bland was a little more soft spoken on his response. “Its all about the speed, and feeling the power of the engine underneath you.” “And it’s a lot of fun!”

Robinson sees racing a UMP Modified as “The next step up from racing a UMP Super Stock.” “When you race a Modified, you can race anywhere you want to.” “It seems every track around the Midwest has a UMP Modified division.” Robinson stated. “We are running for UMP National Modified Points, and the competition anywhere you go is tough in this division.”

Hines has been racing a UMP Super Stock since he began his career. “It fits into the budget.” Hines said with a laugh. “My dad has been racing Street Stocks for over 25 years, and is a former Street Stock World Champion.” “It gives me a chance to race with him, now that he is racing again this year.” Hines sees the big picture at the end of the year. “It will be nice to have a third straight Bloomington Speedway track championship on my resume.”

What it all boils down to is they all enjoy what they do, and the fans appreciate the sacrifices they make for their entertainment. Wear and tear on their equipment, numerous dollars being put back into the racecars just to turn around and do it again the next week. And we enjoy every minute of it.

The $3,000 to win “Spring Clash” brought a sto`ut field of Sprint Cars to the track. 51 to be exact. Brady Short took the lead of the main event on the outset and dashed to the lead. Thomas Meseraull and A.J. Anderson battled for second behind him, before Meseraull flipped his car on lap 3. By the halfway point, Short enjoyed a full straightaway lead before the red flag flew again for Jon Stanbrough, who flipped in turn one. Short once again pulled away to a comfortable advantage, leaving the rest of the top five to duke it out. Shorts advantage was taken away on a lap 19 caution. Bland began to show his cards moving around Shane Cottle, Dickie Gaines, and Anderson in one shot to take second. With four laps to go, Bland got the break he needed as the yellow flag came out. Unfortunately for Bland, he would spin on the restart, ending his hopes for the victory. Short took advantage of another great restart, and cruised to the victory over Anderson, Windom, Cottle, and Bacon rounded out the top five.

Setting fast time in Qualifications was Broken Arrow, OK native Brady Bacon with a lap of 11.139. Preliminary heat winners were Brady Short, Dickie Gaines, Thomas Meseraull, AJ Anderson, and Danny Holtzclaw. A C Main was necessary with the win going to Chris Windom. Bacon won the B-Main.

The 25-lap UMP Modified feature was claimed by John Demoss after a furious early race battle with Ryan Thomas and Brad Barrow. Demoss opened up a full straightaway lead over the field on the way to his victory in the caution-free event.
UMP Modified heat winners were John Demoss, Matt Boknecht, and Brad Barrow. The B-Main went to Matt Bex

The 25-lap UMP Super Stock feature was a fiercely contested battle between Jeremy Hines and Chris Hillman. The duo diced back and forth throughout lapped traffic, until contact was made between Hillman and a lapped car. Hillman dropped out with four laps to go. Hines would hold on to capture his second victory of the season.
UMP Super Stock heats went to Chris Hillman, Jeremy Hines, and Jack Frye. The B-Main winner was Kevin Arthur