[JJMooney]

I was there. My last time at Red Hill was in 2003. Before I went I figured they’d draw 18-20 sprint cars. Crowd was far better than I expected. Maybe 8-900? The PA system didn’t work so there was no way of knowing what was going or who was who. Honestly, I didn’t miss having an announcer all that much.

Not much of that bright red clay Jim Mills brought in 20 years ago remains. Looks like it’s mostly dissolved into sand. The surface is sort of back to what I remembered when the place first opened. Dry, slick with a cushion near the fence that’s the fast way around but can bite you if you’re not careful.

We’ve had a TON of rain in this area in recent weeks, I kind of knew they’d go easy on the water and pack it tight. Hot laps and heats were dusty and the track slicked off quick. Heats, I thought, were entertaining. Both had passes for the lead. Even though it was dry and dusty, the track was still damp up against the fence so the fast cars were ripping along the top.

I was surprised when they took about a 45 minute break, sent the grader out and peeled up a layer of track, then watered it. I give them credit for trying.

In the feature, Garrett Aitken was the show, leading the first 14? laps. Then on a restart he hauled her into three a little too hard, biked it and endoed down the banking. Then it was all Chase Stockon until he biked in turn four as he was coming to the white flag. That allowed Mitch Weissmiller to get past and get the win. It was a wild, strange finish.

I’ve seen some wild ones at Red Hill over the years. The place is still fast and more than a little hairy. There were some pluses and some minuses but overall I enjoyed the show.