It takes away some fans I'm sure although I'm sure it's a small number and drivers/cars as well. For instance, this would be a show Bryan Clauson would typically run I think, however he was running (and winning) last night with ASCoC.

As a car owner and I also work a full time job, mid week races are hard to make. Also with USAC going out of town the next day, a lot of teams don't want the risk of a car being destroyed. These two things along with Ohio Speedweek, is the reason for the low car count. Needed to be on a weekend day, and a week where USAC teams aren't traveling. Some day promoters will make sure to check other schedules.

Sorry I can't let this one go. The word perfect is defined as good as it is possible to be. I don't attend Plymouth every week but I hope this is not as good as it is possible to be there. I don't consider dusty, one groove and not much cushion (ask Tyler Courtney how good of a cushion it had as he threw it up high on the first lap and went from second to around sixth) as perfect. Even Shane Cottle in his post race interview described the track as one groove even though he had fun running the track. Let me say though that the reworked surface from the heat races was a definite improvement but not perfect by any means. Perfect is the surface prepared at places like Haubstadt and Kokomo every time they race. The race was decent with the many sliders providing entertainment but overall passing was at a premium. And for a three division program with two of the divisions having 10 and 14 cars there is no way on a week night when people have to work the next day that the show should run 4 hours and finish after 11 PM.


Bruce Eckel

I'll default to my usual review of a mid-week race. I pretty much figured going in it would be a low car count. The price of admission was a little higher than what I usually pay, too. But I had nothing to do, and it was a Tuesday Night. I feel like I "got away" with one.

Worth the price, worth the time, and worth seeing the Playground of Power for the first time since the HUGE renovation.

And, while using the facilities, I struck up a conversation with a guy wearing an IOW.com t-shirt. We introduced ourselves. I got to meet Old Coyote.

Under normal circumstances we would have shaken hands, but seeing as we were both standing at the troft..... we had other shaking to do.

We got to speak a little more outside post throw. Yet another good thing to happen on a Tuesday Night.

Bruce,

to me a "perfect" track is anything but perfect. If your looking for a "perfect" track flip on the boob tube and watch NAPCAR. Yes Sunshine bout flipped it on lap #1 (turn 3) he hit the wall then spent the rest of the night wondering if he was going to bike or make the next turn, he made it back to 3rd like Ray Charles running a marathon. There were multiple sliders some good some dirty, if you don think that was a darn good 14 car feature I'm not sure you can ever be happy.

Rich M

Rich,

I stated that the race was decent & entertaining but my contention was the word perfect used for the track surface. To me if someone read your first post they would think the surface was excellent & it was not so & I wanted people to realize this. To address your last point it was a good race & yes I can be happy seeing good racing as I go to Kokomo every Sunday! With the many great sprint bullrings in this state I will be happy almost every weekend but it won't be at Plymouth. The facility is nice, the new stands are great, the concessions are good, the people are friendly but the surface is the weak point of the operation. That was my point.

Bruce Eckel

The track was not "perfect." The field of cars was less than I hoped. The backstretch lights went out before the modified feature.

But somehow I enjoyed the show as much as I have any race this season. I left the place amazed at the changes they've made. The stands give the place a completely new look. No wooden bleachers and instead comfortable seats with plenty of room for fans. I got to see the progress of the PRO Sprints class and also got to see some of Indiana's finest non-wing drivers. Two sprint car features that were over before 10:30.

And like Mike, I left the midweek show thinking I had "got away" with one.

This is a dirt track in Indiana moving forward. If they continue to improve at the rate they are going, maybe some day they'll give Kokomo and Haubstadt a run for their money.

Ok,with all that about the track,does anyone have a run down of all the finishing positions?

From Plymouth facebook:

410 Sprints Feature results: Leary, Cottle, Courtney, Darland, Thomas, Andretti, Jarrett, McGhee, Goodnight, Irwin, Hanft, Gross, Spencer, Smith

Pro Sprints Feature results: Kevin Atkins, DeVault, Hartman, Eric Saunders, Garrett Saunders, Summers, Swanson, Sanders, Lee, Lakin, Hull

UMP Modifieds Feature results: Sherman, Woodling, Lomax, Allen, Lewis, Jameson, Bitterling, Marshall, Anderson, Hogue, Witt Jr., Hamand, Shilling, Hamstra, Losh, Stremme, Elliott, Allgaier, McKenzie, DeYoung.

...and it makes you feel a little better when you see a strong Cindy Elliott at the track. I know during the invocation that it was said that the Lord has a special purpose for all of us, and we might not understand what that might be. Not to go against the guy up top, but it would have really been nice if he had waited a few decades before taking Tony. What a heart wrenching deal....