Cinco De'Burg-O Review.
I can't say it was a GREAT show but it was SURE AS HECK WORTH going too and was darn good.
I started the day in the am by going to a private collection antique tractor open house in which the guy has several over 100 year old tractors, one of a kinda and one of three or four existing. He restores them and for this open house runs as many as he can for his guest.
Anyway, that started good with one of the massive tractors taking a lap and a old piper airplane straiffng us as the tractor shook the ground. Low and behold everyone breaks for lunch as he really has a parade planned for after lunch. Starts raining, starts raining harder, keeps raining. Look at the radar, Rain everywhere but Burg. Burg's right on the edge, this is NOON. I hang around and friend also racing buddy leaves and I ask him to tell me if Burg or Florence cancels. 1:30 i get the call Florence cancelled. Ok, I stay till three until the tractor owner decides he's going to get them back to the pole barns just so i can see em run.
Still no call about Lawrencburg. This is bethel Ohio 30mi east of Cincy so I go the south route on 275 across the river, past the airport, Passed the Creation Museum and it's raining hard as I cross the Ohio river on the Lawrencburg side, Pull into greendale and its just sprinkling but the roads are dry. Pull into track, few sprinkles. run the wiper once every minute or two but nothing hard. 5pm, gates open, rain stops, never to start again.
As Gregg said, track was heavy, so heavy hot laps were rooster tails and actually a full secons slower than normal. So heavy they packed between races the rest of the night but features were great.
Bilbee grabbed the lead early but since they packed the track real nice Swanson went topside for the first two laps and passed 9 cars from his tenth starting spot in a lap and a half. He dogged Bilbee a couple times but in open track Bilbee opened up a gap. Gregg mentioned the traffic move he made that maybe sealed the deal but Swanson was close up until then.
Early in the race Dickie was up to third or fourth and in one of Gregg's described clashes but no cautions, Dickie all but spun, fell back to sixth or seventh and started fighting back. Abrams was a madman/showman again coming all the way up to third and was challenging Swanson for second on the last corner of the last lap and two cars got together inside him, He went ourside and Dickie went inside and Dickie got third and Abrams fourth.
If it wasn't for traffic at times. It would probably been the fastest 25 lap feature ever on the track, Congrats to Bilbee and team, well done! Swanson's proving he can be as good in a dirt sprinter as he is on pavement. That or he knows 10th don't pay the bills
Dickie, the JSR team is no big $$ team by a long shot, it's a solid car and a driver who's made a ton of laps. I've said it a couple times before. But when Abrams ends up winning, it won't be a surprise for me, Im sure he'll be elated.
Modified race was on a bit of a wider track and was great, Josh Rice came in and put on a show and he is awesome fun to watch. But he got up to second from a mid pack start and ran into leader Skipton on the 19th lap. tearing off his right side and flattening Skiptons LF. It brought out a debris caution but both continued in their positions and Skipton was able to hold on the final lap for his first mod win.
Say a prayer for Katie Smith (Hornet Driver) who was taken to the hospital for injuries or sorness sustained in a accident. Said she was alert and communicating as they left.
Other than that is was a pretty GREAT Night, I didn't even use the club discount as I figured if they run this thing, they deserve the extra $$$ and they did! 16 sprints 21 mods 33 hornets and 11 Streets, Put on a good show. Sprint and Mod done by 10:05 Temp dropped to about 60 and stayed there, No wind, no dust and only the slightest sliver of Rubber in 3/4 on a very fast track.
Chuck
