Our group discussed the WAR portion of the Champaign County Fairgrounds event almost the whole 2 hour drive home from Champaign. I am reluctant to even post on this event since Casey and his guys never fail to execute an efficient and enjoyable show. It appeared to us that the WAR group was not at fault for much of how things went. It appeared that the tow truck/push truck drivers were not sufficiently experienced in getting things sorted out and pushed off in an efficient manner and they were too few in numbers. That being the case, along with the woeful management of the hot pit area and the inability of the racecar drivers to run more than a 1/2 lap without a yellow at the start of the A-main, caused a fair amount of spectator consternation.

Our group knows that there will be nights like the one at Champaign and it will not deter us in the least from attending in the future. The concern lies with those that were setting near us that were casual race fans and others who were there primarily for the street stocks and don't often attend short track open wheel shows. Those folks obviously were disenchanted with how things went down and I fear that some, if not most, would be reluctant to attend another open wheel show of this kind. Some expressed this sentiment to anyone who would listen.

As as group that attends many open wheel shows throughout the course of the season we sincerely hope that the tow truck/push truck situation is tweaked prior to this show next year.

Poorly run show. Track was fine after hotlaps then they sent trucks out to ruin it. Then they spent almost and hour trying to bring it back. Track crew looked like they'd never been to a sprint car race. After a half dozen attempts to start the race they still went double file. There appeared to be unlimited visits allowed to the work area and no time limit for each stop. The track is too small and tight for sprint cars, they can't really race on it and only look bad. Midgets would be much better there. Neat place but I will not go back for a sprint car race. A lot of the rules USAC has in place to avoid a fiasco, apparently, WAR does not.

I just made the last minute decision to go to Champaign yesterday while at work. The appeal of a new track was either at Plymouth or Champaign. Weather looked more promising at Champaign,so thats where I went. I've learned over the years to keep expectations low,that way you dont become really disappointed if things dont run all to smoothly.

So last night was one of the less smoothly run shows with numerous spins,and a flip all before one lap was completed in the feature. The heats were ok,and I even watched the street stock heats,and noted from vocal fans, (More vocal than sprint car fans) who each crowd sitting in separate areas were cheering for.


Once the race got going it wasnt all bad,saw a few sliders,and Daum and Simon coming back from lap 1 skirmishes for a podium and 4th place finish. Simon had a quick side over side flip,but was able to restart at the rear. It was good watching them from the back.

I didnt think the track was to tight and unsuitable for sprint cars at all. I ran into the Illinois Rim Riders whom I sat with,and we even discussed other tracks it looked similar to. They told me that they only race there once a year during the fair,and last night was fair night. Sure the push truck drivers were inexperienced etc. If it were a weekly track,I would be rally disappointed in them. A once a year track,I guess I cant be to disappointed. I pushed midgets once at my home track growing up,and I didnt know what I was doing back then either.

So it was my first race this year,and first race in over a year. I cant complain.The weather was great. The fair was going on,I had my fair Sausage sandwich, walked around a bit,and along with the Rim Riders I had a quick chat with Steve Wendel,whom I am sure he was happy to see Colten Cottle win,and a longer chat with Loren from Northern Illinois that I havent seen in awhile either. It wasnt an all bad night,and I'd go back.

Our group was not disappointed with the actual racing or with the facilities, although there seemed to be something going on with track configuration on the backstretch that looked somewhat sketchy. Our disappointment was with lack of numbers and obvious inexperience of the push truck/wrecker operator's. It's not a knock on them, it just appeared that they'd had little, to virtually no experience in time sensitive and pressurized situations. It appeared that someone needed to take charge.

In regards to the problems with the start of the A-main, those things are going to happen from time to time. But, the WAR A-main was shortened by 5 laps from 25 down to 20 due in large part to the inability of the support personnel's lack of brisk action while appearing very confused and tentative in their efforts.

What changed from last year is somewhat perplexing. The 2017 event was very good in all aspects of the show.

No series limits the amount of time a car goes to the work area, and we actually do not allow any alloted time in the work area like Usac or WoO that give 2 minutes, When we have a good line up we go. The major issue regarding this subject is the time it took to get cars pushed off in a timely manner, which means it took much longer to get a good line up.

The push/tow trucks, track work/maintenance is all done by a group that does this once a year for the fair, while it doesn’t change things, I feel like it’s probably fair to know that their experience is very limited, and trying to do their best.

There is zero doubt the sprint car portion of the show last night was unsatisfactory. I am pretty dissapointed in the entire night. For the 2.5 years we have had WAR, I feel pretty confident in saying our guys have put on some of the cleanest and most efficient shows of anyone, and I have been really proud of that.

There were a lot of variables that contributed to the bad night, and I hate that fans had a bad experience. Hopefully you all give us another chance to show what we are capable of.

I had a good time! Even made 2 trips to the petting zoo and got a foot long corn dog. Weather was perfect.

Did you ride the camel too?

It was good to see you Andrew,and yes Carolyn and I and everyone in the Cottle camp were extremely happy!