[Jerry Shaw]

There are many ways that our kind of racing is a microcosm of life itself. It’s ever changing, with a past that is set in stone and a future that is uncertain and is determined by what the parties involved, make of it. Love, passion and optimism will always win out over the doom and gloom, pessimism and the nay saying, that is stuck in the past. But, not without a fight. Like life, each racing season has it’s ups and downs, twists and turns, perils, those that win, those that lose and those that don’t win, but are held in high esteem due to their extraordinary character and ability to defy great odds. And as each season draws to a close, we may see the sun set on a career or two, but the corresponding next Spring will bring at least as many bright green new ones, popping up through the ground, to begin the process of developing into the type that came before them. Some homegrown. Some transplanted. After a while, you forget which is which.

When people look back on the 2009 race year, I think they’ll remember a race year that was not only a great year, but also one that signaled quite a few harbingers of things to come. We had a Sprint Week and Midget Week that each went down to the last lap, of the last race. We had races at Oskaloosa, Kamp and Angell Park that were so close that it took GPS to tell us who won. The USAC Sprint, USAC Midget and National Midget Driver of the Year titles are still so close that they won’t be decided until the races at Tulare and Irwindale have concluded. Promoters like Tom Helfrich, Dave Rudisell, The O’Connors and Mike Miles stepped up and upped the ante, giving us bigger races. Gas City was saved from an uncertain future. And Lincoln Park Speedway was brought back from the dead, by Joe Spiker. NASCAR’s loss proved to be our gain this year, as we were gifted by having a championship-level driver like Josh Wise back as a competitor and we were privileged to be able to watch Bryan Clauson burn a path through both the Midget and Sprint ranks. I discovered the great Illinois midget scene this year and now see why ASQ has been walking around the last couple of years, talking like someone who just came back from a revival. If you haven’t been to Belle Clair or Macon, you need to go sometime. You have to see it to believe it. And between the two racing divisions that dominate in this part of the county, when you have the stable of proven winners and champions that show up to vie for every trophy. Drivers like Levi Jones, Dave Darland, Jon Stanbrough, Jerry Coons, Tracy Hines and Brad Kuhn are guys that would have been competitive in any era. Every year is guaranteed to be a great one, when you have fields full of competitors like these. 2009 was no exception.

As great as 2009 was, I see the prospects of 2010 as looking even better. The 800 pound gorilla in the room also goes by the name of Emmett Hahn. He does a really great job at promoting his shows, has an excellent format and gives the race fans a very good race experience. I don’t know to what extent he will venture into this immediate area, but I’m of the opinion that a quality competitor will bring out the best in USAC. And there’s a lot of quality there to be had, so I think we the race fans, will be the beneficiaries. It will open up opportunities for the drivers, too, IMO. As I said before, quality competition always benefits the consumer. And when you add this outfit to the great USAC shows we are accustomed to, plus MSCS and the best local scene in the country, you have a buffet of choices that is similar to the buffet at the Paris-Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. Plus, all the new talent, added to the staples that make racing in this area the best. The expanding role that the NEW Lincoln Park Speedway will play in local racing. USAC is expressing an interest in going back to Brownstown, which would be an excellent move, because is a great race setting. And they’re talking about the possibility of adding shows to both Sprint and Midget Week. It was also a year that quite a few drivers tasted victory for the first time, in this region. Nic Faas won several times and may have been the best addition to the Hoosier race scene. Kenny Niflis rifled the through the B-Main and a loaded field to win the Sheldon Kinser Memorial. Chad Boat stepped out of his father’s shadow and became a star, in his own right. And Nick Bilbee, Ricky Williams, Coleman Gulick, Andrew Elson, Caleb Armstrong, Josh Spencer, Blake Fitzpatrick and Kyle Robbins all hoisted a trophy for the first time. Add to that, the pits full with 40 to 50 micro midgets at each POWRI event. You don’t have to be Nostradamus to see what the prospects for next year and beyond look like, here.

Others may disagree and they have the right to do so. These are just my observations, based on what I saw this year. Just like in life, we can all live through a similar experience and each take something different out of it. What did you think of this year? What’s your outlook for 2010?

Jerry