I've just returned home from a 1000 mile round trip after racing at the Southern Illinois Center in DuQuoin, IL for the "Battle at the Center" midget race held Saturday evening. For those that were not there or who did not watch the event on PPV, I had 20 year old Jacob Wilson (BTW, not a rent a ride), a sensational Silver Crown and sprint car pavement driver behind the wheel of my #10. (If you haven't watch him drive his family Silver Crown car, you are in for a treat!)
In order to make the feature event, drivers needed to finish in the top five of the four qualifier events. We were in the fourth qualifier. We were "scored" sixth by the Powri officials, and thus, did not make the main event..... or did we?????
Now, I had no intention of coming on this message board and discussing what you are about to read, but after reading several fans PUBLIC comments on IOW about what took place with my car and driver (and several e-mails that I received) I'm going to explain how this all went down and why you did not see my car in the 50 lap feature.
As explained before, we were in the fourth qualifying "20 lap" race. Five would transfer to the feature. After the green flag was given, Wilson came from dead last to sixth place near the end of the race, a feat that didn't happen too many times that evening.
Here is where the controversy begins and I will try to stay as factual as possible. On the last lap ( or supposedly the last lap.. please read on) Wilson passed one of the top five cars and clearly crossed the finish line/checkered flag in front of several thousand people and worldwide PPV video witnessing in fifth place. Now apparently there was an incident somewhere else on the track as the top six cars went across the finish line and too the checkered flag. I left the stands and was congratulated for making the race several times by various people as I made my way back to the pit area. Then I heard the "offical finish" over the public address system by Powri announcer Jim Childers that we "offically" finished in sixth place.
Several members of my pit crew made an immediate appeal to Jim Siner, co owner of Powri/Director of Competition as to why were scored sixth and not fifth. I joined the discussion as the conversation continued. We were told that there is a "rule" that says that because of the incident that took place somewhere else on the track, that the "official scoring" reverts back to the previous lap. Siner ended the discussion and left the area and we all looked at each other and said... WHAT???
In all my years as a race fan and car owner I have NEVER heard or witnessed anything like this at a racing event. You the fans that paid money to see a 20 lap race got 19 laps instead even though the entire world that was viewing saw it with their own eyes. The 20th lap never happened according to the officials. Poff... gone just like that. Never happened. Genie in a bottle. I have read, reread and REREAD the Powri rule book posted on their web site
www.powri.com and can't find the rule. So my question again is: Where's the rule??