Commentary by: Langley Austin ~ [email protected] (@langleyaustin)
Hendersonville, NC(December 15, 2011) — It seemed as if maybe Wednesday, December 14th was the day that everyone decided to roll out their respective 2012 schedule on the same day.
Well … maybe not everyone, but with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, Caraway Speedway and the UARA-STARS Series debuting their schedule within hours of one another, it was a big day of previewing 2012 for short track racing enthusiast. You can view the two Modified series’ schedules in their series press releases, which can be found on the home page of RACE22.com and the Caraway Speedway schedule by visiting our Schedule/Winners Page, but I want to further preview the UARA-STARS Series schedule.
If you’ve been following RACE22.com for anytime, you know that the UARA-STARS Series has been near and dear to our hearts as the only Late Model Stock Car touring series that exists. You know that in the last two seasons, the once prominent and growing series has started a downward spiral that it may not be able to recover from. This writer is one of the few people left that still thinks that the series can make a recovery given the right set of circumstances and though, I never go easy on them, I will support the series until it makes it’s final lap.
Unfortunately, the last two seasons has proven that the last lap is closer than I ever want to admit and with the 2012 schedule being something that was on everyone’s mind, the release of it has at least helped to ease some of the series supporters fears. I’ll give you my take on the schedule that was published on Wednesday and some thoughts on it’s two TBA(To Be Announced) dates.
Better Timing …
When it comes to their schedules, the UARA is known for one thing … not being even remotely quick to publish a schedule. In years past it’s been early to mid-January or later when the schedule is released and by that time some drivers are already looking elsewhere and it makes it hard for families to plan their vacations, when they don’t know when they’ll be racing. Of course, I know that a schedule for a touring series like the UARA is hard to do and for that I appreciate their hard work and with that said, a December 14th release of the schedule is impressive for the series and I commend them on getting it out there despite not having the final two dates secured at the time of release.
A Week Later Opening …
It appears from looking at the schedule that their season opener at Hickory Motor Speedway will be a week later than it has been traditionally and in a season where it appears the NASCAR sanctioned tracks of Southern National and South Boston Speedway will host $10,000 to win races in the first two weekends of the month of March, it’s nice to see them not going head to head with bigger races. Another strong point for me, a race fan, now I get to hit the two big NASCAR Weekly openers and the UARA-STARS Series opener in successive weeks. Well done.
Back to the Coast …
Dillon Motor Speedway is certainly one of the nicest facilities anywhere in our region and you couldn’t ask for better management than that of Ron Barfield, but is a single trip to the coast worth the UARA-STARS Series time? With Dillon’s, April 7th date being the only trip to the coast, it leaves out Myrtle Beach Speedway, Florence Motor Speedway and Coastal Plains Raceway as well as tracks that the series hasn’t visited such as Langley Speedway(a whole other topic). I like Dillon, but without another trip to the coast, I just don’t think it adds anything to the schedule, but maybe, just maybe one of the two TBA dates will swing out that way and add a little more coastal flavor to the tour.
Rockingham …
I really like Rockingham Speedway, please don’t misunderstand me when I say this, but I still don’t believe that Late Model Stock Cars belong on that big of a race track. The races aren’t interesting and in the past there’s been nothing gained by being there, however an April 14th trip to the “SuperSpeedway” with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series might just be the ticket for the UARA. Maybe, this opens the doors for some of the UARA’s talent to be seen by decision makers in NASCAR, maybe it’s an opportunity for the series to put itself and it’s show in front of some deep pocket sponsors, maybe … just maybe, the series will benefit from this race and not have it be just another bump in the road for financially strapped teams.
King of the Concrete …
In five races at Kingsport Speedway since the track reopened after laying dormant for seven years, no one has really laid claim to the 3/8 mile concrete track as the “King of the Concrete”. Five races for the UARA and four different winners, with 2011 series champion, Brennan Poole being the only repeat winner. With Poole moving up to the ARCA Series for this season, this leaves the Kingsport track wide open for someone else to claim and while the first couple of UARA races back at the track weren’t that entertaining, the last few have been on the edge of your seat thrillers. Going back to Kingsport, not once, but twice this season is a no-brainer. Again, Job Well Done.
Anderson, Newport, All about the fans …
Anderson Motor Speedway in Williamston, SC and Newport Speedway in Newport, TN are both great facilities for the UARA-STARS Series to travel to, however two dates at each is more about the fans in the stands than about being what’s good for the racers. Both tracks seem to pack the fans in, especially compared to other tracks the series travels to, where few fans bother to show, but Anderson and Newport aren’t exactly favorites among the drivers or known to have great car counts. But, in an age when finances for everyone, including the series are at a premium, dates at tracks that will get fans are way better than dates at tracks that the drivers like and aren’t overnight travels for much of the series drivers.
Caraway? …
Caraway Speedway has hosted all of two UARA-STARS Series races over the years and all of sudden the track which went under new management last season has shown up on this years schedule. Or has it? According to the schedule posted to Caraway Speedway’s website, the July 28th date that shows on the UARA schedule has no such race scheduled. As often is the case, the two may not have been on the same page when the schedules were released … an hour or so apart. I assume that the series will be added to Caraway’s schedule, but as in racing nothing is ever concrete.
Is Tri-County Still Open? …
Tri-County Motor Speedway’s weekly racing schedule lasted all of two races last season, before the management team suspended the season, though a UARA-STARS Series race and a NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified race continued on later in the season. Now, it appears there’s little to no sign of life at the 4/10 mile speedplant, as the Southern Modified tour has no date for the series this year nor does the PASS South Super Late Model Series. When the nearly defunct CARS Pro Cup Series announced their schedule a few weeks ago, Tri-County did appear on their schedule and now the UARA has a date as well for August 3rd, one week after the CARS Pro Cup Series date on the same track. Will we see much more than this out of the Hudson, NC track? Guess we’ll have to wait and see, but for the UARA, this is usually one of the best and most competitive tracks for the series and it’s good to see them coming back to the track for what might be the last time.
Who doesn’t Love Concord? …
Concord Speedway hasn’t exactly been a hotbed for Late Model Stock Car racing over the last few seasons, but some off-season moves may well throw the 1/2 mile short track superspeedway back into the mix. Their NASCAR weekly program will offer some high paying shows throughout the season and hopefully the return of a good car count will come with it. With that, this may be a perfect year for the UARA-STARS Series there as with more locals, maybe a few will get in the mix and this could be a race with a great car count as it has been for the most part over the years. This is certainly one race that I’m looking forward to.
TBA …
Everytime the UARA puts out a schedule and the letters TBA appear on the schedule, Bristol Motor Speedway’s name is thrown into the conversation. In the past three seasons, that’s been speculation that hasn’t come to fruition, but this season, Bristol might well be back on the menu for Late Model Stock Car racers. The UARA staff is tight with the staff at Bristol, handling the timing and scoring for their “record breaking” time trials last fall and helping the track out in anyway in the past and this season I’m hoping that the rumors are true and the series returns to it’s marquee track.
TBA x2 …
The other TBA date has everyone scratching their heads as their aren’t any huge rumors out there about that date except of course North Wilkesboro Speedway, which most of us, just wish was part of the schedule. For me, I’m hoping that this is another coastal Carolina date with a visit to Myrtle Beach or Coastal Plains Raceway, but I’m not holding my breath. Oh, and there’s still Southern National Motorsports Park, so who knows what this date may hold.
Where’s Langley Speedway …
I know there were a lot of people that expected to see Langley Speedway in Hampton, VA as a part of the schedule for the 2012 season and I’m one of them. I have heard rumors of the track offering to buy as many as two dates from the series and in this day and age of finances being hard to come by for the series, I expected them to jump on that kind of offer. Which leads me to one of two conclusions … either the track never made any such offer to the series or the series wasn’t willing to make a lone trip to Virginia.
Speaking of Virginia …
Does the 2012 UARA-STARS Series schedule really lack a Virginia date? In my opinion, if one of the TBA dates for the series isn’t in Virginia, they’ve made a huge mistake. Say what you will about the Commonwealth of Virginia, but that’s where Late Model Stock Cars reign supreme. There are more Late Model Stock Cars(you know, the cars the series is hoping to draw from) in Virginia than anywhere else in the world. So it begs the question as to why Motor Mile Speedway and South Boston Speedway(the two most prominent tracks for Late Model Stock Cars) isn’t on the schedule. And, why isn’t Lonesome Pine Raceway, which has been of staple of the series over the years not on the series schedule? Not racing in Virginia doesn’t make any sense at all ………….
Finishing at Rockingham …
One thing you could count on in the UARA-STARS Series over the years were close points battles and climatic finishes to the season. I remember the crazy night when Ross Furr won the championship or when Jake Crum had a fender dragging on his way to the championship and when Matt McCall and Jamie Caudill had a fierce rivalry right down to the end. Those days in the UARA are gone … the series relinquished the opportunity to have exciting finishes to the season when they agreed to be a part of championship weekend at Rockingham Speedway. These Late Model Stock Cars aren’t meant to race on that track and ending the season there for the UARA would be equivalent to NASCAR finishing their season at Homestead ….. oh wait, they do. Nevermind, it seems what built the UARA over the years has been thrown away in recent years, abandoned for the dreams of being like the Cup Series, the least exciting form of racing anywhere.
With that, I’m finished … I think that overall the UARA staff led by Kerry Bodenhamer, did a good job on the schedule and getting it out before January 1st is huge, but there’s problems that need to be addressed. The UARA needs to race in Virginia, I know that means Kerry and his staff will have to sleep in a hotel another night, but Late Model Stock Car racing is bigger here than anywhere and if you’re not racing here, you might as well not exist. And, Rockingham should have never been the finale … Concord was perfect and almost any other track would work.
2012 UARA-STARS Series Schedule:
March 17th — Hickory Motor Speedway(NC)
April 7th — Dillon Motor Speedway(SC)
April 14th — Rockingham Speedway(NC)
May 4th — Kingsport Speedway(TN)
May 12th — TBA
June 1st — Anderson Motor Speedway(SC)
June 16th — Newport Speedway(TN)
June 23rd — Hickory Motor Speedway(NC)
July 14th — Newport Speedway(TN)
July 28th — Caraway Speedway(NC)
August 3rd — Tri-County Motor Speedway(NC)
August 11th — Concord Speedway(NC)
September 14th — Kingsport Speedway(TN)
September 29th — TBA
October 6th — Anderson Motor Speedway(SC)
November 3rd — Rockingham Speedway(NC
