Martinsville: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Copper Hill, VA(October 24, 2012) – Martinsville has come and gone.  So with the biggest annual Late Model Stock Car race in the books, let’s take a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly moments and memories of the weekend.

One less day

The new ‘format’ to the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville Speedway offered racers a chance to save money by not having to have motel rooms for an additional night.  They also saved money on not having to buy food, drinks and etc. for crew members for an additional day as well as potential pay to workers.  That’s great and all, but the one thing that I think most everyone could agree on was the fact that one less day was one day to few.

The new weekend shortened many things, including the time racers, crew members, officials, media members and anyone else had to talk with one another and catch up.  For many it also eliminate a fun night at the Dutch Inn.  You know one of those nights that left Forrest Reynolds with one less eye to see out of.  Either way, I guess the change was made with good intentions, but if I could ask one thing of the staff at Martinsville, it would be keep the old format as far as days at the track go.

Following the script

Lee Pulliam and Matt McCall might not have known that they would be so close in qualifying that they would tie with the fastest time of the day.  However, the two did exactly that after the practice/qualifying session was completed.  There might not have been a script for the way the race weekend was to play out, but had the track wrote one, I’m sure having those two start on the front row would have been part of it.

Change isn’t that hard

Many thought that the practice/qualifying session would create a whole new set of problems, but it went off without a hitch.  The “European” style qualifying session saw the fastest cars turn the fastest laps and the slower cars, the slower laps.  Amazingly the ‘big’ change didn’t turn out all that big.  There were no wrecks to speak of and only a couple cars who ended up in the way of others during the five timed laps.  It really wasn’t bad at all.

Scoring might be an issue

NASCAR’s scoring team for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 might disagree with the statement that “change isn’t that bad”.  They struggled big time to get the times from the qualifying session completed and figured out.  They also struggled to make a lineup for the heat races as a result.  Maybe they will come up with a better plan for next year.

Without a hitch

The heat races… yeah, those dreaded heat races.  Well, they went off without a hitch and honestly were more tame than usual.  It’s hard to use the word boring when it comes to Martinsville’s Late Model Stock Car race, but yeah it was a little on the boring side.  That is compared to past Martinsville heat races.  However, the nightmare that many predicted didn’t happen.  No ‘big’ names were taken out or at least no more than usual.

Not much of a last chance

The last chance race was the most anticipated change that Martinsville Speedway made this year.  The fact that qualifying was gone worried some racers, but many low budget teams liked that and the addition of the last chance race.  However with only 32 cars in the feature and ten available spots to drivers in the last chance race, the drama didn’t play out like it could have.

Maybe, the track will decide to take eight cars from the heats next year, but then only take five from the last chance race and refer back to qualifying for the final five cars to make the feature.  This way it puts some drama into the last chance race and it gives more incentive to be good in qualifying.

Surprises

There are always some surprises at Martinsville, some for the good and others for the bad.  Thomas Scott can start this list.  Scott was a long shot to make the race heading into the weekend, but late in the last chance race he took to the outside line and made it into the top ten to transfer in.  He was even surprised and was one of the happiest people at the track, even after the race.

Another surprise was Bryan Reedy, who coming into Martinsville had only competed in the Limited Late Model division at Motor Mile Speedway.  Reedy, a third generation driver made his first attemt at a Late Model Stock Car race and made it in through the last chance race.  Reedy then had a good solid run in the feature ending up 29th.

Feels like the first time

Kenny Brooks picked up his first Concord Speedway Late Model Stock Car track championship in what may be the final season of full-time racing on the 1/2 mile speed plant.  Brooks then followed that up this weekend by becoming what he calculates the first guy from Concord Speedway to make the field for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300.  Brooks said that while many who have passed through Concord have made the field, he believed that he was the first to run Concord full time and make the show.  He would have made the show on time on Saturday with his qualifying lap of record if the former format was still used.

Let’s get it on

After the heat races and last chance race set the field, it was time to drop the rag.  With Lee Pulliam and Matt McCall leading the field down to the green, many thought that the race for the lead would be between those two all day long.  And, in the opening laps those two heavyweights put on a title bout, but soon enough McCall would miss a shift and later have engine problems to eliminate him.

To the point

Philip Morris would take advantage of McCall’s missed shift and take his car to the point.  Many came into Martinsville expecting Morris to struggle after not competing in but a handful of races at the end of this season.  However, the “King” of Late Model Stock Car racing put all those critics to rest early on and again later on before taking his car to the win ahead of rival, the “Prince” Lee Pulliam.  Morris proved that no matter what the circumstances he’s still the man to beat.

Who are you?

At the halfway point an invert was made of the top six drivers in the running order.  That put Ben Rhodes on the pole for the second half restart.  Yeah, I know that many of you don’t even know who Ben Rhodes is.  Rhodes started the season as one of the drivers making up a two-car team for Marcos Ambrose Motorsports out of Jamie Yelton’s Fat Head Racing stables.

Rhodes, who now drives for veteran crew chief Lee McCall in the Hawk-McCall Motorsports entry, then kept his car in the top six for much of the second half, before fading late.  However, most of you don’t know that he was the restart leader or that he ran so well in the second half of the race.  That is due to a monumental mixup by our staff coming to the halfway restart.  We somehow confused his #41 entry with Rusty Skewes #41 entry, despite Skewes crashing out and missing the race.

We’d like to sincerely apologize to Rhodes, McCall and the entire Hawk-McCall Motorsports team.  They put up an extremely strong effort in one of the biggest races that the young driver has ever competed in and we ruined that during our live coverage.  Hopefully this will help make it better and maybe even more people will know just who Ben Rhodes is.

Should have stayed home

A week or so before the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville Speedway, Davin Scites didn’t even think that he’d be able to get ready for the race.  However, turn the page to a week later and he found himself as one of the top cars for the feature race.  His car was strong and he very well could have had a good run.  However lap one, his day derailed as he was caught up in a crash and by the time he returned to the track his car appeared to be a modified.  He did manage a 23rd place finish.

This isn’t Caraway

Ryan Wilson hasn’t had much success outside of the confines of his home track of Caraway Speedway, but at Martinsville, he must have felt right at home.  While many test at Caraway to get ready for Martinsville, the tracks aren’t really that similar, but for Wilson, they might have been more alike than different.  Wilson, who has a win in nearly every season he’s ever raced a Late Model at Caraway, put on a clinic in the feature of the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300.  He came from a 24th place starting position to finish fourth.

Triple Crown Champion

In the second half of the race, Matt Bowling appeared to be in charge of the race for the Virginia Triple Crown points series.  The Triple Crown is a three-race points program including Martinsville, the season opener at South Boston Speedway and the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway.  Coming into the event only three drivers had a shot at the championship, Matt Bowling, CE Falk and Nick Smith.  Smith was a long shot, but Bowling was just four points behind Falk.

Bowling lead much of the second half of the race as Falk was trying desperately to catch up.  However in the closing laps, Bowling began to fade and Falk was on the rise.  Falk would finish sixth and Bowling finished seventh, thus handing the championship and the $5,000 prize to Falk.

Hard chargers

We mentioned Ryan Wilson’s charge from 24th to 4th, but there were others who made up some ground in the 150-lap feature.  Kris Bowen came from 17th to finish 8th, but two long haulers were right behind him.  Justin Boston came from 30th to ninth and Adam Long came from 29th to tenth.  Coleman Pressley rolled from 32nd to 11th and Frank Deiny from 40th to 12^th, Austin Thaxton from 31st to 15th, Brandon Jones from 36th to 16th and Thomas Scott from 38th to 18th.

Big name, big move

Speaking of Frank Deiny, the veteran driver was one of the few of the big names that found himself in the heat race.  He ended up there by virtue of a broken brake line in the heat race, but even starting in the back of the last chance race was no match for him.  He easily raced himself into the feature, using his veteran prowess to make moves through the field in the last chance race and miss crashes.

What was he thinking?

By now all of you have seen the controversial video of Ronnie Bassett, Jr., who failed to adhere to a black flag in the last stages of the 150-lap race.  He was black flagged according to NASCAR for not lining up where he was supposed to.  Of course his crew and he disagree and claim that despite NASCAR scoring showing him, one lap down, he was on the lead lap.  That disagreement didn’t end well for the young up and coming driver, who has found himself in controversy the last two seasons in UARA.

Sometimes controversy seems to find drivers who run well and win races.  Others seem to find controversy no matter what the situation.  Bassett has been on both sides of that, but this time no matter how he and the team would like to spin it, there’s no reason for you to be black flagged for what seemed to be 20+ laps.  Bassett even if the radio issues that the team is claiming are true, had to see his number posted on the board beside of the flag stand and he had to see the flagman showing him the black flag.

Sometimes drivers and teams decide to take things upon themselves.  And, you know sometimes they’re right.  However in this case even if they are right, they were racing in Lynn Carroll’s sand box and you don’t tell him what you’re going to do.  You back down, back up and apologize for making a mistake, even if you don’t think you made one.  I’m hoping for his sake this ends well and he isn’t suspended for a lengthy amount of time as the rumors are indicating.  He’s a great young driver teamed with a brilliant crew chief, Chris Lawson and has a bright future.  We’ll have more on this developing story when and if penalties are announced.

Not a factor

Despite the fact that Deac McCaskill was one of the top Late Model Stock Car drivers this season during weekly racing, his impression at Martinsville wasn’t all that spectacular.  McCaskill hasn’t exactly been great at Martinsville, but this season everyone, especially his fans, were expecting big things from the veteran driver.  He qualified fifth, started on the outside of row one in the first heat race and finished fourth giving him a 13th place start.  However, in the feature, he was never a factor, finishing 31st.

World class pitcher

If I didn’t mention Rodney Cook’s impressive helmet toss, I’d be leaving out one of the best moments of the weekend.  Cook, who felt as if Matt Waltz had crashed him in the feature race, waited on Waltz to come back around the track after climbing from his car.  He then slung his helmet at Waltz’ car and nailed it.  His helmet launched a good 20 feet in the air before landing back to the ground.  It was reminiscent of his helmet toss a couple years back at Josh Brock and way better than the more famous one by Tony Stewart.

Another year gone

With the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 in the books and a third grandfather clock going home with Philip Morris, it’s now time to begin counting down to next year’s race.  We all had our own excitement and anxiety over this year’s changes to the race format and now we’ve got another year to get ready for the next round.  Will there be any changes to the format?  Will the event be expanded back to three days to allow for more time at the Dutch Inn?  Will drivers look back at this year and think about how smooth things went and all lose their minds next year?

Guess we’ll have to wait and see…