Story by: Mike Neff ~ [email protected]
Ridgeway, VA(October 5, 2011) — When I started working on my buddy’s race team I’d never heard of the “Martinsville Race”. I grew up as an open wheel fan and loved going to local short tracks in the Midwest, but didn’t know much about Late Model racing, especially in the South. I knew Cup racing and watched Nationwide and Trucks but when it came to local tracks I was naive. That all changed when I went to Martinsville working on a Late Model.
We went to the track on Thursday morning at some ridiculously early hour just to get in line to park the hauler inside the track. After the haulers were parked we didn’t have much to do and Martinsville isn’t exactly a cosmopolitan center, so we ended up at the go-kart track. To say the go-kart track in Martinsville is an experience you’ll never forget is an understatement. While trying to buckle into his kart our driver couldn’t find the end of the seatbelt. He called over the owner of the track to ask what he should do. The owner replied “Do you believe in Jesus son?” Our driver responded “Yes I do”. The owner assured him “Then you’ll be fine”. That gives you an idea of the safety standards employed at the fine establishment. When it was all said and done the racing at the track was as intense as it is at any local short track and the amount of racing received for a very small investment ensured that we’d return for every subsequent trip to Martinsville.
Friday brought inspection day. Again we were at the track well before the sun came up to get signed in and then get in line to have our car pass through technical inspection. Cup cars go through a very thorough technical inspection process every weekend but there is nothing more thorough than the tech at Martinsville for a Late Model stock car. In subsequent years we had to all but rebuild the front end of our car but that first year it wasn’t too bad. We had to make some minor tweaks to meet some templates but all-in-all it was pretty smooth. Late in the day, after the 100+ cars were through tech we were allowed to practice and the car was pretty stout. We were top 20 in practice and felt pretty good about the weekend.
Saturday is qualifying day and to say it is stressful is an understatement. 120 some cars trying to be among the fastest 22 when you’re dealing with the best Late Model drivers anywhere is a tall order. During the practice that morning we were in the top 15 in times and knew all we had to do was back that up and we’d be in the show. When our time came for our run the car was complete junk and we ended up back in a heat race. The cars are impounded after qualifying so we did not have a chance to try and figure out what happened. Saturday night was a very depressing night, having put so much time and effort into trying to make the race and then failing miserably left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.
Sunday is race day and we headed to the track with the unenviable task of making the race through the heat races. It is a daunting task to say the least but we knew we had a car capable of getting it done. When we were allowed to get to our car and started going over it I noticed the track bar had come loose and fallen to the bottom of its bracket, which would certainly explain why it was such crap in qualifying. Knowing what most likely caused qualifying to go awry gave us renewed confidence that we could make the race through our heat. When our heat started our car was fast and quickly moved into a transfer slot. We were riding and looking like we would easily make the race from our third place spot when the caution flag flew around the midway point of the heat. When the green flew again the car in first place missed a shift and our car plowed into the back of his, crushing the nose. We were still fast and in a transfer spot but the car started overheating. With three laps to go it began to lose speed and our driver pulled it in rather than kill the engine.
A summer of racing and weeks of preparing for the biggest race of the year had all come down to this. Putting the car in the hauler and going up to sit in the seats to watch a race that we felt like we should be a part of. We’ll never know when that track bar bolt loosened and we’ll never know how fast we could have run if it hadn’t but one thing is for sure, we’ll never have that happen again.
2007 was a different year with me being on the sidelines from working on the car. There was some stuff going on in life that prevented me from helping for the year so I ended up going up to the race as a fan. My buddies had made the race on time that year so there wasn’t any stress involved with racing in the heats. It was very nice sitting in the stands, watching the carnage of the heat races, knowing that the car was already in the show.
The car started 14th and spent most of the first half of the race guarding the bottom lane and maintaining position, sneaking forward a couple of times when people got shuffled to the outside. The race was a crash fest for the first half with 10 caution flags flying and restarts being double file and extremely intense. The front of the field had Philip Morris and Davin Scites taking turns leading for the first half of the race while Dennis Setzer was gradually working his way to the top five. As the midway break drew close our car was getting warm, which it would do from time to time, but we made it to halfway without dropping out.
When the rag dropped on the second half of the race Jamie Caudill was in the lead thanks to the invert with Scites and Morris in fifth and sixth. Setzer got too Caudill’s bumper pretty quickly and drove by him with relative ease. For the rest of the race Setzer just maintained a lead and was never really challenged even though there were quite a few more caution flags. Our car continued to get warm and eventually gave up the ghost. Morris was never able to move beyond sixth place while Scites clawed his way back to third. Matt DiBenedetto had an impressive run for his first ever effort in the 300, finishing in fourth place.
Seeing Setzer win the race was pretty cool because he is one of the best short track racers in the business and he’s also a very nice guy. He’ll always take the time to talk to you if you see him at the race track. Along with that he was driving a car that Charlie Long put together. Charlie built the engine that was in our car and there was a little bit of a personal connection to that team. During a race at Orange County I believe, our car had some damage that caused us to pull out before the midway break in a race. As we were packing up the flag flew for halfway and Carl Long (who is Charlies’ nephew) came in with a damaged right front spindle, but he was still on the lead lap. We grabbed a spindle off of our car and slapped it on Carl’s. He started at the tail end of the pack and drove back through to the front, eventually winning the race. It was a very cool experience. In the end seeing Setzer with the grandfather clock was a great scene.
Going to the race as a fan was a fun experience, but not nearly as cool as being down there in the middle of it. Working on the car for a couple of days, trying to make it good enough to beat 80+ cars and get a chance to race for the grandfather clock. Being immersed in the race is a far greater rush than just watching, although watching is much better than being home on the couch.
Now that it is 2011 I am much more involved from the media side of short track racing. I’ve been doing media in racing since 2005, but it was focused on NASCAR national touring series. This year, with my connection to the gang at Race22, I’ve learned a TON about short track racing in the Southeast and taught myself more about it throughout the country. I’ve met a bunch of drivers who used to just be numbers on the side of cars. I’ve been learning more about the tracks and the manufacturers and vendors involved at the local level. It has been a great experience and I am really looking forward to this coming Saturday and Sunday and seeing the race in a whole different light.
On some scale working in the media actually makes being at the race track less enjoyable. You’re there working and it is your job so you can’t just sit back and enjoy the racing. If I have a story to write or pictures to take or videos to shoot, I can’t just watch the race and focus on the racing action. I have to focus on the piece I am working on so there are things that I’ll miss that I would see as a fan. That said, I wouldn’t trade it for much besides being on a pit crew. Being in the middle of the action, watching the drivers and teams up close, going through the emotions of the day, is a fantastic way to experience a race. This year it is going to be a really great race to watch and experience because of the storylines that are leading into it.
For the fourth time Philip Morris is heading into the Martinsville race as the National Champion. In his first three efforts he came up short trying to make it a double. After practice last week there is no question that Morris is one of the top favorites for the race this year. Lee Pulliam and C.E. Falk III chased Morris to the finish line in the race for the National Championship and both are looking to make it tough on Morris as he tries for the win. Barry Beggarly is the ASA National Champion and, although it has been a while since he’s been competitive at Martinsville, there is no question that old age and treachery trumps youth and enthusiasm every time so he’ll be in the running.
While only about half of the cars at the test had transponders on them it definitely shows that some big names in Late Model racing are going to make things interesting this year. Peyton Sellars was in the top 10 in practice times. The former National Champ has never taken the win at Martinsville and he looks to change that this year. Wayne Ramsey was second fastest among the drivers who had official times and he was just practicing the car for Justin Johnson. BJ Mackey, who all but owned Caraway Speedway this year was in the top five in speeds and would love to notch a win at a track other than Caraway to show he’s no one trick pony.
Josh Berry is running in a JR Motorsports entry with L.W. Miller on top of the box and Hayes Jewelers, the longtime sponsor of Tim Brown at Bowman-Gray Stadium on the hood. He was the third fastest car with official times. Davin Scites, who has been a huge threat for the pole at Martinsville for the last few years was in the top 10 in times as well. Frank Deiny Jr., whose 2011 has been less than stellar, noted on the Race22 radio show a couple of months ago that, when the big races are on the line, he’s always a threat. He’s won this race before and he was in contention to win the Short Track Showdown at Richmond before a Cup level driver who shall remain nameless missed a shift and killed Deiny’s chances.
There are another 20-30 names that could be listed for people that legitimately have a shot at this thing, so the anticipation is truly at a fever pitch. I can’t wait to be in the middle of the infield, watching the drama unfold on Saturday during qualifying, Sunday during the heat races and ultimately during the race. Don’t think that a driver who doesn’t make it in on time won’t have a shot. Matt McCall came from the heats to the top five a couple of years ago. Generally someone who wins a heat makes a big push because they’ve obviously got a car that will run for more than one lap. Whatever the case may be, with all due respect to Bristol, this is Martinsville baby. If you aren’t there, you aren’t anywhere.
