If you missed the Race For Hunter on May 25th, you missed some of the very best racing I've seen in many years anywhere. 29 Late Models signed in to not only chase the $2500 to win along with other bonus money, but they did it for a great cause. The 30 lapper would give the fans 3 wide thrills throughout the entire field, including one hell of a fight for the lead. It looked like these guys were chasing a million dollars to win! They used every inch of the track and even a little bit of sheet metal to put on an amazing show that will be remembered for years to come. In the end it would be Jeremy Berwanger holding off Carpenter and others at the line. The battle for the win was very impressive but what followed was even more impressive to folks like me. All of the drivers stopped and got out of their rides for a group picture with Hunter himself. These same drivers just turned 30 laps all over each other rubbin' body panels and bumpers but the first thing they did was high five and hug each other, laughing the whole time. That was an awesome display of how REAL racers act and it's very much appreciated. Hats off to each and every one of you and thanks for a damn good show!
The past couple of weeks since that show have also provided the great side by side racing we all expect at Hilltop including Kyle Moore finally getting his shit together to pick up his first feature win of the season. He would go on to make it 3 in a row at different tracks. This past Friday night however started out with some ugliness during qualifying. I'll agree that the track was still too wet, but we all understand that will happen at a dirt track and it will only get better during the night. There is no money or points involved in qualifying so if you don't like the surface it's your choice to go out or not. The ugliness actually started when a driver known for his hissy fits got out of his car and went after a track official. Over the years this asshole has been able to get away with his childish actions but not this time. Now that Jesse Wardell has returned as Race Director, that shit has hopefully come to an end. Rick Mardis was told to load his car up which lead to a huge bullshit story being spread through the pits. Mardis, Wolford, Wilson, and their group of habitual cry babies told everybody that Wardell told all drivers they should load up and go home if they didn't like the way things are being run. That sure as hell didn't happen and I was standing feet away from the conversation. While the car may have been loaded up, it didn't stop Mardis and his crew from wondering the pits and stirring up even more shit trying to pick a fight with veteran drivers that didn't agree with their bullshit antics and making threats to the track owner and officials. It's pretty clear that some of these idiots don't come to the track to race. They want to pretend they're in some reality tv show and crave all the drama they can create. To make things worse there are employees in the tower that have connections to these same trouble makers and that has to end if the trouble is to be completely stopped. By the time the bitching and moaning was over it was time for features and the track was PERFECT for kickass racing. The top 3 in the Late Model and Mod features could have been covered with a tarp. Shane McLoughlin, JR Gentry, and Dave Hornikle used 3 lanes to put on quite a battle. Hornikle worked the bottom hard and snuck past Gentry and Mcloughlin in the closing laps but Mcloughlin stayed smooth and consistent to retake the lead coming to the checkers off turn four. Shane has twice picked up my bonus money for fast qualifier but this is his first win of 2018. Congrats to you sir. What a race! I just bet the cry babies wished they were out there instead of pouting in the stands. ;-) The Modified feature almost looked like a replay of the Late Models. DJ Kline would patiently work the bottom to work his way to Wisecarver and Hartman who were side by side fighting for the lead. Kline would eventually slip into the lead while nobody was looking but lapped traffic would ruin his night. Wisecarver never gave up his hunt for the win and Kline would have to settle for second. Thanks guys for another great show!
