Edition 16 by Brett Swanson

136

Pages

Who is Highline Magazine Editor: Brett Swanson Artist/layout; Andy Ticehurst Contributors; Kaylene Oliver, Grant Woodhams, Ray Read, Andy Ticehurst. Photographers: Brett Swanson – Pirate Media Kieran Swanson – Pirate Media Matt Hines – Jigsaw Photography Andy Ticehurst – PRM Group Rachel Cooper - Inaction Photos Leigh Reynolds - Inaction Photos Geoff Gracie Wayne Martin (WA) Dean Yoder - USA Stephen Pickering - Picko’s Photos You – The Speedway fans Facebook Contributions / Criticism Welcome. High Line Magazine Brett Swanson 0410 198 138 brett@piratemediagroup.com.au

Photo: Another great Dean Yoder sho

www.HighlineMagazine.com.au Front cover :- Our US Photographer Dean Yoder caught Sydney’s Sammy Walsh on debut at Attica Raceway Park the home of “Ohio’s finest racing” as part of the Annual Ohio Speedweek.

ot of Sammy Walsh in action.

Image: Dean Yoder

Editorial

elcome to the latest edition of Highline Magazine. We know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a while since our last huge issue but to make up for it weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve produced another huge issue and added some unique (at least to Australian based magazines) coverage of the USAC Indiana Midget week accompanied by some awesome photos from our US based photographers.

Jason Doyle. How tuff is Aussie Speedway Grand Prix rider Jason Doyle? Effing tuff! At the time of writing Doyle was the only rider to have made every SGP final so far and is leading the championship chase however, two things have happened in the last two rounds that show just how determined a rider he really is. In the Czech Republic GP he was excluded in his first ride for breaking the starting tapes and then only scored a single point his next heat. In this calibre of competition that would

POINT OF VIEW

normally have meant absolutely no hope of making the semi-final, especially when he then had two second placingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and a win in his last three events. 8 points - pfft. Thankfully Doyle was tied on points for the last semi-final berth with Bartosz Zmarzlik but got the transfer on a count back. From there a second place behind this seasons nemesis - Patryk Dudek - saw him incredibly make it into the final. A (second) touch on the starting tape or a jumped start would normally have seen Doyle excluded but because he

had broken the tape in his first ride and was excluded, the warning/exclusion system starts again – luckily. Doyle did jump again but was given a warning and from there made no mistake as he went on to take the win. Incredible! While racing at Torun in between the Czech and the Danish GP’s, Doyle broke three bones in his right foot and had 14 screws and 3 plates inserted but stubbornly rodeon at the Danish GP unwilling to give up hopes of the World Championship that had so cruelly been taken from him last year. Needing crutches just to get to the bike the determined Aussie, made it all the way to the final and although he failed to score any points in it he was there and anything could have happened.

mitments. As the tattoo on Doyle’s arm states “Pain is temporary. Quitting last’s forever.” How tough???

Canberra. Noticed a facebook post recently that stated the Canberra club are working hard to improve the venue and make it better for more racing. There was no word exactly on whether there were any plans to bring cars back but let’s hope that’s the case.

Aussies in the USA.

The usual exodus of Aussies to race in the USA is well underway with James McFadden, Sammy Walsh, Daniel Harding, Chris Ferrall, Gary Rooke and Sean ZemuAt the end of the day, despite benik amongst others over there doing tied on points with Dudek, Doyle ing their Sprintcar thing while Paul was now the leader of the champi- Stubber is attempting to become onship on account of making every the first Aussie Driver to race the final. complete Late Model Hell Tour. Good luck to all of them. Immediately after the Danish GP Doyle returned to hospital to get the cast replaced on his foot that had been removed so he could race and was then set to rest up ahead of his upcoming world cup and SGP com8

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

AMP? With the sad passing of Bill Miller many people are unsure of the future of Adelaide Motorsport Park (AMP). Rumours are flying left, right and centre about the venues future, and while we’ve learnt our lesson about reporting “rumours” (see below) what we can say as fact is that the venue has relinquished/lost the rights to host the Late Model Australian Championship. Nearby venue Murray Bridge has stepped in to take up the LM Title. Following on from this, Sprintcars Australia released a statement that AMP had withdrawn their applica-

tion to run the 2017-18 Australian 360 Sprintcar Championship. Bids for the title were put in by Murray Bridge and the Perth Motorplex but the nod was given to the Kwinana venue - with the likely date being the two-night fixture set down for Saturday March 17 and Sunday March 18 and listed as Super Speedway at the present time. No word has been forthcoming about the Street Stock championship that was also slated for AMP. Let’s hope for the sake of speedway that AMP can continue to be a great venue for the sport in the city of churches.

The “Old Show” Barry Kelleher. Speaking of Late Models Sydney veteran Barry Kelleher has recently updated his equipment to an Ex David Doherty multiple feature winning Capital Chassis Racecar. Work is happening at break neck speed to prepare the new car for the start of the domestic season at his home track. Plans are also well advanced to participate in his last Australian Title. “Thankfully with the title being moved to a better venue I’m feeling confident on putting on a good show.” stated Kelleher. At last season’s title at Premier speedway, Kelleher was 20th overall after the first night and well on track to make the A directly but things went a little pear shaped when cracks in the chassis were noticed and the decision was made to park the car and not do further damage.

Global Racing apology. After our last issue we were contacted by the folks at Global Racing, the Sydney based Sprintcar team, who let us know in no uncertain terms that the team was definitely continuing on into the future. 10

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

This was in response to our reporting of the strong rumours from multiple sources that the team would not see out the season. Thankfully that is assuredly not the case, as we were directly informed. The loss of even one team to our sport is a blow as we strive to grow the sport to the level where we believe it should be. Our apologies are extended to the Global team and we wish them all the success in the future.

a few short years ago only to go on and revamp the facility and to justifiably be awarded the most improved track. Premier Speedway received the nod as track of the year. Angus Hollis (Junior), Dylan Goodger (Karts), a surprised Tim Reidy (Modified), Callum Harper (Sedan) and James McFadden (Open Wheel) won their respective categories competitor of the year awards. Victorian Joe Lostitch won the Six Crown Speedcar Series and promptly thanked all of the women that support all of the competitors in the sport.

Hall of fame. Congratulations to Phil Herreen, Allan Butcher, Alan Streader, Andy McGavin and Jason Crump as being the latest inductees into the Australian Speedway Hall of Fame.

Callum Harper also took out the prestigious Overall Sports Person of the year award to closs off a highly successful and history making year for the young Tasmanian.

Quote of the day.

“I wish we could go full-time [Sprintcar] racing, but Sundays [NASCAR] Also on the same night West Aussie kinda take up my time,” quipped Larson, “Someday we’ll do this lensman Peter Roebuck was recognised as the photographer of the again full time and I’m looking forward to it!” year while SSA live (innovation of the year) and Sue Healey from CulKyle Larson after winning his sixth len Bullen (Volunteer of the year) consecutive Sprintcar feature and were also worthy winners. third straight Pennsylvania Speedweek win. Kingaroy Speedway told a great tale of almost closing the track just

Joey Saldan

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

na Boned !!!!

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

ac Haudenschild will be behind the wheel of the No. 17 Stenhouse Jr. Wood Racing World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series machine for at least the next two events. Haudenschild will replace veteran driver Joey Saldana, who was released as the team’s driver. Team officials confirmed that Haudenschild, who is returning to competition after missing more than a week because of a broken nose, will be in the car at West Liberty Raceway tonight and Saturday night at Wisconsin’s Beaver Dam Raceway. As well, the team’s twitter account confirmed Saldana’s release: “Today we and @JS17Racing have decided to part ways. Joey helped us build this team and we wish him the best in future endeavors.” Haudenschild will not be the permanent replacement and another driver is expected to be named 14

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

within the coming weeks. Saldana, who has 99 career WoO victories, was winless in 36 races with only four top-five finishes this season. He ranks eighth in the standings. The writing may have been on

the wall for Saldana after Kyle Larson drove a second Stenhouse Jr. Wood Racing entry to victory at Nebraskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eagle Raceway on June 13. The team, which was formed during the winter, combined the re-

sources of team owner Matt Wood with those of NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Haudenschildâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, Sheldon, is a full-time competitor on the World of Outlaws circuit. Jac Haudenschild has 56 World of Outlaws victories. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

June17 Attica

Sammy Walshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face

Great start.... drew about the last pill for qualifying first night out Times 7th in our group, 46th overall. Not quite what we're used to. Struggling with the car in the early going, but there are a lot of different things to contend with like tyres & wings too. Waiting for the rain to stop and we can heat race. So my phone went flat last night. Wasn't a good night, couple teething issues. Timed bad and then just sucked right the way through. Track got rained on and went heavy and we were just a long way off. At Eldora tonight, so that will be another learning curve. June 18 Eldora Night 2 at eldora... WOW it's fast even being so slick. Times 25th out of 40. Start from 5 in heat 3. Top 4 go through so we'll just see how it pans out! Well went backwards in the heat but we got to racing a little bit, which made it heaps of fun. Just gotta get used to the speed and obviously getting closer to the fence. Start 9 in the B take four just have a go and see where we end up. Hopefully we go forward! Got going pretty good at the B mains end and ran out of fuel. A pity but wish we could come back for a second go here after we figured some bigger track stuff out. Really fun to race here. Another night tomorrow. Hopefully we go one Main better and get in the A! June 19 Waynesfield rained out 16

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

So night 3 rained out Sunday night at Wa Wednesday night. June 20 Wayne County

At Wayne county now just about ready to rolled in. Going to be another fun night ho

Not the best night of a bad few to begin w fying, and made it back out for our heat ra Daniel Harding crew. Unfortunately there pick up on, so getting a head start on gett

ebook diary

aynesfield, we will re-run that one on

get going. Couple of NASCAR guys just opefully. See how we take to this place!

with. Ended up in the catch fence in qualiace with help from the guys from the were a few other issues that we didn't ting ready for Sharon for night 4.

June 21 Sharon Sharon tonight. Drew a really late pill again. Timed 44th out of 48 cars. Just crazy how tight we need to be, I don't know if it's wings, tyres, chassis or a combination of all 3. But slick is an understatement and every car that hit the track went slower and we just missed how tight we need to be. We're better for the heat went from 9 to 6 and just missed the transfer by one. We'll be right down the back of the mains somewhere. So finished up 7th or so in the C main last night, not great but trying to figure it out. June 22 Waynesfield At Waynesfield tonight for take 2 from the rain out a few nights ago. Timed 30th out of 43 cars. Again one of the last cars to go out, but this time it wasn't so critical. Still a little lost but at least this place is small and we have some comparisons to make. Heat 4 from 6 I think and top 5 go through to the main! Well you wouldn't believe it, but starting off the pole for the main tonight. Wow pretty cool in itself being off the front at an all star show with Tim Shaffer! Wound up running 9th after leading for 10-15 laps. Had a pretty good car early, but probably most notable issue was our bleeder went flat and ended up with a little less stagger than planned. Track had a bit of a curb built up and I just got to struggling with it. All in all a pretty good night just gotta try and get going at the other places too!

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

June 23 Muskingham Round 6 tonight at muskingum speedway. Hope we can have another good run and get back in the show again. Drew a reasonably late pill for qualifying, but we will be the first car out for heat 4. Timed 23rd overall or of 43 and 5th in our heat. Ended up starting 3rd with a full restart, and ran 4th. Straight in the show for the second night in a row which is great. Starting out of 14 this time, not so lucky with the pole haha! Wound up 13th in the feature tonight. I've never raced in so much dust, it was crazy! Moved forward a few early, and then back a few late. Good to do the laps and the racing, just gotta get more comfortable in the car. If we can get a little closer I think we would be a lot better off. June 24 Limaland An early wash out tonight for Limaland, so going to recharge the batteries and try again tomorrow. Just hope the weather holds off so we can at least he Atomic in! June 25 Atomic Not the start to the night we wanted for our last All Star race, had a front end issue with the steering in qualifying but luckily enough I hadn't really got up to speed yet. So going to be coming from the back. Hopefully we have a good car and can get straight into a transfer, otherwise we'll be coming from the D main. Didn't feel comfortable tonight at all unfortunately, couldn't do much in the heat race and ran 3rd in the D main, just couldn't get going there. June 30 Williams Grove Ran out of fuel in qualifying at the grove..... good start... timed 24th out of 31 cars. Start 8 in heat 3, take 6 to the feature. Would have been nice to get the second lap in qualifying, but we'll see if we can improve. Very odd place to drive, straights for miles and corners are tight! Felt a lot better in the heat, only jumped one spot forward and missed the transfer by one. Keeping pace with a couple of cars in front after feeling my way in as the laps wore on, so that's promising. Onto the B, and I think they again take 6 to the show. So ran a close 2nd in the B main, then was up to about 15th in the A with only 2 laps to go, and broke a right rear torsion arm. Luckily didn't come right off, but I thought something was odd when the rear end housing hit me in the butt. Luck18

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

ily just that lap I decided to do my best Schatz impression and blow through the middle, otherwise if I was on the curb it could have been worse. Felt really good for our first time here. Just a very odd/daunting place to try and run hard at. Onto Lincoln tomorrow. July 1 Lincoln So PA night 2 at Lincoln. Another odd little place to drive. Timed 21st out of 42, started 6 in the heat and actually got a good run around the top to about 4th, what I didn't realize was the bottom was the place to be, slowly lost a couple spots, and even then took a good few laps to half work out how to get around the inside guard rail decent. Will be in the B somewhere hopefully get through again! So not how we wanted to finish up, I think 12th in the B. Started 6th and just slowly went back. Unfortunately, we just couldn't get a grip on the place. I guess the main thing to come away with is that we have another chance at Lincoln on Monday night. July 2 Path Valley So quick run down from the last night at Path Valley, didn't have phone service last night, and just been literally flat out ever since (other than trying to get some sleep). So timed right in the middle of the 40 odd car field, new track record by Abreu 9.6 or so. Small and pretty rough. Struggled in the heat. Off the front row for the 1st B main, and got lucky as was running 3rd the race leader broke, and I got to second which transferred us into the show. Better in the feature actually passed a couple of cars. And there was a lot of action and attrition, ended up 11th. July 3 Lincoln So tonight at Lincoln for the second time. And final result wasn't any better. Finished middle of the B main. Timed roughly mid field again, finished where we started in the heat, though probably the best the car has felt on corner entry since we have been here. So if nothing else that's one positive, considering that's the biggest problem we've had. Brian from Afco/Pro shocks helped us out a whole lot last night at Path Valley, and it definitely helped us tonight also. Just messed up for the B main. Tricky race track, maybe we'll be back there one day for a 3rd time lucky. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

THE FIRST EVER OFFICIAL FEATURE RACE FOR Just how important was this event in reshaping the sedan scene in Australia........

“

The answer? VERY Important

Some of WA’s best drivers like Ben Ludlow, AJ Nylander and John Cardy missed the action of the Grand National class and wondered how they might recreate

those days again. They were racing their Super Sedans, however it was not the same. Eventually, as the years passed by, they saw an opportunity to rebrand the Grand Nationals as Late Models. The Americans had disposed of the big bodies GN cars, but kept the same powerplants, and the Late Model division had gone from strength to strength in the US. By mid 1997, nearly ten years since the last serious Grand National Sedan racing had occurred in WA, around twelve drivers had built new American styled Late Model sedans.

“

ith the demise of Grand National Sedan racing in Australia, by the early nineties the majority of drivers had returned to racing Super Sedans. In Western Australia while this was the case, some who had driven the 500+hp V8 powerplants during the 1980’s had enjoyed the experience and remained big fans of greater horsepower and sitting on the left hand side of the car.

The Australian Sedan Car Federation (ASCF) was not prepared to sanction the WA Late Models, and so Claremont Speedway was not prepared to run them. The Late Model drivers created their own sanctioning group, Late Model Racing Australia (LMRA) and set about asking some of WA’s major regional speedways if they could race on their tracks.

R LATE MODEL SEDANS IN AUSTRALIA..... 1997 Initially they approached the management of Claremont Speedway in Perth to see if they could race there in the upcoming summer season, but the answer was no. The Australian Sedan Car Federation (ASCF) was not prepared to sanction the WA Late Models, and so Claremont Speedway was not prepared to run them. The Late Model drivers led by Rob McGregor created their own sanctioning group, Late Model Racing Australia (LMRA) and set about asking some of WA’s major regional speedways if they could race on their tracks.

kilometres east of town. On Saturday October 25th 1997 the Late Models rolled onto to the Geraldton Speedway. It was the first event of the evening, the Late Model parade. Nine cars were listed and nine cars were there.

They were set to have three ten lap heats and then a Feature, the distance was not specified in the program. The first two heats saw all nine cars start. Ben Ludlow won the first heat from pole, followed home by John Cardy and Willy Powell, while Rob McGregor won the second from pole, followed home by Ben Ludlow They had some success at Ellenbrook and Rob Whittington. There were Speedway, on the northern outskirts some minor incidents, but nothing of of Perth, where they were able to test great concern. Most drivers finished their cars under racing conditions. every race, with little or no damage, They had three races over a short dis- although there were a few engine tance, with John Cardy victorious in all problems that needed sorting. three and setting a new sedan track record in the process. However they The Late Models were quick and didn’t run a Feature race. the big V8’s growled, however passing was at premium on the small flat One track that was keen to give the layout. The drivers decided that they Late Models a chance to race and would split the field for the last heat, entertain was Geraldton Speedway. effectively creating an extra race, alGeraldton was just over four hundred beit with less cars in each event. They kilometres north of Perth. Located on reduced the distance to six laps. The the Mid West Coast, Geraldton held first of these races was won by AJ fortnightly meetings over summer and Nylander from Rob Whittington and promised the Late Models several Willy Powell, while John Cardy won shows. The track was a tight 360 me- the second from Rob McGregor and tre circuit built in an old quarry fifteen Ben Ludlow.

The Late Model Feature was the 25th and last event on the program. The distance previously unknown was announced as being over twenty five laps. It was billed as ‘THE FIRST EVER OFFICIAL FEATURE RACE FOR LATE MODEL SEDANS IN AUSTRALIA’. Courtesy of his consistent form in the heats Ben Ludlow was on pole, and my program notes also recall that his son Brad was out of position nine. Father in first, son in last, to start the race! Between the Ludlows were the rest of the field. Immediately to the outside of Ben 22

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

Ludlow on the front row was Rob McGregor and at the start Ludlow stayed low and fast, and shot straight to the lead, McGregor slotted into second, and then a field that would have to chase hard to stay with the pace of the leaders. John Cardy and Ryan Halliday found the challenge fairly tough, both spinning out, and as the race wore on, it seemed that either Ben Ludlow or McGregor would win this famous first event. By mid distance Brad Ludlow was out with engine problems, and Willy Powell was out after a crash. At this stage AJ Nylander started to emerge as a genuine prospect. A veteran of many years racing, he’d timed his run per-

fectly and as both Ben Ludlow and Rob McGregor started to fade, Nylander was coming on strong. He had done more laps in a Late Model than any of his opponents. He’d built his own and four other Late Models, and he knew how to set them up to go faster towards the end of the race. He passed Ludwig and Whittington, and became the car to watch. Nylander then paced McGregor for a few laps before slipping by into second, and now he had Ben Ludlow in his sights. Ludlow was still running well, but his lap times were getting slower, and he was starting to push up the track a bit. Nylander caught and passed him with several laps to spare

and went on to a great and historic win. Ludlow held on for second, while McGregor also went full distance coming home in third. Many of the spectators poured into the pits after the meeting to get a look at their new heroes. Australia’s first Late Model Feature was deemed a great success by the drivers, officials and spectators alike. After many years in the wilderness, the left hand drive, big V8’s were back!

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

2017 Easter

r Trail

he Annual Victorian Easter Trail was as always a tough affair that was fought out until the final moments in Warrnambool’s super-fast final. As always there was a sub-plot or two with the Essendon Ford Avalon Track Championship still up for grabs on the Good Friday, and the Premier Speedway Parr Motorsports USC Victoria Premiership was also mathematically still undetermined, but the Geelong Harley Davidson Street 500 was the main prize on offer for just three nights of solid graft and effort.

In the end, these two would cross the line side by side with Molly getting the ascendancy by a mere 0.013 seconds over a magnanimous TVG despite the pair clashing in their on track efforts to great the chequered flag first. This pairing had also finished 3rd and 4th behind Dobson and Loudoun and just ahead of exciting sophomore Brayden Parr.

Avalon.

Unluckiest driver of the night was Mt Gambier’s Steven Lines who was having his final nights in the Brian Hall W3. Lines went upside down when he came upon a slightly out of sorts Domain Ramsey.

Before a packed house a huge field of cars put on a show and what a final it was as Shaun Dobson stormed from position 11 to pass his quasi team mate and erstwhile race leader Ian Loudoun to take his second career Easter Trail victory and to grab early points in the chase for the Harley Davidson.

The other talking point of the night was the performance of Marcus Dumesny in his dad’s famous V5. Marcus was actually given the keys to the car, truck and crew for the Trail – something that had never happened before. Dumesny qualified 4th before some issues saw him drop back to 10th.

The other battle that was fought out was that for the awesome new Ford courtesy of David Dickson’s Essendon Ford Group. Prior to the event Tim Van Ginneken and Darren Mollenoyux were separated by a mere five points and whomever finished ahead of the other would take the prize.

Top pic: Damien Hart (Left) was rapt to be at his first Easter Trail as a competitor in his pristine DJH Civil Act75, but ended up wrapped (above) in the Avalon catch fencing.

Bottom pic: Avalon 4 wide salute â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ian Loudoun V3, Marcus Dumesny in dadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s V5, Darren Mollenoyux V52 and Steven Lines WA3.

Shaun Dobson put on a stellar drive to climb from 11th to 1st on a physically dem

manding track.

Mt Gambier. After the disappointment of the previous night Lines was keen to give his home crowd a final treat with the Hall/Lines/Craig Bennett combo and led every lap of the A-Main taking the win from fellow sandgropers Brad Keller who continues to impress and Chad Ely in Jamie Starkes SA72. Dobson kept his momentum towards the Harley Davidson rolling along nicely finishing 4th two spots ahead of main rival Mollenoyux.

Tasmanian “Trail” rookie Nicholas Penno gets in a spot of bother between Georgia McLeod ACT55 and Domain Ramsey V2 @ Mt Gambier’s Borderline Raceway. Word was that quite a few of the drivers were not that happy with Penno’s style of driving – Geoff Gracie Pic.

Top: Bradley Keller continues to punch way above the combined weight of the small South Australian team with a stellar second place finish against a stout field at Borderline. – Geoff Gracie Pic.

Bottom: Warrnambool’s Corey McCullagh worked hard for not much else than personal satisfaction driving from 15th to 9th in the Borderline final. . – Geoff Gracie Pic.

Sydneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kim Becker was not the only family member to go upside down at Easte son Jessie Attard in the C and B-Mains. 32

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

er, although despite this Geoff Gracie action shot, she still finished ahead of her /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Brett Milburn is captured here beautifully by Geoff Gracie in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shane Stewart C 34 HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

Classic Specialâ&#x20AC;? Idigit V68 at Mt Gambier.

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Steven Lines’ home town victory was in stark contrast to the previous night’s upsi Ely 36 (left) and runner–up Brad Keller (right). Geoff Gracie Pic. HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

ide down moment as he shares the Mt Gambier podium with 3rd finishing Chad /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Warrnambool. By virtue of qualifying directly into the A-Main, Mollenoyux ensured himself the $10,000 Parr Motorsports Championship, but the battle for the bike was a whole other nail biting affair. Dobson was up against it not making the A-Main directly but instead being forced to battle through the B-Main which he eventually won. While Molly was starting from position 3, Dobson was out of 16th and the track was both fast and physically difficult. When all was said and done, Molly had taken the race win and when Dobson could progress no higher than 6th, Molly had also won the awesome Street 500 HD. As Molly celebrate the win, a totally exhausted Dobson sat in his car, head bowed, unmoving, physically spent after having given everything in a mighty, yet sadly unrewarded effort. Completing the podium was the emerging Rusty Hickman whose return to racing after a life threatening crash earlier in the season had been stunning and consistently so. Local Corey McCullagh completed the podium ahead of Keller and Loudoun while Lines completed another phase of his career with a gutsy 7th place after putting on a racing show on the highline.

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

Top: West Aussie A J Nash had a tough time on the trail and is seen here in a spot of bother after tagging an infield tyre and losing his right side nerf bar (laying on the track) and then dragging Rhiannon Burleigh into the fray. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pirate pic.

Bottom: Just part of the full house at Avalon for the Sprintcars, Super Rods, Fireworks and Demolition Derby. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pirate pic.

3rd generation racer Jessie Attard is a future star no doubt but component failure - Pirate pics.

e trumps all talent as Jessie discovered with a hard hit on the Premier concrete.

Sam Wrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first full season in the 410 Sprintcars has seen plenty of encour Lacey, but this was not the end to the season that the team had envisaged.

raging improvement throughout the season, helped at times by coach Brett â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pirate pic.

Local youngster Jack Bell definitely takes after his dad Gary and his Uncle S veyancing/Allstar Performance NT20 away from a near impact with the wall.

Steve with his undoubted skill and style as he powers the South West Con. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pirate pic.

While the Easter Trail usually suffers from cooler temperatures for the fans, ces like the one coming off the damaged wing of Jordyn Charge on the supe

it also often gives a trade-off of fast, physical racing and occasional vortierfast Premier Speedway. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pirate pic.

Winner Darren Mollenoyux (centre) and runner-up Rusty Hickman (right) bot Cullagh (left). Molly had just wrapped up his best ever Easter trail winning th Street 500 Motorcycle as overall trail victor. Hickman was just glad to be bac burgeoning career. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Geoff Gracie Photo.

th seem to be grinning a little harder than third placed finisher Corey Mche Essendon Ford Fiesta at Avalon and now the Geelong Harley Davidson ck racing and doing so well after an early season wreck almost ended his

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

Steven Lines in the Brian Hall WA3 was a surprise winner of the USC round at Warrnambool recently. What’s so surprising about Lines winning, right? The reason it was surprising was that James McFadden in the Monte WA17 was lead o

Gary Gasper caught Aussie history maker Paul Stubber in action at Plymouth Sp 50

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

ding all feature long until inexplicable spinning out of the lead a short distance from the chequered flag handing the win to Lines. Lines luck however, deserted him at the same venue a couple of weeks later in the Victorian Champi-

peedway (Illinois) as part of his Hell Tour campaign. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

Dean Yoder caught Shane “the throttle” Cottle in action below a setting summer support to the USAC Midgets (Speedcars).

ing all feature long until inexplicable spinning out of the lead a short distance from the chequered flag handing the win to Lines. Lines luck however, deserted him at the same venue a couple of weeks later in the Victorian Champi-

r sun at Indianaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gas City track where the 410 wingless Sprints were playing

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

Another cracker shot caught at Gas City by Dean Yoder as Tony Main goes ups were also in action at the same event with Zemunik making it through to the A-M 54

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

side down in his traditional Sprintcar. Aussies Gary Rooke and Sean Zemunik Main. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

Young photographer Kial Millican caught this “hot” shot of Lisa Chalcraft in her G 56

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

GP Midget at Redline raceway.

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Marketing O

- Are We Getting

Comments By Ray Solomon

s Speedway being left behind in the commercial world of entertainment

Why are other sports moving ahead and receiving greater corporate and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure what has to be done to turn this around, but I think most com of marketing within the speedway industry and will then take some action 58

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

Of Speedway

g It Right ????

and event marketing? I think so!

d government support? mpetitors would like to think that someone is undertaking a formal review n to address the very real issues that exist. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

If a formal review of speedway was undertaken today, the anecdotal evidence would most likely indicate the following; 1. As sponsorship is only one measurement of effective marketing, it comes as no surprise that most funding for race teams comes directly from competitors or their friends, families or their businesses. This is evident when you see that the greater majority of signage on race cars is the result of sponsorship by either the car owner/drivers own business or businesses associated with their friends, family or their crew. 2. There are very few high value commercial sponsorships (by major corporate companies) of individual race teams in Australia, although some sponsorship arrangements associated with state based racing series etc, have been very successful.

which includes advertising; on race cars, at race venues, sponsoring of events and series etc. These sponsors receive substantial exposure by the distribution of media releases, social media, web sites and speedway magazines. This raises a number of very important questions that directly relates to the current organizational structures within the speedway industry and their roles, responsibilities and capabilities to be able to facilitate any effective marketing strategies that would ultimately create the environment that would enable car owners a greater opportunity to secure major sponsorship.

In my view, this is not a direct fault of the individuals running the various organisations, but is symptomatic of the participants in Speedway not having a shared vision of how the sport could be developed. I personally am sick and tired of hearing people say that “it’s the 3. I’m not aware of any current best kept secret in motorsport”. speedway marketing strategies inThe truth is the marketing side of volving the major stakeholders (car Speedway has not kept up with owners and venue promoters) foother forms of sports and entertaincused on attracting major corporate ment simply because there has sponsorship to race teams and race been a lack of focus on the marketvenues. ing aspects of the sport. 4. Suppliers (race parts, tyres etc) of goods and services to the speedway industry are well served by the current marketing strategies 60

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

The key goals for any Speedway marketing strategy should be to facilitate more people attending speedway events, providing a

greater level of entertainment and to create an environment or conditions that will enable race teams to engage higher value sponsorships. What can Speedway learn from the Supercars (formally V8 Supercars) structure and marketing regime? Success for the Supercars was a direct result of race teams (owner/ drivers) taking control of the class and having a financial interest in the outcomes of the class. They also engaged specialist marketing support for the development of their product and how their product was marketed to the public, sponsors (individual teams and series sponsors) and track operators alike.

Supercar teams usually have one or two major sponsors (the trend is to have signage of these down each side of the car) and a number of smaller sponsors which have lesser prominence in the overall signage on the car. During a race event, smaller sponsor’s signage in most cases, cannot be readily noticed by spectators at the track or on television. The most effective exposure is the dash board signage via the “in car” camera.

The most important aspect of any sponsorship package is the provision of corporate facilities enabling sponsors to engage in networking with business colleagues, family, friends and work employees. They also have the opportunity to particiThe Supercars are still sanctioned pate directly in the event by accessby CAMS who are recognized by ing the race garage, drivers and the Australian Sports Commission crew. Without doubt, this is a major and the FIA. Formula 1 is very simi- part of any sponsorship of a Superlar in that the teams have a major car team. say in all aspect of the F1 business and yet it is still sanctioned by the All events are televised on pay TV FIA. networks with some events being televised on a free to air channel. Supercars currently only have one major series sponsor (Virgin AusThe Supercars organisation provide tralia) and the individual teams are reports to each team as to what telresponsible for the marketing asevision air time their car and sponpects of securing new sponsors and sors received during each telecast. servicing their individual needs.

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

The supercars website has links to all teams and the latest information which is supplied by a network of media representatives.

Both the race team and venue promoter have a vested interest in the outcome of any event or marketing strategy!

Race results and video reports including special incidences receive exposure in the main daily newspapers and television sports and news reports.

Corporate facilities at race tracks are paramount in any future marketing strategy to engage major sponsorship. Very few tracks have suitable corporate facilities that meet a standard suitable for major company sponsorship. Venue operators and competitors need to jointly address this situation.

How should Speedway move forward? In my view, until the team owners and the venue operators develop a joint approach to the issues of marketing, nothing will dramatically change! For speedway to be truly successful, team owners and venue operators need to be jointly engaged in addressing all aspects of Speedway’s “Marketing Mix” to move the speedway industry forward. This will require expert sports marketing advice from outside the current speedway industry. Race teams (owners, drivers and sponsors) involvement is of prime importance in the development of any marketing strategy along with the venue promoter because the drivers and race cars are the “marketable commodity” and the track is just one way of how they promote themselves and their sponsors to the public. 62

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

The facts are, speedway is only as good as the number of spectator attending race events and the number and level of companies/ businesses who directly sponsor the race teams or the race events or venues. I’ve heard it said that it’s the promoters sole responsibility to get spectators to an event. I think this is too simplistic, I believe that it’s a joint responsibility because if the product (say Sprintcar Racing) was that appealing or demanded by the public, all race teams would have major sponsors and be less reliant on prizemoney and tow money. Public demand would then ensure that events are well supported. The first step in addressing the marketing deficiencies of speedway has got to be the realization that things need to change

So what should Speedway do?

edge there has not been any. So why do it?

Speedway needs to review its “Marketing Mix” with all those that are One issue that I think needs to be involved in the speedway industry. looked at, is reviewing the real value of plastering series and continWe need to review all the marketing gency sponsor’s decals all over the strategies that have been undertak- bonnet and wings of Sprintcars or en in the past and ask, have these other race cars for that matter? been successful and if so what was the outcome?

For example, can we quantify the positives as a result the “free to air” and “pay television” programs (which featured many classes of speedway) over the past 15 years. Have any of these television programs resulted in major sponsorship to any of the race teams or promoters that received coverage in the TV broadcast? To my knowl-

Other than satisfying sponsors current expectations, because that’s been the norm in the past, I believe these decals have very little advertising value at all and there are far better ways to promote series sponsor’s products or services. The reality is that sponsors decals cannot be clearly identified or deci/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

phered when the car is on the track or on television. Furthermore, race cars that have numerous decals displayed only confuses or dilutes the message of the cars (teams)

Sure, NASCAR require sponsors decals be placed in specific areas on the race cars, but teams are paid to do this as part of their contract which involves not only on

main sponsorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signage.

track exposure but also promotional activities outside the race track.

Take for instance the Milwaukee Sprintcar of Monte Motorsports. The branding is clear and is not compromised by other decals or colors for that matter. There are a number of other sponsors decals on the car, but they are strategically placed with low level colors that do not dilute the main message. I wonder how many people can identify the other sponsors on the car without looking at a picture etc? Not many I suggest. 64

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

From a team ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s point of view, it could be argued that the signage area on his race car is his marketing space (for his major sponsors) which should not be compromised or the message diluted, and has a right to say where and what decals will be displayed on his car. It can also be argued that many drivers may never receive any value in monetary terms (end of series prize pools etc) or contingency prizes etc, so why are they obliged to

participate in this flawed advertising allows car owner/drivers to negotiexercise. ate with sponsors of their choice and agree on the placement of deSeries organizers who link the man- cals on their race car datory placement of series decals to receiving points scores and con- A much better way of servicing tingency prizes seems to be very the advertisement requirements of shortsighted. Some team owners/ series’ and contingency sponsors drivers could end up having a con- could be to produce Series Broflict of sponsorship with their own chures that can be distributed at business or their major sponsor. the front and back gates of speedThis should not be allowed to hap- way venues and also to spectators pen. throughout the event. Advertising brochures have a major advantage Also the team owner or driver may over decals on cars, these include; not endorse the products displayed you can see them because you and are currently within their rights have them in your hand, they can to take the decals off after each provide a lot more detail in relation race meeting of the series and reto the sponsor’s goods or services quest new ones when they compete and also clearly identify the sponat the next round. sors specific line of business, what areas/locality they service and how In general, sponsors decals that to contact them (telephone numare currently used in the speedway bers and websites etc.). environment are very basic and not descriptive or informative. In most Then, most importantly, spectacases they do not identify; the par- tors (the consumer of the sponsor’s ticular type of business of the spon- goods and services) who receive a sor, the area in which they operate “series brochure” leave the venue or how the sponsor can be contact- with the brochure in their hand for ed i.e. contact telephone number, a referral at a later date. Driver’s website address or social media can also sign these during or after etc. the race meeting. Given all the above, I think the current trend of forcing owner drivers to display sponsor’s decals on race cars should be abandoned and a new approach be implemented that provides real advertising value and

What do owners, drivers, track operators and spectators think about the above comments? Have your say......... brett@piratemediagroup.com.au

s â&#x20AC;&#x2122; n o l a v A

DIGGERS CU

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

valon Raceway proudly acknowledged the efforts of Australia’s service men and women with the inaugural A Plus Powder Coating “Diggers” Cup, an event that they are wholeheartedly attempting to build into an ongoing tribute. As a result the crowds flocked to Avalon as did the competitors with a solid field of 360ci Sprintcar drivers from as far afield as Western Australia but it was new Eureka Series Champion Brett “the Jet” Milburn who smoked the field in the final putting on a clinic in the Phil Seymour owned machine that is normally reserved for American Travis Rilat to use in Spud’s Race – The Tyson Perez Memorial. Ironically Milburn has his own 360 Sprintcar however, that machine has been steered by Jessica Moulden for the majority of the season and that continued in this event. A stellar field lined the track as a remembrance service was presented by special guest Warrant Officer Class One Mr Peter Swandale with Mr Bruce McClure, Mr David Dixon and Mr Kevin Freeman in attendance, with Ethan Chuter as the bugler playing the last post. As Milburn raced away at the front, the action behind was intense with 2 wide passing and flat to the boards racing over the final 15 laps on the fast surface with youngsters Rusty Hickman and Brayden Parr completing the podium ahead of pole sitter Jordyn Charge who went upside down during the shootout and Paul Solomon in 5th.

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

Rookie Ben Morrison’s season was about to end with a chassis bending hit with gers Cup. – Pirate pic. 70

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

the wall after racing contact between himself and Eddie Lumber @ the Dig/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

nship the same when heinto wasan taken out oftyre the event in someone else’s wreck. PhilatLock wasvenue squeezed infield marker damaging the front end in th

become part of the mess. “Farmer” Phil is currently stateside helping out the So if tiring time. – Pirate pic. 72

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

his heat race incident at the diggers Cup as Georgia McLeod tries hard not ot olomon brothers with their USA campaign and by all reports is having a great,

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

Avalon promoter Jeff Drew proudly points to the #99 adorned on his son Rod’s 3 family’s Sprintcar tradition and number. – Pirate pic. 74

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

360 Sprintcar. Rod made a good Sprintcar debut proudly continuing the Drew /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Indiana Midget

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

Week

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Indiana Midget Week has long been touted as being a better week of speedway racing than the much vaunted Indiana Sprintweek. The reasons being that as it’s a part of the USAC (United States Auto Club) National Midget Championship you get all of the Nationally rated teams and drivers as well as others, and, the other is that the mighty 410 traditional (Wingless) Sprintcars are on nightly also as the support act. Yes that’s right as the support act. This year’s Midget week however had a truly antipodean feel with Kiwi Michael Pickens driving a car owned by Sydney’s Brett Morris and doing extremely well winning 2 rounds and leading the series by 1 point going into the final round.

Thorson and Spencer Bayston amongst others. However, despite this it was Tyler “Sunshine” Courtney driving for sentimental favourites Clauson/ Marshall that grabbed the top step, and his first USAC Midget win in Tuesday’s opener for the 13th instalment of Indiana Midget Week. The 23-year-old driver used the bottom to slip past Alex Bright for the lead on the fifth lap, then immediately fended off a slider thrown by hard-charging Brady Bacon. Courtney then mastered a late-race restart to drive away for a commanding win to become the first driver ever to earn both his first USAC National Midget and National Sprint Car wins in Indiana Midget Week and Indiana Sprint Week.

Up front, pole sitter Alex Bright held the point as Zach Daum pursued. On lap four, Daum scampered to Montpelier Motor Speedway, lothe high side to complete the pass cated towards the north east border of race leader Bright exiting turn of Indiana, not too far from nearby two, but the yellow flag fell for a Gas City Speedway, has underspinning Tanner Carrick before the gone a resurrection of sorts over lap could be scored, thus negating the very recent past after making a Daum’s good fortune. conscious decision to focus on the Midget division as their main class On the restart, the battle at the front and they were rewarded with a stel- became a three-car dance as the lar 41 car field for the opening event trio stacked up wheel-to-wheel-toincluding the awesome 7 car Kunz/ wheel with Bacon, Courtney and Curb-Agajanian team that included Bright equal exiting the second turn. Kyle Larson, Rico Abreu, Tanner One lap later, Courtney skimmed MONTPELIER INDIANA MIDGET WEEK OPENER

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

the bottom lane to take ownership of the lead between turns one and two. Following the same trail as Courtney was Bacon, who slid across the bottom of turn three to the top of four in front of Bright for second. He then immediately pointed his arrow squarely in the direction of race leader Courtney. Brady took a run at Courtney, serving up a slider exiting turn two on the sixth lap. Bacon came up short, and lost a tad of momentum, allowing Courtney to break away. With 20 laps remaining, Courtney’s burst saw him expand his lead to a full-straightaway as he attacked lapped traffic with authority until a yellow with three to go slowed his pace for the stopped car of Tyler Thomas, erasing the substantial gap that Courtney had constructed. When the green dropped, a mad scramble ensued for the runner-up spot as Michael Pickens, Bacon, Bright and defending Montpelier winner Kyle Larson all fought for the runner-up spot. All that did was allow Courtney to pull away unchallenged and unscathed on the final circuits to land his first USAC Midget points win in his ClausonMarshall Racing/Driven 2 Save Lives – Indiana Donor Network/ Spike/Stanton SR-11 over Pickens, Larson, Bacon and Bright.

“I knew it was going to be tough when they took those lapped cars out [on the final restart].” Courtney stated. “That’s the rule and, I know when I’m running second, I’m excited when they take the lapped cars out because it gives you a fresh chance at the leader. Luckily, we were good enough tonight to where we didn’t have to battle anybody there at the end. It made my job a little bit easier.” The win snapped Keith Kunz/CurbAgajanian Motorsports’ seemingly unrelenting grasp on the Indiana Midget Week series in which his drivers had won seven feature events in a row dating to 2015. Auckland, New Zealand’s Michael Pickens returned to the Indiana Midget Week tour for the first time since 2014, taking second-place honours in his Brett & Leigh Morris/Seamount Racing – Tony Elliott Foundation/King/GRD Toyota. Kyle Larson used a rare day off between Monster Energy NASCAR Cup duties to play in the dirt where he made a late-race charge to run third in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Walker Filtration – TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota.

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Tyler “Sunshine” Courtney’s Clauson Marshall Racing midget sits ready and wa favourite to victory lane this night. – Dean Yoder Photo. 80 HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

aiting for battle at Montpelier Speedway. Courtney would take the sentimental /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Michael Pickens, 3. Kyle Larson, 4. Brady Bacon, 5. Alex Bright, 6. Shane Golobic, 7. Justin Grant, 8. Tanner Thorson, 9. Ryan Robinson, 10. Spencer Bayston, 11. Chad Boat, 12. Tanner Carrick, 13. Davey Ray, 14. Rico Abreu, 15. Chris Windom, 16. Justin Peck, 17. Zach Daum, 18. Dave Darland, 19. Holly Shelton, 20. Ronnie Gardner, 21. Jerry Coons Jr., 22. Jake Neuman, 23. Tyler Thomas. NT

KIWI VICTORY; PICKENS TAKES ROUND 2 AT GAS CITY Gas City, Indiana………When Michael Pickens rounded turn four and powered off the final corner to claim victory in Wednesday night’s Indiana Midget Week round, USAC flagman Tom Hansing’s checkers were not the only set of silks waving at Gas City I-69 Speedway.

Pickens would start from the 11th position after missing the heat transfer, winning the B-Main then being assessed a two-row penalty for being late to grid for the start of the main event. For the second-straight night, USAC/ARDC Midget point leader Alex Bright would lead the field to the green from his pole starting position. Bright would surge ahead for much of the first circuit before reigning USAC Midget National champion Tanner Thorson spurted ahead on the outside off of turn four to beat Bright to the line by an inch before scooting away for control in the early stages of the 30-lapper.

Shortly after clearing Bright for the second position using the inside line on the fourth lap, seasonopener winner Justin Grant found trouble in turn one as he bopped and bounced his way trampolinestyle multiple times before coming to a rest sideways in turn one. He “It’s wicked, man,” Pickens said with would restart from the tail. a grin. “There’s 350-plus people who’ve contributed to this campaign On the second attempted lap four that we’re doing. Plus, our major restart, Rico Abreu began his power sponsors. We couldn’t do this with- surge as he ducked underneath out every single one of them. To Bright for second on the bottom of get them a win is pretty special. We turn three. Bright countered to no asked for a lot and they gave it to avail as Abreu hustled to turn one us. Lucky enough, we’ve been able first, then set course on running to deliver. It’s nice for us to say down his teammate and leader, ‘hey, here’s a win for your support.’ Thorson. That’s pretty special.” 82

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

On the seventh lap, Abreu was in striking position and used a run entering turn three on the bottom before sliding up off the fourth corner to clear Thorson for the spot and the race lead less than 10 laps in. The top-two of Abreu and Thorson began to distance themselves from the rest of the pack just before midway as Bright was encircled in a maddening scramble for third that included Kyle Larson, Brady Bacon and Michael Pickens among others in a see-saw thunderdome-style battle in which a brief moment of sanity was near impossible to find. Larson was the first to emerge from the fray as he first zipped past Bacon for fourth on the 13th lap and by Bright two laps later for third. Bright came right back at Larson’s jugular to momentarily reclaim the position, but as he slipped up between turns one and two at the midway point, Larson took ownership of third with Pickens tucked immediately behind as Bright got shuffled out of the deck and into the seventh position. The unoccupied land between the top-two of Abreu, Thorson and the third and fourth-place cars of Larson and Pickens began to melt away. Shortly after Chance Morton walked away from a turn one tumble on lap 19, the race for second became a three-way scrum involv-

ing new leader Thorson with a slight edge in the middle over Abreu nosing along on the bottom and Larson making moves up top. With ten to go, Larson continued to inch nearer to the front, but on lap 21, his wizardry came to a halt after losing control on the cushion of turns three and four, sending him sideways into a stall from which he would not escape. That created a window of opportunity for those lurking to make their presence known down the stretch, including new fourth-place occupant Michael Pickens who made a nifty, daring move by splitting the second and third-place cars of Abreu and Brady Bacon off turn two on the restart. Shortly thereafter, previous night’s Montpelier winner and fourth-place runner Tyler Courtney fell to the wayside on the 22nd lap to bring out the final yellow. Thorson and Pickens stuck together on the final restart with eight to go. When Thorson’s ride slipped high off the bottom at the exit of turn four on lap 24, Pickens made his initial bid for the lead. Thorson saw it coming and reacted with a defensive line of his own coming off of four that put Pickens in the role of a lawn edger as he came near and dear to trimming the outer edges of /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Michael Koontz found the Gas City track a bit of a handful on his qualifying run 26th fastest qualifier from the 40 car field. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dean Yoder Photo. 84 HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

n which would see the better of his two laps (obviously not this one) leave him as /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

the infield grass blades along the front straightaway. Pickens proceeded to fall in line behind Thorson for the moment as he regrouped to make another run. Bacon briefly nosed underneath to challenge Pickens in turn two moments later with no luck. One lap later with four to go, the lead was all Pickens after Thorson left just enough space for Pickens to squeeze by underneath off of two.

just got better and better. I think, on the last lap, our car was probably the best. Our car was absolutely spot-on.”

“To be honest, it’s a privilege to be able to run against these guys, let alone beat them,” Pickens praises. “When we come over here, I set the bar pretty high. I tell the boys if we can run top-five every night and get a couple of wins, that would be mega. So far, we’re hitting those From there, Pickens put this one on marks. To get the win tonight is an ice as he ran away from the field in absolute dream come true.” the final handful of laps to record his third career USAC National Brady Bacon stole second from Midget victory and his second Infellow two-time USAC National diana Midget Week triumph, a 1.6 Champion Abreu at the line with an second win over Bacon, Thorson, outside pass on the final lap in his Abreu and Spencer Bayston. FMR Racing/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions – Black Watch Farms/ After a rough go of it early on in the Beast/Toyota. evening, the new Indiana Midget Week point leader was full of disMeanwhile, St. Helena, California’s content. The 34-year-old harRico Abreu led the most laps (13), nessed that energy in a positive but fell back to third at the finish in direction as he translated the force his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Moof his frustration to his right foot torsports/Abreu Vineyards - IWX/ Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota. “I was pretty angry after having to start 11th,” Pickens admits. “We FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Michael should’ve started at least third toPickens, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Tanner night, but we didn’t transfer through Thorson, 4. Rico Abreu, 5. Spencer our heat and had to run the B. We Bayston, 6. Tyler Thomas, 7. Brent were going to start seventh, but Beauchamp, 8. Shane Golobic, 9. then we were late getting out for the Ronnie Gardner, 10. Tanner Carfeature, so that meant we had to rick, 11. Alex Bright, 12. Chad Boat, start two rows further back. I was 13. Holly Shelton, 14. Brenden elbows up from the get-go. Our car Bright, 15. Justin Grant, 16. Gage 86

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

Walker, 17. Jerry Coons, Jr., 18. Kyle Larson, 19. Ryan Robinson, 20. Zach Daum, 21. Courtney Crone, 22. Jake Neuman, 23. Tyler Courtney, 24. Chance Morton. NT

PICKENS DOUBLES DOWN AT PUTNAMVILLE FOR 2ND STRAIGHT INDIANA MIDGET WEEK VICTORY

tory at Gas City, Pickens directed an academy award winning performance. In true dramatic fashion, Pickens kept the large crowd in suspense as he saved his best performance for the final act, swapping the race lead back-and-forth between he and Spencer Bayston in a dramatic finish that’s fate wasn’t decided until the final corner.

Pickens’ victory brought race fans to a fever pitch as the veteran driver As told by USAC’s media man Rich- finally begins to receive his due as ie Murray………A standing ovation one of the top drivers in the sport of is reserved for a performance that midget racing and an international transcends the ordinary. racing star with his electric stage act that has the U.S. midget racing What is considered the common or scene abuzz. run-of-the-mill may be admirable, but when an individual witnesses Pickens’ night began in a comone of those handful of instances pletely different light after pulling off when the stars align to create a in the first practice session without lasting image that will be ingrained taking a single lap at speed. Apin memory, the event is elevated to parently, two laps were all that were a status above the norm. necessary as the 34-year-old from Auckland set ProSource Fast QualiMichael Pickens’ performance in fying time in his Brett & Leigh Morthe final laps of Thursday’s Indiana ris/Seamount Racing – Tony Elliott Midget Week round at Lincoln Park Foundation/King/GRD Toyota. Speedway was certainly not ordinary and the audience responded Pickens would start six, but for the in kind by rising to their feet and third consecutive night, USAC/ applauding the New Zealand driver ARDC point leader Alex Bright bewho captivated them in a mesmer- gan the feature event from the pole izing five-lap sequence. and, as he did in the IMW opener at Montpelier, would jump his way out One night after bringing a healthy to the lead on the opening lap. contingent of supporters from his homeland to their feet with a vic/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Rico Abreu pushes hard in the Keith Kunz Motorsport entry at Gas City where h photo), Brady Bacon and team mate Tanner Thorson. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dean Yoder Photo. 88 HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

he would just miss the podium finishing behind Kiwi Michael Pickens (lead story /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Back a handful of positions behind Bright was fifth-running Pickens who, on the fifth lap would find himself nearly running into trouble as he got sideways and airborne after elevating all four wheels off the ground. He would gather it up and ride on, but not without losing a position to drop to six.

ing restart, eighth-running Gage Walker received contact to the rear bumper that sent him sideways at the entrance of turn three, collecting Lynch, as another yellow flag hit the speedway.

Time and again, Bayston was a force on the restarts and, on the lap 17 resumption, the 2015 series While much of the field remained Rookie of the Year would jump out on the bottom, Bayston was the top to an eight car-length lead over front runner to venture to the outBright. With 12 to go, the push was side and pass at will in the first third on as Bright slid up the track in turn of the 30-lap event. Sure enough, two, allowing Boat to squeeze unthose dues he paid up top would derneath for second. pay off as he entered the top-three on the eighth lap around the outside Meanwhile, Pickens began to of Chad Boat, then swooped to the pound the cushion entering turn bottom to swipe Boatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s line away on one with the right rear, then instantthe bottom entry into turn one. ly flicked the steering wheel to the left and used the momentum from Baystonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crew had replaced the diamonding down the hill to blast powerplant of the No. 97 prior to the around Bright for third. feature event after finishing second in the third heat race. The engine Following a caution for the stopwas a songbird as Bayston stuck page of reigning Putnamville Into his guns to complete the same diana Midget Week winner Tanmove on Brent Beauchamp for sec- ner Thorson and Ronnie Gardner, ond into the first turn on lap 11 and, Pickens continued to hold down a lap later, the lead would be his his own patented line, entering turn own after utilizing another outside one higher than any man or woman pass around Bright. had ventured as he kept tabs on Bayston. Immediately, Bayston opened up a substantial gap for the lead until a An outside backstretch pass for lap 15 yellow for a Tyler Thomas/ second around Boat moved Pickens Brayton Lynch turn two tangle to second on the leaderboard with brought out the yellow at the halfjust eight laps remaining. With anway point. Shortly after the ensuticipation building and senses work90

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

ing overtime, the decreasing gap between the two was increasingly visible as the voices from the crowd began to murmur in excitement about the potential finish as the tension was so evident, you could feel it seeping into your pores.

Coming to the white flag, Pickens attacked the cushion like a rabid animal, lifting the left side wheels off the ground as he flat-footed the turn three cushion and countered underneath off of four to beat Bayston to the stripe with one to go. Pickens, who had so spectacularly executed Pickens had closed to the tail of the entry into turn one time-afterBayston with five to go when sixth- time, wasn’t so graceful on his firunning Brent Beauchamp attempt- nal entry as he bounced his way ed to exit the track after losing pow- through the corner, getting comer, but was not able to get far away pletely sideways with a half-spin enough off the racing surface to set that caused a slight disruption in up one final shootout for the win. his rhythm before pointing his car in the right direction as Bayston pulled The final five laps will be rememalongside underneath. bered for those in attendance as one of the most exciting midget Amazingly, little ground was lost racing duels in Lincoln Park Speed- as Pickens regained control and way’s history, immediately bringstood on the pedal to pull even with ing to mind Kyle Larson and Bryan Bayston halfway down the back Clauson’s savage duel in 2011. Yet straight. Both entered the high again, though, Bayston was strong line in three with Bayston a couenough on the restart to gap Pickple car lengths ahead, but Pickens ens who stayed true to the top and had his plan stapled to his mind as his diamonding pattern off turns one he countered below Bayston in a and three to find any extra ounce of wheel-to-wheel drag race to the line speed he could get like a downhill that Pickens prevailed in by a single skier. car length. On laps 26, 27 and 28, Pickens was able to get a big enough launch from the turn one berm, but the momentum would cease off the exit where Bayston was strong enough to keep Pickens an arm’s distance away. Through turns three and four, Bayston took the high road as Pickens followed suit.

It was Pickens fourth-career USAC National Midget victory and his second in as many nights to become the first driver to win consecutive races in a single Indiana Midget Week since Bryan Clauson in 2009! By virtue of finishes of 2nd, 1st and 1st in the first three Indiana Midget Week feature, Pickens now helds /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

a 31-point lead over Brady Bacon at the midway point of the six-race series. Lebanon, Indiana’s Spencer Bayston just narrowly missed his second career USAC win and his second straight year with an Indiana Midget Week victory, coming home second in his Keith KunzCurb-Agajanian Motorsports/Curb Records - TRD/Bullet by Spike/ Speedway Toyota.

USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Pickens-236, 2-Bacon-205, 3-Bayston-194, 4-Shane Golobic-180, 5-Courtney-178, 6-Abreu-178, 7-Alex Bright-167, 8Justin Grant-162, 9-Thorson-155, 10-Boat-147. THE SUNSHINE’S AGAIN; COURTNEY TAKES BLOOMINGTON CMR SWEEP

Three nights following his first caTyler Courtney’s crew had to swap reer USAC Midget National Chamout the engine overnight after mepionship points win in the Indiana chanical trouble sidelined the Mont- Midget Week opener at Montpelier pelier winner the previous night at Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, InGas City. A rough start and a 20th diana’s Courtney found his way to place starting position would not victory lane once again to lead a hold back Courtney as he raced Clauson/Marshall Racing sweep to a third-place finish to earn KSE of the podium in the fastest 30Racing Products Hard Charger of lap USAC Midget race ever held the Race in his Clauson-Marshall Bloomington. Racing/Driven 2 Save Lives – Indiana Donor Network/Spike/Stanton Courtney took care of business in SR-11. Qualifying Friday night but after timing in sixth, he was on the outside FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Michael looking in during his heat, missing Pickens, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. a transfer spot and squandering an Tyler Courtney, 4. Rico Abreu, 5. opportunity to start on the pole for Justin Grant, 6. Shane Golobic, 7. the main event. Chad Boat, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Alex Bright, 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 11. The sun still shined through the Ryan Robinson, 12. Zach Daum, clouds, though, and Courtney found 13. Dave Darland, 14. Holly Shelsolace by using the B-Main as a ton, 15. Tyler Thomas, 16. Tanner learning opportunity. Carrick, 17. Brayton Lynch, 18. Ronnie Gardner, 19. Brent Beau“We qualified a lot better tonight, champ, 20. Tanner Thorson, 21. but I put myself in a bad spot in Gage Walker, 22. Ryan Greth. NT the heat,” Courtney acknowledg92

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

es. But it worked out. I ran the B and learned a lot. Some nights, it does pay off to run the B. Obviously, your goal is to never run the B, but on a night like tonight, it was very beneficial. I was able to move around in the B to figure out where I could go in the feature since I knew I wasn’t on the front row like I should’ve been. It worked to our advantage since I was able to get to the lead and run a line that no one else was using.”

just carry speed to get by him off the corner. It’s nice when you have a really good car and you can go where nobody else is. Tim (Clauson) is one hell of a guy behind the wrenches.”

Starting seventh, that particular line on the track was a godsend for Courtney as, early on, Jerry Coons, Jr. was the locomotive leading a freight train of cars around the infield tires while Rico Abreu made some headway on the high side to third from his 10th starting position in the first five laps.

USAC Triple Crown champ and 2006-07 National Midget champ Coons remained the leader as he sought his first series win since 2010 with fast qualifier Chad Boat right on his tail on the low line. Meanwhile, Courtney was eating away at the deficit and, by lap 18, was in position to make his move.

Further back in the field, Courtney was wavering between the seventh to tenth positions during the first several laps. On lap eight, however, Courtney decided it was time to make a change and the line that had worked so well for him in the B was back in play.

Courtney passed both Boat for second and Coons for the lead through the middle of turns three and four, beating Coons to the stripe by a half-car length to obtain a lead that he would not relinquish.

Running seventh, Courtney was on the move, picking off the sixth position on lap 10, the fifth spot on lap 12 and to third on lap 13 running all by his lonesome in the middle groove.

In the final 12 laps, Courtney had to wade his way through a sea of “I saw Rico making some ground up backmarkers, which he was able to there, and I knew the line that I had steer through without any hiccups run once in the B worked,” Courtas his two CMR teammates Justin ney remembers. I knew if I didn’t Grant and Shane Golobic emerged go as high as him up in the loose toward the forefront in the final laps. stuff, I could go to the lane above Courtney led the final baker’s dozen the guys on the bottom. I could to earn his second career USAC /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

National Midget victory in his Clauson-Marshall Racing/Driven 2 Save Lives – Indiana Donor Network/ Spike/Stanton SR-11 over teammates Grant and Golobic for the first podium sweep by a single team in the series since Keith Kunz/CurbAgajanian Motorsports’ one-twothree finish on the final night of the “Gold Crown Midget Nationals” at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois last October. “Honestly, I wasn’t very excited coming into today,” admitted Courtney. “I’ve never been comfortable around here, especially since I’ve torn up two racecars on the same part of the racetrack. It makes it tough to get yourself past that hurdle in (turns) one and two. But, tonight, was just our night. Tim obviously has a really good car around here and I was able to build my confidence throughout the night. Everybody had the same racetrack and we were at a little bit more an advantage as everybody else tonight.” Ione, California’s Justin Grant took second in his Clauson-Marshall Racing/Driven 2 Save Lives - Priority Aviation/Spike/Stanton SR-11. “Sunshine seemed to pick through the field a little quicker than I did,” Grant explains. “He was running a little higher up and where those guys weren’t. All three of these 94

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

CMR cars are so good, once he got a little separation, it was hard for me to gain any ground back. I knew he wasn’t going to make any mistakes and his racecar is just as fast as mine.” Shane Golobic of Fremont, California raced under trying circumstances. Earlier Friday, he was in the emergency room receiving fluids to remain hydrated after suffering from flu-like symptoms. The team even had Chris Windom on standby just in case Golobic couldn’t go. Golobic drove a determined race to finish third in his Clauson-MarshallMatt Wood Racing/Elk Grove Ford – Driven 2 Save Lives/Spike/Stanton SR-11. FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney, 2. Justin Grant, 3. Shane Golobic, 4. Jerry Coons, Jr., 5. Chad Boat, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Gage Walker, 8. Rico Abreu, 9. Michael Pickens, 10. Zach Daum, 11. Holly Shelton, 12. Tyler Thomas, 13. Ronnie Gardner, 14. Ryan Robinson, 15. Tanner Thorson, 16. Spencer Bayston, 17. Dave Darland, 18. Trey Marcham, 19. Tanner Carrick, 20. Alex Bright, 21. Tyler Nelson, 22. Davey Ray. 6:57.95 (New Track Record) NEW USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Pickens-290, 2-Bacon-272, 3-Golobic-255, 4-Courtney-253, 5-Grant-239,

6-Bayston-233, 7-Abreu-232, 8-Boat-218, 9-A. Bright-196, 10-Thorson-193. RICO REIGNS SUPREME IN KUNZ/CURB-AGAJANIAN SWEEP AT THE BURG Time and time again, the Columbus, Indiana-based KUNZ/CURBAGAJANIAN team has provided the machinery that has led to 89 career feature victories and eight championships as a USAC Midget National Championship car entrant. However, throughout the series’ first eight events, the venerable team had yet to find victory lane and seemed to be reeling after only one of its five drivers was able to scrape into the top-10 the night prior at Bloomington. It had been eight years since a Keith Kunz-led team had gone winless this far into the season, but Saturday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway was the night Kunz/ Curb-Agajanian Motorsports had finally arrived in 2017, and in a big way, as the trio of Rico Abreu, Tanner Thorson and Holly Shelton duplicated Clauson/Marshall Racing’s feat from the night before by recording a 1-2-3 to sweep of the top-three spots.

two of her teammates – Abreu and Spencer Bayston – Abreu was finally able to prevail with three laps remaining to earn his 16th career USAC National Midget win and third straight at Lawrenceburg in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Walker Filtration – TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota. “This week has had a lot of ups and downs, but this is when it all pays off,” said a thrilled Abreu. “We were getting dicey up front and I didn’t know how I was going to get past them since it was so easy to do a crossover. Once I got my momentum going, I made sure I kept my tires spinning every time I hit the cushion just to help not bog down the engine. These motors are the best in the business. It’s a lot of fun to drive these cars when they’re on point and tonight, we capitalized on that. We didn’t qualify great, though, because I changed up my line in qualifying and that hurt us. I enjoy every moment racing with Keith Kunz and Pete Willoughby. They’ve been doing it for a long time. It makes it a lot of fun when we get up here and win.”

All five of the Kunz/Curb-Agajanian cars occupied the first five rows of Saturday’s feature starting lineup, including both spots on the front After an unforgettable, dare-devilish row with Ryan Robinson on the race-long battle that saw slide-job pole and Holly Shelton outside. after slide-job thrown at Shelton by /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

The transcendent story of the night from lap one was Shelton, who rode the cushion through turns one and two, then split between the cars of Justin Grant and Ryan Robinson off turn two to take the lead on the opening lap. Action stalled at the conclusion of lap one as Indiana Midget Week point leader Michael Pickens got sideways at the top of turn one while battling Rico Abreu for the ninth position. As Pickens sat idle in the middle of the track, Alex Bright, Jerry Coons, Jr. and Adam Pierson plowed into the fracas, ending the night for all four drivers and throwing a monkey wrench into Pickens’ quest for a first Indiana Midget Week title. On lap nine, Bayston began his trail to the front as he slid Justin Grant for second entering the first turn. Grant hit the cushion sending him sideways into a half-spin through the second turn before regaining control. However, Bayston had secured the spot and began making strides toward the direction of race leader Shelton. With Pickens out of the night’s picture, USAC National Midget point leader Brady Bacon was poised to put his stamp on overtaking the Kiwi for the IMW lead. However, misfortune would befall Bacon on the 11th lap when he slowed to a 96

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

halt to bring out a yellow. He would finish 16th. Bayston took a run at the lead on the ensuing restart with a turn one slider across the nose of Shelton, but Shelton countered underneath, crossing over to maintain her race lead. Meanwhile, the Kunz/Curb-Agajanian car that started furthest back in the pack, driven by Abreu, had subsequently advanced his way from tenth to fifth prior to the yellow. On the 13th lap, Abreu poked his nose to the outside on the front straight before tearing between the two Clauson/Marshall cars of Tyler Courtney and Grant at the entry of one to take third. Shelton and Bayston remained the main players of the contest further ahead. Bayston was relentless, refusing to stay content and ride around on a rail behind Shelton. The second half of the 30-lapper began with Bayston throwing another jab at Shelton in one as he slid up to take away Shelton’s line on the brim. Shelton appeared unfazed and unafraid to keep her foot on the gas as she escaped from Bayston around the outside by the width of a strand of hair off turn two to stay atop the leader board. The duel at the front allowed Abreu to rapidly join in on the high-speed

team meeting between Shelton and Bayston. Bayston tried with all his might, but time-after-time, the second verse was the same as the first on both ends of the racetrack as Bayston’s repeated sliders came up empty handed and Shelton calmly steered back under to take the lead right back. On the 22nd lap, Bayston finally found enough speed off the fourth corner to nip Shelton by mere inches at the line. Immediately, the two entered turn one side-by-side, yet both simultaneously met in the middle. Both Shelton and Bayston collided, sending each gliding backward toward the outside wall. Somehow, someway, both miraculously found a way to avoid the concrete and a major catastrophe as Rico got on the binders to avoid T-Boning Bayston atop the cushion. Shelton began to distance herself once again, but, unfortunately for Bayston, the smacking of wheels between he and Shelton resulted in a flat left rear tire for which he would have to replace and rejoin the field, albeit out of contention for the win. “I got a pretty poor restart,” Shelton recalls. “I saw Spencer slide me and we crossed each other over a few times. Heading into one, we were both going to run the slider line and, unfortunately, I think my right rear tagged him a little bit. I

guess he hopped over the cushion. I felt bad about it. I hate hitting anybody, let alone my teammate.” With the absence of Bayston, Abreu aptly succeeded in the role of aggressor. On lap 25, Shelton tripped over the turn two cushion, allowing Abreu to get a fantastic run on the back straight into three, but Shelton once again was a stone cold assassin as she snared the lead back once again with five to go. The tension was pulsating from underneath the covered gransdtand as the raucous crowd was on needles and pins with the realization that they could be a witness to racing history and the first ever female USAC National feature winner. Excitement was palpable as the throng of fans stood and pumped their fists, the roar reverberated off the metal roof and the showdown between the relative newcomer and the confident veteran came down to the quick. Rico’s daring attempt on Shelton with three to go was the golden ticket. It repeatedly appeared that the slider could not stick with Shelton so consistently strong, but Rico stuck to his guns and the move paid off once and for all. Shelton tried to counter, but was only able to muster enough speed off two to pull even alongside Rico on the back straight. Rico carried the torch to /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

the lead into turn three as Thorson outgunned Shelton for second on the white flag lap with a countersteer of his own off turn two. For the final two circuits, Rico was scot-free – and Shelton-free, as he extended a tradition of his own as a Lawrenceburg USAC Midget winner for the third time in his last three tries over Thorson, Shelton, Shane Golobic and Tyler Courtney.

Spike/Speedway Toyota. “I was kind of sluggish on the start, but we got really good there at the end,” Thorson said. “KKM is back. Any car owner that runs top three in one night is going to be pretty happy. The crew has been working really hard to get us better and better and tonight it showed. Holly Shelton nearly pulled off one of the major milestones in USAC history that has yet to be checked off: a female USAC National feature winner. Shelton, of Sacramento, CA, took a career-best third in her Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Black & Decker - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota, joining Sarah McCune and Stephanie Mockler as the third female driver to record multiple top-five finishes in a USAC National Midget event. Shelton finished 5th at Eldora in September of 2016.

“The bottom was too slow to roll by,” Abreu explained. “When you’re running that close to other cars and the leader’s there, it’s easy to make mistakes on the cushion when you don’t have anything to compare it to besides the speed of the car in front of you. I love doing slide jobs and running the high side like that. It’s all timing. You don’t want to be too short on them or shoot too far past the cushion. I just made sure my wheels were spinning every time I got to the cushion. I finally got clear enough of Holly to where I could slide myself in three and four and Victory lane was a reunion of sorts just break her momentum.” for the top-three finishers in Saturday night’s feature. Shelton, ThorAfter humble beginnings to his son and Abreu grew up throwing night, defending USAC National sliders on each other in Outlaw Kart Midget champion Tanner Thorson competition at Cycleland Speedway of Minden, Nevada, scored his best in Oroville, California. finish of Indiana Midget Week Saturday night at Lawrenceburg with Shelton shared that there wasn’t a second-place run, sandwiched any specific meeting to get the between his two teammates in the crew’s and drivers’ attention after a Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motor- disappointing start to the season by sports/JBL Audio - TRD/Bullet by Keith Kunz standards. The team 98

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

responded by example, and the results indicate that fact with all six of the team’s entries finishing within the top-11. “We stepped up,” Shelton said as matter of fact. “Every time we’re out there, the crew gives us amazing cars. it’s the drivers job to drive them. After last night, we knew we needed a good night.” Michael Pickens maintained a lead of the slimmest of margins heading into Sunday’s finale at Kokomo Speedway. He led Shane Golobic by one and Tyler Courtney by three as the top-five are separated by a mere 12 points. Nine drivers remained mathematically eligible to win Indiana Midget Week: Pickens, Golobic, Courtney, Brady Bacon, Rico Abreu, Justin Grant, Spencer Bayston, Tanner Thorson and Chad Boat.

BAYSTON THE VICTOR, GOLOBIC THE CHAMP IN INDIANA MIDGET WEEK FINALE AT KOKOMO Spencer Bayston exorcised the demons that had plagued his relationship with lady luck since his first Indiana Midget Week triumph one year ago to capture his second career USAC National Midget victory Sunday night at Kokomo Speedway. Meanwhile, Shane Golobic - a steady, heady driver who always seems to play a leading role near the front of the field – made a laterace move with three laps remaining to net himself the 2017 Indiana Midget Week title.

Coming into the final night, nine drivers remained mathematically eligible to win the IMW title. The FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Rico Abreu, top-five, in fact, were separated by 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Holly Shelton, a mere 12 points. However, misfor4. Shane Golobic, 5. Tyler Courttune seemed to plague more than ney, 6. Ryan Robinson, 7. Justin its fair share of the top contenders Grant, 8. Spencer Bayston, 9. Ron- early on. nie Gardner, 10. Chad Boat, 11. Tanner Carrick, 12. Tyler Thomas, New Zealand’s Michael Pickens 13. Ryan Greth, 14. Trey Marcham, led by one marker over Golobic 15. Dave Darland, 16. Brady Bacon, entering the night, but in hot laps, 17. Steve Buckwalter, 18. Brayton Pickens’ night took an unexpected Lynch, 19. Michael Pickens, 20. turn as he climbed the turn two wall Jerry Coons Jr., 21. Alex Bright, 22. and flipped wildly. His Seamount Adam Pierson. NT Racing crew went to work and managed to get the car repaired in time to make a qualifying attempt and /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

continue as scheduled. Furthermore, both Justin Grant and Brady Bacon suffered from mechanical problems of their own, forcing them into backup machines for the remainder of the night. Nonetheless, all those who ran into issues would manage to qualify for the night’s 30-lap feature event solidly. One night following a resurgence to the front of the field after an uncharacteristic slow start to their season, a pair of Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports cars occupied both spots on the front row. Thorson set off from the pole while Bayston set up shop on the outside. Despite a consistent run of quality finishes for much of his three-year USAC Midget career, Bayston, the 2015 series Rookie of the Year, hadn’t found the promised land of victory lane in over a year at Gas City during 2016 Indiana Midget Week.

This time around, Bayston had plans to alter his fortunes from disappointment. Bayston immediately controlled the top side when racing began and wouldn’t stray too far from his comfort zone on the cushion throughout the duration of the 30-lap event. The curb did wreak havoc with Bayston on a couple of occasions, on lap 10, when he snagged it enough to briefly bog him down. Tyler Courtney was ready to pounce on the bottom in response and did so in a three-lap dash on laps 10, 11 and 12 that resulted in three consecutive photo finishes at the line. Courtney was credited with leading laps 11 and 12 by the narrowest of margins as Bayston briefly moved to the bottom to stifle Courtney’s invasion. “I went down there one time to block and also to see just what was down there,” Bayston remembers. “I thought I’d run right back to the top and carry my momentum up there. I felt better up there. That’s where I’d been running all race, so that’s what I stayed with.” Bayston quickly returned to the rimriding style as Courtney settled in on the bottom and a hard-charging Bacon, in the FMR Racing backup, entered the top-three just before the halfway point.

One night ago at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Spencer suffered heartbreak when a late-race battle for the lead with teammate Holly Shelton resulted in a flat left rear tire and a relegation to the tail of the field. Four nights prior, Bayston was on the short-end of a last lap, last corner pass for the win by Pickens at Lincoln Park Speedway. Just after mid race, Ryan Robinson 100

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

rode out a nasty flip in turn three while running in the tenth position. He would walk away uninjured.

position that would ultimately prove worthy.

Bayston would finish off his first Following the restart, Courtney USAC victory in a calendar year would find a pulse once again as he with relative ease in his Keith Kunzsurged on the bottom past Bayston Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Curb for the point on laps 20 and 21. Records - TRD/Bullet by Spike/ Speedway Toyota. Bayston never wavered from putting the right rear up near the con“It feels really good, but I was startcrete and his patience would pay ing to panic,” Bayston admits. off as he blew past Courtney on the “Coming into this week, I was really back straight with nine to go to grab hoping to get a couple wins. Each a lead he wouldn’t relinquish as he night, we had a fast car, but it just began to navigate lapped traffic. came down to whether I’d do something or something would happen “In turns one and two, there’s a lip on the racetrack. We were really in the center in the corner that I close at Lawrenceburg. I was restruggled to figure out once it got a ally disappointed at being that close bit ledgy and curby,” Bayston pinand not getting it done. To get it pointed. “That’s when ‘Sunshine’ done tonight at my favorite track, it’s showed me a nose and I was able a great feeling and my car was so to figure it out. Eventually, the bot- phenomenal and so stable up front tom slicked off for him and I got on the cushion.” faster.” Three-plus seconds behind Courtney was simultaneously Bayston, Golobic was able to fend caught up in two separate races in off Courtney for second at the line the closing laps. The race for the to capture the IMW title by just six win, which was beginning to slip points! away, and the on-track contest for second and third-place which would Golobic was the mark of consistdetermine the Indiana Midget Week ency throughout Indiana Midget championship. Courtney’s preroga- Week with no finishes outside the tive was to finish one spot ahead of top-eight, including a strong second Golobic and the title was his. Yet, half of IMW that included finishes with just three laps to go, Golobic of 3rd, 4th and 2nd in his Clausonslipped underneath his CMR team- Marshall-Matt Wood Racing/Elk mate in turn one for second and the Grove Ford – Driven 2 Save Lives/ /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Spike/Stanton SR-11.

Bloomington, it was still uncertain whether he’d be racing that night It was just the fourth time in the 13- due to illness. Defending USAC year history of Indiana Midget Week Silver Crown champion Chris Winthat the champion didn’t win a sindom was on standby and ready to gle race. It’s the second year in a step into the No. 17w if Golobic was row with this occurrence, duplicatunable to make the call. ing Bryan Clauson’s feat from 2016. Golobic was hired to run full-time “My girlfriend (Sarah) and I both got for Bryan’s father Tim’s new team in sick,” Golobic points out. “We came 2017 and the dividends are quickly down with two different things, actupaying off the self-admitted “wing” ally. She’s struggling with pneumodriver. nia and I had a really bad stomach flu and spent the day in E.R. before “This whole week says a lot about Bloomington. I wasn’t really sure if I this team,” Golobic begins. “I con- was even going to run Bloomington. sider myself a wing sprint car driver, The team even had a backup driver for the most part. I don’t get to do ready just in case. Deb & Matt a whole lot of midget stuff, so when Wood and Sarah did a great job of I come back here, I always feel like keeping fluids in me and taking care I’m a bit behind the eight-ball at the of me then we went to Bloomington start racing against some of these and ran one-two-three. From there, guys who do it so often. This team I just kept hydrating and getting as provides such good cars. I felt like much sleep as I could.” I was right there with them from the get-go and I just got better each Golobic entered Sunday’s feature night. I got more and more comfort- three-up on Courtney. He kept tabs able and my team kept giving me on USAC’s social media and webawesome cars. I guess I’m just the site to stay in-tune with the updated consistent guy. I don’t want to say Indiana Midget Week standings I’m a points racer, but I’m not gothroughout the evening and knew ing to make any big mistakes that precisely where he needed to be would cause a major catastrophe and who he had to beat. with the points at any time during the week.” “I’m a numbers guy, so coming into the feature, I knew exactly what I It was an Indiana Midget Week title needed to do,” Golobic explained. that nearly didn’t come to fruition for “My feature started off bad; I fell the Fremont, California native. An back to eighth or ninth. Pickens hour before hot laps on Friday at and Rico got by me and everybody 102

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

we needed to beat was getting by us. I figured, ‘man, we got to get going here’ before finding something on the bottom. Once I got to third, I knew “Sunshine” was second in points. If I could beat him, I knew I’d be okay. Spencer was out front, but he was deep enough in points, I didn’t have to worry about him. I got to third and I knew passing ‘Sunshine’ was going to be for the Midget Week title. I wouldn’t say I would’ve wore him out to win it, but I was definitely going to race him hard. The way it worked out, we were running two different lines for a bit and I was able to sneak by him. He was awesome all week. If it weren’t for engine troubles one night this week, he’d be doing this interview right now.” In sport and in life, when one experiences the thrill of victory by one, by nature, there is inherently someone experiencing the agony of defeat. Such is the case with Indianapolis, Indiana’s Tyler Courtney who saw the Indiana Midget Week title slip through his fingers with just three laps to go in his Clauson-Marshall Racing/Driven 2 Save Lives – Indiana Donor Network/Spike/Stanton SR-11. “The goal every night is to go out and win,” Courtney says point blank. “When it’s a big deal like ‘Midget Week,’ you want to take it home. It’s a tough deal. When you

have one bad night, it throws a hiccup in the plan. You have to keep trucking and I’ve got one of the best teams behind me. I think it shows with us running one-two in points this week. These guys never give up. We broke a motor at Gas City. The crew stayed up all night putting a new one in, then went out and ran third. Tonight, Justin ran into some mechanical issues. They pulled the backup car down and Justin ran fourth. I can’t say enough about these guys. They’re freaking awesome.” “I hate that I couldn’t get the midget week title, but at least one of us brought it home,” Courtney said as he searched for a silver lining. “Second definitely sucks and it really hurts when it’s a deal like this, but you just got to move on. Hopefully, this is just the start. Hopefully, the rest of the season will be as good, if not better, for us than what’s going on right now. I’m with one of the best midget teams and I think we really put our name out there this week. People have really taken a note of us. The last couple of nights, Keith (Kunz) got his stuff going really good again. It’s not going to be easy the rest of the year but we’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing and not worry about what they’re /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

doing. We’ve got three really good racecars and three really good racecar drivers. As long as we keep doing what we’re doing, I think we’re going to be the guys to beat.” FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Shane Golobic, 3. Tyler Courtney, 4. Justin Grant, 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Rico Abreu, 7. Michael Pickens, 8. Chad Boat, 9. Tanner Thorson, 10. Jerry Coons Jr., 11. Alex Bright, 12. Tanner Carrick, 13. Gage Walker. 14. Adam Pierson, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Ronnie Gardner, 17. Courtney Crone, 18. Tyler Thomas, 19. Jimi Quin, 20. Holly Shelton, 21. Davey Ray, 22. Ryan Robinson. NT FINAL USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Golobic-400, 2-Courtney-394, 3-Pickens-380, 4-Abreu-376, 5-Bayston-373, 6-Bacon-372, 7-Grant-372, 8-Thorson-321, 9-Boat-321, 10-A. Bright-267.

Another of the awesome KKM tea midget get up on just one wheel d

104

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

am was Ryan Robinson but we’re not quite sure how he was able to make the down the Gas City back straight. – Another awesome shot by Dean Yoder.

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

w e N l l A Bundaberg

“WE’RE certainly not mucking aro

recently had the pleasure to speak with David Vaughan about his latest venture….. Bundaberg’s Carina Speedway.

To say bringing a speedway back

106

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

from the dead is an act of god is sometimes an understatement, and Bundaberg’s Carina Speedway is no different. Late last season it looked like the

g Motorplex

ound - We are playing for keeps.â&#x20AC;?

venue was going to be lost when the previous promoter couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it work and walked away. However just over a month ago Brisbane Businessman David Vaughan

purchased the complex from the Walker family and commenced a massive makeover. Building immediately commenced on Canteens, Administration, another toilet block, first aid and Machinery buildings plus /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

108

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

purchasing of brand new catering equipment and earth working machinery.

put the call out for a little help via a working bee. “The support was overwhelming,” stated Vaughan. “Plenty got done and it’s refreshing David also went about renaming the so many came and helped ready for venue to Bundaberg Motorplex. the upcoming practice night.” “It’s not just a speedway” states Vaughan. “We have just recommissioned the motor cross track and are in the process of making an amphitheatre for live concerts so the “Motorplex” banner better suites our venue. Ute musters and even rodeos could also be held out here and that’s what were all about.” All this within a month! Vaughan has also brought out the big guns when it comes to venue management. Sedan great Barry Pearce has been appointed manager and promoter and in charge of track prep is Sean Butcher son of sedan legend and Hall of Fame inductee Allan. The venue needs a lot of work to bring it up to spec so Barry Pearce 110

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

“We really want to put this place on the map and give spectators and competitors a great facility to come on a Saturday night to watch some racing.” “We also want to make sure the venue is used to its maximum potential. Additions to the complex include a kart race track, mud drags and even Jet boat racing.” Vaughan said there would be an 18-meeting calendar this season including national titles. There will be racing in multiple categories including V8 Wing Sprints and V8 Non Wing Sprints. Bundaberg Motorplex is proud to announce Shed Alliance as nam-

Manager Barry Pearce ing rights partner for the upcoming season. Should any of you be in the market for a Steel Shed or Carport, support those that support our sport. Contact them for a quote www.shedalliance.com.au They offer a special deal to racers, crew and speedway supporters for

kit buildings delivered anywhere in Australia. Engineering Plans and Certifications are included. For race dates please visit www. bundabergmotorplex.com.au

Andy

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

We thought the Speedway Grand Prix riders were brave, and they are, but the 1000cc bikes on 1 mile (1.6km) dirt tracks – insane. Here J R Addison leads C

112

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

ese American flat track racers are either braver or just plain crazy. Running Chad Cose at Lima Ohio Fairgrounds. Dean Yoder Photo. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

More flat track action this time between Parker Lange (257) and Jeremy Orr on 114

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

n the 222 from Lima American Flat Track Racing.. Dean Yoder Photo. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

VOLUNTEERS THEY SO HARD By Ray Read

Over the past couple of years, there appears to be an increasing problem with an issue that has traditionally plagued speedway for many, many years. That is: to obtain and retain an efficient force of volunteers to run the speedway. We used to call it “manpower”, but I guess that current wave of political correctness has taken care of that. Alternatively, perhaps we called it “Club Membership” but that is no longer appropriate, it seems. Because, 116 HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

WHY ARE D TO KEEP?

in the words of one club secretary whom I interviewed when writing “Speedway’s Spectacular Seventies” back around 2011, who said: “They (Club Members) only want a place to put their wheels and race.” So it is a sad reality that despite (in some cases) burgeoning club numbers, speedways are still desperately looking for people to take on the “bread and butter” jobs such as flags, infield, gates, tow truck, etc. etc. The list goes on. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Other tracks and clubs are not so lucky with numbers. They have less members, to the extent that it seems that we are facing another surge of track closures over the coming period. We had a catastrophic series of closures in the late 1950s, and another which some will remember in the late 70s. Back in the 1990, one of the primary factors which contributed to the closure of the incredibly popular Seymour (Vic) track was a club membership which dwindled to just single digits. No, the problem goes much deeper than that. Those who have read many of my previous comments may recall frequent references to the need to run a speedway like a business. Apparently that concept upset a few people, but it remains true.

a few others from a section of the club membership who habitually do little work for the club, but just enjoy the benefits of cheaper entry to the track. Whatever the source of recruitment, they don’t stay. Inevitably the same situation applies to the turnover of volunteers or members who have particular specialty talents which are immensely valuable to the club. From grader drivers to media representatives and financial experts – the list goes on. These people are rare resources. Why do they leave? One would think that an infield job, close to the action and in most cases free of the gate entrance fee would be a pretty attractive proposition.

The answer is not to be found in any speedway literature. It is howBusinesses have employees, or ever clearly explained in many restaff. Much the same as speedways spected business reports. have club members and volunteers. These terms are inextricably inter“Managers tend to blame their turnchangeable in the manner in which over problems on everything under people are treated. As businesses the sun, while ignoring the crux of have Managers, so speedway clubs the matter: people don’t leave jobs; have Executives and Committees. they leave managers.” They are the Managers. Without delving into too much detail, Mike Myatt, writing for “TalThese top people ultimately need entsmart” lists the top reasons why to have (and accept) responsibility good people leave. After carefully for their staff. Or club members, or reading the complete article, I am volunteers. Call them what you will. able to offer at least six of these reasons relevant to speedway as to Research reveals that many speed- why people leave. way clubs seeking volunteers get responses, but that the people only 1. Management doesn’t recognize stay for a meeting or two and then contributions and reward good leave. Some of these are recruited work. from the spectator contingent, and 118

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

2. They are alienated by their management. 3. There is a lack of leadership.

gives them an abundance of options. You need to make them want to work for you.”

4. Managers don’t care about their employees. 5. A negative environment. 6. Lack of team work. It all gets back to the Management Team communicating with the volunteers and acknowledging their contribution. I can quote a recent example where an interstate volunteer, exceptionally qualified in both F1 and V8 Supercars, offered his services to a club which was requesting volunteers. He was told to go away, he wasn’t wanted! Authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman say: “People leave managers, not companies. So much money has been thrown at the challenge of keeping good people - in the form of better pay, better perks and better training – when in the end, turnover is mostly a manager issue.” I have previously reported on the damage done by the Micro-management of talented people, in an article which has been published here. This can also take a serious toll on disillusioned and dis-enfranchised volunteers who have been ridden over by excessively zealous executives. As Mike Myatt says: “If you want your best people to stay, you need to think carefully about how you treat them. While good employees are as tough as nails, their talent /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when was taken out of the event someone else’s wreck. Stephen Pickering is a he master photographer as in evidenced by this awesome “A

from his home track of Murray Bridge. The dark clouds turned out to be an om Crown.

120

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

Atmosphericâ&#x20AC;? shot of the grand parade at the Modified Production Sedan Title men for first across the line Brodie Boss who was later stripped of his National

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

Another great Picko’s Photos shot of the always popular Brock Atkins. Brock, t Production Sedans and has continued to be a shining star both for his on trac 122

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

the former Junior Sedan National Champion has stepped up to the Modified ck ability and his off track demeanour. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Quick Pic

nship at theSmith’s same venue when he was taken out of the event inafter someone else’sawreck. Matty disappointment in running second leading majority of the

smile after first across the line Brodie Boss was excluded for technical infringe est ever winner of the event. – another great Picko’s photo.

124

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

e Modified Production Championship final event would eventually become a big ements in post-race scrutineering. 17 year old Smith then became the young/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

Dean Yoder caught Caleb Helms hard on the gas coming off turn four at Attica 126

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

Raceway Park in the opening round of Ohio Speedweek. /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

Young West Australian Mitch Wormall is amongst the large number of Aussies Parks’ first turn. – Dean Yoder Photo.

128

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

currently racing in the USA. Here Wormall turns the car into Attica Raceway /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone else’s wreck.

130

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

ictorian Liam Williams secured back to back Australian Formula 500 Championships and his third overall at the Murray Bridge Speedway back in April. After going into night 2 as the top qualifier he slipped back to position two for the 30lap finale but it didn’t matter as he charged to the front to lead the entire journey defeating pole sitter Thomas Davies and hard charging Victorian Josh Buckingham. On the podium the three-time Australian Champion has quick to praise the Murray Bridge venue for the way the event was run along with his hard-working crew. “In that last heat race, tonight I didn’t feel as comfortable in the car so we went back to what we ran last night and the car was just perfect in the final. We all worked really hard this weekend as we knew starting up front would be key as there were so many good cars here”. “This Title was by far the best I have been to for many years I really have got to thank Murray Bridge for putting on such a great event” added Williams on the podium. After moving up to third just past the mid race point veteran Stephen Bell had to settle for fourth as he edged out Chris Bellman in the run to the flag.

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

Quick Pic

nship at the same venue when he was taken out of the event in someone elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wreck.

Steven Lines in the Brian Hall WA3 was a surprise winner of the USC round at Warrnambool recently. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so surprising about Lines winning, right? The reason it was surprising was that James McFadden in the Monte WA17 was lead o

The predominantly Victorian top 5 from the Aussie F500 Title with left to right C Davies WA (2nd) and Josh Buckingham (3rd). 132 HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

Chris Bellman (5th), Stephen Bell (4th), Liam Williams (1st â&#x20AC;&#x201C; kneeling), Thomas /HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE

134

HIGHLINE MAGAZINE | EDITION 16

/HIGHLINE-MAGAZINE