Shane Hmiel in the toughest race of his life

When celebrities get caught doing something they shouldn't, whether morally or legally wrong, we shake our heads. Blame it on the rapid rise to fame in tandem with too much money too fast.

Shane Hmiel is one of those stories. He was the earliest driver to fail NASCAR's drug testing, not just once but three times, and was banned from the series for life, long before Jeremy Mayfield came into the headlines.

He got clean and sober and set out to re-establish himself as a race car driver.

Until...

Watch this two-part story from Race Hub on SPEED last week and be inspired.

Perils of Dirt, who got hurt?

Kasey Kahne loves the dirt tracks and with an off week, what did he do?

You got it - race on dirt.



For a better view of the flip and landing, copy and paste this into your browser. SPEED has the best view.

http://www.speedtv.com/video/auto-racing/woo-kasey-kahne-huge-crash-1073946956001

And just like they say, "and no one got hurt." Well, not at that crash.

At Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway, it was a different story for Joey Saldana, who, ironically, drives for Kasey Kahne Racing in the World of Outlaws series.

Saldana has had surgery on his right forearm, broken in a wreck in the Kings Royal A-main. There are screws and plates in that arm now, and the wreck also broke some ribs and partially collapsed a lung.



Here's wishing Joey a quick and complete recovery!

K-C July 23 results

Once again, it's Monday and I'm going to turn this over the Scott Wolfe from K-C Raceway in Chillicothe. So, take it away, Scott!

Smith Smokes Sprints/Berwanger Befuddles AMRA Mods; Adams Attacks Hobbys

By Scott Wolfe

CHILLICOTHE, OHIO-After a torrid battle with young Sheldon Haudenschild, veteran sprint driver Danny Smith, Chillicothe, Ohio claimed the Goodyear 410 Sprint Car main at Jeff and Vicki Schrader’s K-C Raceway on a sultry Saturday night July 23. Jeremy Berwanger, the Murray City Bandit, blasted the AMRA modifieds after a race-long jousting match with Rob Stambaugh, and Jamie Adams, Laurelville, OH returned to victory lane in the Hobby Stock division.

Extreme temperatures and rains just about every place but the track set the action back nearly 45 minutes, but all the action was completed by 10:40. Additionally, nearly half of the sprint car field went home with a free Goodyear tire (the top nine cars) compliments of Jeff Schrader and the Goodyear Racing Program.

Last week police officer Brandon Mather was cited for the win and took the bounty money for defeating 10-time winner Jamie Adams. Adams’ bid to return to victory looked slim after a seventh place start, but Adams masterfully worked his way through the field to take the lead with three laps to go in posting the win.

Tommy Mossbarger was the class of the field early fending off side-by-side challenges from Brandon Thompson and Bruce Gray, Jr. Mossbarger had to survive several cautions that repeatedly kept the rest of the pack close and played into the hands of the ever-patient Adams.

Mossbarger and Thompson continued to battle while Gray, Mather, Seitz, and Adams jockeyed for position. Mossbarger finally built up a sizeable lead, but again had it erased near the end of the event with Thompson in second and Adams third. Adams disposed of Thompson then shimmied by Mossbarger for the win. Great racing throughout the pack highlighted the action.

Behind Adams in the top ten were Tommy Mossbarger, Brandon Thompson, Bruce Gray, Jr., Brandon Mather, Tim Cutler, Butch Eblin, Jason Holstein, Evan Seitz, and Robert Walker.

Adams said in victory lane, “You just have to take what you can get when you can get it. Tonight I just had to be patient—you don’t want to run over any body. Also, I’d like to thank my crew and family and everyone who comes out each week and roots for us.”

The redraw for the 410 Sprint Feature poised youngster Sheldon Haudenshild against veteran Smith with a hungry pack of open-wheel warriors lying in the wake. Haudenshild grabbed the early lead, triggering a bundle of turn-entry slide-job swaps between the duo.

Said Smith in victory lane, “He is a great little, up-and-coming driver. He’s only raced two years, but he has a lot of laps under his belt and he knows how to race.”

Smith appeared to take the lead on lap four for good, but Haudenschild dug a little deeper, perhaps in desperation of preserving a win while hammering out an amazing pass in a drag race out of turn two. Smith responded and took the lead for good on lap five, then the crafty Hoosier native worked traffic to perfection to build a resounding lead.

Jimmy Nier whisked by Lil Haud on lap 11 and gave chase to Smith. Nier once closed the gap to less than three car lengths, but lapped traffic soon separated the two, establishing a comfort zone for Smith. Lots of great racing took place behind the front runners. Jac Haudenschild had a solid top five going until mechanical failures sidelined the veteran star.

Nick Nabor had a great run going but scrubbed off some speed to avoid another car and was quickly shuffled out of the top ten. Jimmy Stinson, Cole Duncan, and Todd Kane pounded the dirt in ‘hammer-down’ style and blasted up from deep in the field. Duncan came from 11th to fourth and Stinson from 10th to third as that duo shared hard-charger honors.

Behind winning Smith was Jimmy Nier, Jimmy Stinson, Cole Duncan, Todd Kane, Sheldon Haudenschild, Mark Imler, Bryce Dickson, Josh Davis, and Mitch Harble.

Smith added, “Always great to see all the fans at K-C. I’d like to thank my nephew David, my crew, my fans and all the names on this car. That’s what makes this all possible. I’d also like to dedicate this win to Joey Saldana and wish him a speedy recovery.”

With several other area tracks rained out, a star-studded AMRA Modified field took the green for an exciting 20-lap event. Rob Stambaugh took the early lead, and appeared to have shaken a string of K-C bad luck over the last few weeks.

Stambaugh blasted from the second row past Berwanger and Jeremy Rayburn. Stambaugh led the hard-hitting parade until lap eleven, when Berwanger finally found his way around the local #67 speedster. Now, Stambaugh dogged Berwanger as J.P. Roberts marched up into the top six from a 16th place start. Roberts, Tim Rayburn, and Crace went three wide several times in exciting on-track action.

Rayburn held off Kenny Johnson for a time, but Johnson rode the high-side to third then went to work on Stambaugh. Meanwhile, Jeremy Rayburn, Brian Whiteman, David Pinkerton, and Tim Rayburn fought ferociously for position. T.J. Harper and Brad Butler were gaining some valuable ground throughout the race with nice runs.

The last six laps Kenny Johnson—‘always worth the price of admission’-- had the fans on their feet. Johnson pressured Stambaugh to a near breaking point. Although Stambaugh never stumbled Johnson still forged on and made a pass up in no-man’s land high against the fence to take second.

Behind Berwanger were Kenny Johnson, Rob Stambaugh, Jeremy Rayburn, Brian Whiteman, David Pinkerton, Tim Rayburn, T.J. Harper, Bob Crace, Jr., and Brad Butler.

The “X-man” Berwanger said, “Great to back in victory lane. This is a great team and this Two-brothers Shaw car was just perfect. Thanks to all the guys and fans that make this effort a winning one.”

Brad Butler was the hard charger in a 20th to 10th run. Other notable comeback bids came from Bob Crace, Jr. who had to go to the tail on lap seven and came back to ninth, and J.P. Roberts and Mike Long--both in the top ten—who were collected in the same mid-race accident after good early runs.

Next week K-C runs AMRA Late Models, AMRA Modifieds, and Hobby Stocks.

The Summary: July 23, 2011

Goodyear 410 Sprint Cars (23)

Fast Time: Jimmy Stinson 12:103
Heat One: Danny Smith, Sheldon Haudenschild, Jac Haudenschild, Jimmy Stinson, Bryce Dickson, Jordan Harble, John Shewbrooks, Kory Crabtree
Heat Two: Josh Davis, Nick Nabor, Todd Kane, Cole Duncan, Mitch Harble, Brandy Bower, Jeff Conrad, Beau Stewart
Heat Three: Jimmy Nier, Mark Imler, Nathan Skaggs, Ed Neumeister, Randy Fink, Nick Forcum, Jeb Lowder
Sprint B-Main: Brandy Bower, Nick Forcum, Beau Stewart, Jordan Harble, John Shewbrooks, Jeff Conrad, Jeb Lowder, Kory Crabtree
Feature: Danny Smith, Jimmy Nier, Jimmy Stinson, Cole Duncan, Todd Kane, Sheldon Haudenschild, Mark Imler, Bryce Dickson, Josh Davis, Mitch Harble, Nathan Skaggs, Nick Naber, Ed Neumeister, Beau Stewart, Randy Fink, Brandy Bower, Jordan Harble, Jac Haudenschild, John Shewbrooks, Nick Forcum

AMRA Advanced Services Modifieds (22)
Grooms Fast Time: Kenny Johnson 15:677
Heat One: Jeremy Berwanger, Kenny Johnson, Mike Long, Tim Rayburn, Greg Oliver, J.P. Roberts, Keith Baxter
Heat Two: Jeremy Rayburn, Rob Stambaugh, Dave Fireball Pinkerton, Mark Bailey, Donnie Stewart, John Arthurs, Brian Moore
Heat Three: Brian Whiteman, Bob Crace, Jr., Derrick Smith, Kevin Delaney, T.J. Harper, Bob Hurst, Jr., Brad Butler
Feature: Jeremy Berwanger, Kenny Johnson, Rob Stambaugh, Jeremy Rayburn, Brian Whiteman, David Pinkerton, Tim Rayburn, T.J. Harper, Bob Crace, Jr., Brad Butler, J.P.Roberts, Mike Long, Brian Moore, Derrick Smith, Bob Hurst, Jr., Greg Oliver, Donnie Stewart, John Arthurs, Mark Bailey, Kevin Delaney

Hobby Stocks (130
Heat One: Brandon Thompson, Bruce Gray, Jr., Brandon Mather, Jamey Adams, Tim Cutler, Robert Walker, Butch Eblin, Mike Slade DNS
Heat Two: Tommy Mossbarger, Evan Seitz, Tracey Ross, Jason Holstein, Jack Martin, Mike Brust
Feature: Jamey Adams, Tommy Mossbarger, Brandon Thompson, Bruce Gray, Jr., Brandon Mather, Tim Cutler, Butch Eblin, Jason Holstein, Evan Seitz, Robert Walker, Tracey Ross, Mike Brust, Jack Martin.

Goodyear 410 Sprint Championship Points

Danny Smith 264
Jimmy Nier 237
Cole Duncan 226
Sheldon Haudenschild 194
Jimmy Stinson 185
Brandy Bower 181
Bryce Dickson 171
Todd Kane 166
Josh Davis 165
Nathan Skaggs 156
Greg Wilson 137
Jeb Lowder 131
Nick Naber 129
Jack Haudenschild 129
Randy Fink 125
Kyle Sauder 119
John Shewbrooks 117
Ron Blair 117
Ed Neumeister 116
Aaron Higgins 113

AMRA Advanced Services Championship Points
(After July 23)
Dave Fireball Pinkerton 372
Brian Whiteman 349
Jeremy Rayburn 348
Jeremy Berwanger 343
Bob Crace, Jr. 325
Mark Bailey 287
Tim Rayburn 260
Kevin Delaney 217
John Arthurs 191
Kenny Johnson 188
Brian Moore 165
Donnie Stewart 164
Rob Stambaugh 163
Jimmy Lennex 160
T.J. Harper 152
Bud Frazier 152
Bob Hurst 150
Luke Jordan 149
Lonnie Kidd 148
Sean Settles 128

Hobby Stock Championship Points

Jamey Adams 595
Tommy Mossbarger 494
Bruce Gray, Jr. 471
Brandon Thompson 457
Brandon Mather 450
Tim Cutler 440
Butch Eblin 376
Mike Brust 340
Jack Martin 288
Tracey Ross 276
Jim Hildebrand 253
Keith Dubois 237
Phil Rice 220
Richard Trego 187
Jeff Sheets 168
Roger Mossbarger 156
Gary Park 151
Travis Pertuset 134
Evan Seitz 116
Dan Lewis 80
Jeremy Bretz 79

K-C July 16 results

Scott Wolfe is my new hero. He faithfully sends results from K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio, and even crafts a nice story to tell you all about what happened on the track.

So, here is this week's installment of the action at K-C along with results from all classes.

Thanks, Scott!


Grant Great at K-C Boss Sprints
Hot Rod Conley Hottest in AMRA Lates
Mather Masters Hobbies/Ervin Earns 4-Cyl Cash

July 16, 2011 Results

By Scott Wolfe

CHILLICOTHE, OHIO-The first appearance of non-winged sprint cars since 1994 was a huge success as the new breed of California Kid, 19-year old Justin Grant garnered the 2nd Annual Gene Comstock Memorial for BOSS sprint cars on the high banks of Jeff and Vicki Schrader's K-C Raceway. Hot Rod Conley, Wheelersburg, Ohio bested the potent AMRA Late Model field, Brandon Mather broke Jamey Adams' win streak in the Hobby Stocks, and Todd Ervin won the first appearance of the Rear-wheel Drive Four Cylinders. The sprint feature was the first-ever BOSS event. (K-C's non-winged United States Auto Club event was rained out last year, making Saturday's non-wing show the first in nearly two decades)

Formerly of Lone, California, the 2010 National USAC Rookie of the Year, who now calls Piqua, Ohio home, Justin Grant put on one heck of a show in making a clean sweep and dusting the field in the 25-lap Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series"Gene Comstock Memorial". The race was held in honor of the late Gene Comstock, Huntington, WV one of just a few Tri-State racers who were the early pioneers of the current NASCAR series. Prior to national success, Comstock was on open wheel ace with several hundred feature wins to his credit.

Grant won his heat, then blitzed off into the sunset with a colorful barnstorming effort high against the K-C concrete wall. Grant lapped all, but the top four cars in the masterful flex of power. Although Grant was spectacular far ahead of his competitors, it was the action back in the pack that also thrilled the crowd.

Joss Moffett anchored second most of the way as the point man of a torrid dual with Dustin Smith. For 25 laps the duo raced side by side, nose to tail, swapping slide jobs at regular intervals. Moffett got loose in turn one on the 14th circuit and was barely clipped by Smith, sending Moffett--a former Lawrenceburg, IN champion--into a 360.

Moffett kept the car in motion and within a lap was right back battling with Smith for second. Former K-C regular Adam Strausser was fast all night long, winning his heat and anchoring a solid fourth. Meanwhile, a gaggle of cars fought for fifth, swapping position at regular intervals in tight confines of the dangerous open wheel realm. Todd Keen finally zoomed from 9th to fifth ahead of high flyer Aaron Middaugh.

Jason Soudrette earned hard charger honors with a 15th to 7th charge. Keen and Middaugh battled hard for a top five then was joined by Soudrette for a three-way battle. In the same gaggle Landon Simon Michael Fischesser and Josh Slone in Eddie Slone's 4x fought for a top ten.

As Grant's Claxton Engines/DRC Chassis roared to the win, the rest of the top ten filed across the line in this order: Dustin Smith, Joss Moffett, Adam Strausser, Todd Keen, Aaron Middaugh, Jason Soudrette, Landon Simon, Michael Fischesser, and Josh Slone. Other credible efforts were given to Travis Welpott, Mike Weber, Jeb Lowder, Duane Spille, and Ernie Christian, who was an accident victim after running second in his heat.

After a trio of victory 360's, Grant reeled a great deal of enthusiasm from the K-C crowd. Grant, the Ohio transplant said excitedly after a cage stand and salute to the crowd, "I'd like to thank Mark Hery my car owner for this opportunity and thank all of my sponsors. This car was on a rail both tonight and last night. K-C is a nice facility and it's nice to win the first time out here."

The Late Model feature was the typical action-packed, highly competitive bout that K-C fans have come to expect. Athens, OH driver Ralph Withem led the first four laps before hot Rod Conley reeled him in. Next, former champ Jason Montgomery blasted by Withem along with Mike Wilson, allowing Montgomery to challenge Conley for the lead. Montgomery took the lead on lap seven, but a caution for Paul Davis reverted the lead back to Conley. Davis collected fellow Kentucky hot-shoe Ken Howell in the process.

Although it appeared their chances had narrowed, both fought back up through the pack for top ten finishes in some of the best passing laps of the night. First heat winner K-C Burdette suffered a flat tire, ending his night.

A couple laps later, a hard-charging Delmas Conley climbed the wall in turn four. With the right front wheel still up on the wall, Conley backed the car down onto the track, shook it down, said "it's a go" and went to the tail, setting up an exciting charge back to fourth place.

A pile-up that left nowhere to go eliminated top runner Kevin Wagner, who has had a great deal of success at K-C over the last few weeks. Collected in the incident were hard-challengers Dean Boyd, Brian Eaton, Kenny Spencer, and Tony Roush. Only Roush and Spencer were able to continue.

Meanwhile, 10th place starter Audie Swartz, Mark Frazier, and Racin' Jason Perry were on the move and in a battle with second heat winner Billy Gullion. Frazier had a top five all night long, but around the 19th circuit his car began to smoke and he dropped out along with Montgomery.

As Delmas Conley and Paul Davis blasted back toward the front, Rod Conley pulled away from the field with Wilson now in second. Swartz made a late race charge, as he and Wilson swapped positions and slide jobs over the last two laps. It appeared Wilson locked wheels with Swartz coming down to the checkered scattering both cars in different directions a Wilson backward toward the finish line. Withem had a rocket-ship all night and finished strong at third.

Conley crossed for the win followed by Swartz, Ralph Withem, Delmas Conley, Paul Davis, Ken Howell. Tony Roush, Brett Foster, Kenny Spencer, Mike Wilson, and Mark Frazier. Swartz and Tony Roush shared hard charger honors passing eight cars each.

Said Conley, "This racing business is tough. It's tough every night out and everyone is fast anymore. I am glad to bring home the win. Thanks to Conley Trucking and all the guys back at the shop. Sometimes it seems we have to work more on our trucks (Conley Trucking) than the race cars, but that's what makes the racing possible. Thanks to all the fans who came out tonight."

In the Hobby Stock Main, the field fought the law, and...."the law won!" Yes, literally. Brandon Mather, a Chillicothe Police officer, who has been getting smoother and faster every week was the wheel-man that broke a 10 race win streak of Jamey Adams.

Saturday, Mather was also Bounty Hunter as he collected a four-week old Bounty on Adams of $168 in addition to his prize money. The bounty was the idea of the crowd, who proposed upping the bounty $42 each week until someone defeated Adams. The four-week total was $168.

Said an emotional Mather in victory lane, "Wow! I don't know what to say," Then laughing, Mather said, "I'm glad the track staff told me where to go, I've never been here before."

Mather added, "Thanks to my crew, engine builder Rick Shoemaker at Central Auto Parts and everyone else who helped me get here. This is a Jamey Adams Chassis. I have him to thank, because he's the one that makes us all go fast."

Good racing again took place back in the pack. Brandon Thompson tried Mather a couple of times, but didn't have the zap he needed to pull off the win. Thompson did, however, hold off Adams for second with Tommy Mossbarger in fourth. Bruce Gray, Jr. held down second early in the race, but despite being fast slipped back to a torrid battle with Mossbarger for fourth.

On the sixth circuit, young Blake Sheets caught the wall and flipped wildly into turn number four, scattering parts and his rear-end housing onto the track. The bad accident scene turned good, when Sheets emerged from the badly damaged car only shaken.

Racing heated back up with Mather up front and Thompson, Adams, and Mossbarger in tow. Tracey Ross continued his string of solid runs with another good showing, while Butch Eblin staged one of his best finishes of the year with K-C hard-chargers Jack Martin and Tim Cutler close behind.

The finish trickled down in this order: Brandon Mather, Brandon Thompson, Jamey Adams, Tommy Mossbarger, Bruce Gray, Jr., Tracey Ross, Butch Eblin, Jack Martin, Tim Cutler, and Blake Sheets. Keith Dubois (2nd) and Evan Seitz had good heat runs, but suffered mechanical problems.

Todd Ervin took the early lead and never looked back in claiming the first Four Cylinder event of the year at K-C. Derek Davis ran strong all night, but was unable to make the run he needed on the flying Ervin. Ervin said in victory lane, "Thanks to all my friends, my family, and sponsors for helping me out. It really feels good to be able to win here at K-C."

Ervin topped first heat winner James Ball and a stout field of four cylinders to get the win. Rounding out the top ten were Derek Davis, Tom McVey, Kyle Purdy, James Ball, John Smith, Chip Truitt, Adam Haynes, Dustin Hartley, Steve Cruse, Scott Henry, and Zach Ackley.

Next week, July 23 is Vendors Night which features all of K-C's fine sponsors. On the race card are 410 Winged Sprints, Advanced Services Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. In addition to the hefty pay-off the top nine cars in the sprints will win a free Goodyear Racing Tire.

For More Information visitwww.kc-raceway.com or call 740-663-4141.

BOSS Non-Winged Sprints (15)

Heat One: Adam Strausser, Aaron Middaugh, Mike Weber, Duane Spille, Ernie Christian
Heat Two: Dustin Smith, Travis Welpott, Landon Simon, Josh Slone, Jeb Lowder
Heat Three: Justin Grant, Joss Moffett, Todd Keen, Michael Fischesser, Jason Soudrette
Gene Comstock Memorial: Justin Grant, Dustin Smith, Joss Moffett, Adam Strausser, Todd Keen, Aaron Middaugh, Jason Soudrette, Landon Simon, Michael Fischesser, Josh Slone, Travis Welpott, Mike Weber, Jeb Lowder, Duane Spille, Ernie Christian

AMRA Late Models (25)
Fast Time: Jason Montgomery 13:763
Heat One: K-C Burdette, Delmas Conley, Jason Montgomery, Audie Swartz, Kevin Wagner, Dean Boyd, Kenny Spencer, Matthew Jobe
Heat Two: Billy Gullion, Rod Conley, Jason Perry, Mark Frazier, Brian Eaton, Dylan Huron, Tony Roush, Robbie Ratliff
Heat Three: Mike Wilson, Ralph Withem, Paul Davis, Brett Foster, Ken Howell, Josh Bivens, Tommy Bigham, Russ Fronapfel
B-Main: Dean Boyd, Dylan Huron, Tony Roush, Russ Fronapfel, Kenny Spencer, Matthew Jobe, Robbie Ratliff, Tommy Bigham, Josh Bivens, Boyd Adkins (DNS)
Feature: Rod Conley, Audie Swartz, Ralph Withem, Delmas Conley, Paul Davis, Ken Howell. Tony Roush, Brett Foster, Kenny Spencer, Mike Wilson, Mark Frazier, Billy Gullion, Jason Montgomery, Jason Perry, Kevin Wagner, Brian Eaton, Dean Boyd, Russ Fronapfel, K-C Burdette, Dylan Huron

Hobby Stocks: (12)
Heat One: Brandon Thompson, Keith Dubois, Bruce Gray, Jr., Tim Cutler, Jack Martin, Blake Sheets
Heat Two: Brandon Mather, Jamey Adams, Tommy Mossbarger, Tracey Ross, Evan Seitz, Butch Eblin
Feature; Brandon Mather, Brandon Thompson, Jamey Adams, Tommy Mossbarger, Bruce Gray, Jr., Tracey Ross, Butch Eblin, Jack Martin, Tim Cutler, Blake Sheets, Keith Dubois, Evan Seitz

Four Cylinders: (14)
Heat One: James Ball, Steve Cruse, John Smith, Derek Davis, Scott Henry, Zach Ackley
Heat Two: Todd Ervin, Tom McVey, Kyle Purdy, Chip Turitt, Adam Haynes, Dustin Hartley
Feature: Todd Ervin, Derek Davis, Tom McVey, Kyle Purdy, James Ball, John Smith, Chip Truitt, Adam Haynes, Dustin Hartley, Steve Cruse, Scott Henry, Zach Ackley

KY Speedway, part 1

Photos. Just photos. More to come.

Need for speed?

Looking for some racing this weekend?

KC Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio, will have kart racing on July 15 in the following classes:
Rookie - WKA Flathead Purple #250 6-11
Youth 1 E-MOD - Clone with ARC Purple plate #250 6-11
Junior - WKA Flathead Gold #300 12-15
Youth 2 E-MOD - Clone #300 12-15
Junior Champ - WKA flathead gold plate or unrestricted e-mod. 300# up to 14
Medium - WKA Flathead Stock #350 15 & up
Miniwedge beginner e-mod clone w/ARC purple plate 300# 6-9
Miniwedge Exp. -e-mod. clone, unrestricted #320 10-13
Open - No shifter karts #350 15 & up
E-Mod - Clones-Adults #350 15 & up ( see rules page)
E-Mod - Clones heavy - #375 15 & up clone lites - 325#
E-Mod - Clones super heavy 425# 15 & up
Box Stock - Clone Box Stock 350# 15 & up

Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series (BOSS) non-winged sprints will race at KC Raceway on July 16 in the 2nd annual Gene Comstock Memorial. Also that night is AMRA Late Models, Reno Hobby Stocks/Rear Wheel Drive Four Cylinders. Qualifying at 6:30 p.m. and races start at 7:30 p.m.

Over at Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, Ohio, it’s Kings Royal weekend. On Friday it’s Night before Kings Royal: WoO Sprints /NRA Sprints. Saturday is the main event, WoO Sprints, $50,000 to win. Just in case, rain date is Sunday.

Ona Speedway in West Virginia is dark this weekend, with racing to resume on July 30, sponsored by The Home Depot. Racing in Hobby Stock, Elite Modified, U-Car and Classics.

Glass half full, glass half empty

There were several types of fans on the roads leading to Kentucky Speedway on Saturday.

Your attitude depended on how you see the glass. Half full? Half empty? A couple folks I follow on Twitter sort of showed that Saturday on the road to Sparta.

The eternal optimist
Darrell Waltrip tweets, “Bruton Smith owns many racetracks, he will work with Gov. Beshear to get things right,we have a year to make changes,they'll get it right !”

Note to DW – It takes more than one year to fix this problem. First there's $$$, which is probably the biggest issue, followed by engineering. Sparta, Ky., is kinda hilly terrain, which is a problem and will also drive up the cost to build a road. And I told the governor on Friday, traffic for a couple hours at a major race event was not unusual.

Of course, that was before the 3- 4- and some longer wait stories hit the social media. We were in that mess. For about 3-1/2 hours to travel what should have been 30- to 45-minutes on a normal day.

Making the best of the situation
You've heard the saying, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em? That would be Denny Hamlin.

Denny was stuck in the traffic with everyone else. Only that was a bigger problem for him than everyone around. At 3:30 p.m., he hadn't made it to the track for the driver's meeting, which was only two hours away.

He chose to take it all with a sense of humor. He tweets, “20 bucks to the first of my followers who finds me in traffic. Will send pic to confirm.”

“I think everyone should lay on their horns at the same time. Ready Set Go!!!!”

“Good news bad news/ bad news is I'm prolly not gonna make the drivers meeting in 3 hrs because I'm in this traffic with everyone else.”

“Good news I'm starting in the back anyway!”

He also commented about tweeting and driving. "not driving, sir, sitting."

Or just get over it
Every one's funnyman Kenny Wallace's opinion is it's over and done with now, move on.

Bruton Smith is quoted in Sunday's Lexington Herald-Leader saying it's not his job, meaning the roads around the track. That would be the state's bailiwick.

I've been backed up, sorry, sat in my car stopped, on Bruton Smith Boulevard before, maybe 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Not 3 hours. Certainly not more and I've never been turned away because there was no more parking.

At SceneDaily, Bob Pockrass wrote on Sunday, "But I view what happened Saturday night as just plain unacceptable, whether it was the track’s first Cup race or not.

"It’s one thing to have a 2-hour backup at the peak of traffic. But to have the traffic woes getting in – not to mention what has to be a mess in the parking lots and highways now that I write this – but it appeared that no one had ever done one second of traffic preparation (which of course isn’t true). It appeared as if no one had learned lessons of previous traffic nightmares when other tracks opened."

NASCAR spent Sunday apologizing the fans.

SceneDaily's commentary by Pockrass quoted speedway GM Mark Simendinger saying, "I didn’t expect that [big of a problem. We had some rain and some issues related to the parking lots. We got them squared away. Really, we had an unforeseen imbalance of where the traffic was going to come from.

“As the night went on, I don’t know who was still left out there. But they were still coming and the stands were packed. We clearly had gotten tons of people in and yet they were still coming. We’ll have to look at all the facts and the data and try to figure out where our planning went wrong.”

Obviously, this issue is not going to roll over and be quiet and we'll be hearing about for probably at least another week, or through next weekend's race at New Hampshire.

In the end, once you got to, if you got to, the track, it was a good time at My Old Kentucky Home, not so far away for this blogger. Just a couple hours down Interstate 64. Not great, action-packed racing, but live Sprint Cup series racing. A mediocre race at the track is better than none at all.

Start your engines, bluegrass style

It took 11 years, but it's about to happen. While NASCAR has had Craftsman Truck and Nationwide series races at Kentucky Speedway, the big Kahuna has not graced the track.

Now, after years of negotiations, economic incentives and, the occasional lawsuit, Sprint Cup racing comes to Sparta, Ky., and Governor Steve Beshear couldn't be happier.

"All eyes will be on Kentucky," Beshear said at a pre-raceday cookout at the governor's residence in Frankfort.

In the grandstands will be approximately 120,000 people, which, in and of itself, is an economic boon to the state. Since this is the first time the Cup series has raced at Kentucky, there are no numbers yet to indicate just how much the financial impact will be to the state, Beshear said.

"This is everyman's sport," said Kentucky Secretary of Tourism, Arts and Heritage Marcheta Sparrow said. Until now, going to the races has meant going to the horse track. There was a time when people went there regularly, and that declined to a trip once a week to bet a few dollars on the horses. "But they don't even do that anymore."

So, having the premiere series of NASCAR come to Kentucky on a yearly basis, will make a difference.

The stands which used to seat 60-70,000 will now have 120,000 at capacity, Beshear said. He also sees it another selling point for his state in terms of both production value and quality of life.

He's betting the economic incentives to Speedway Motorsports Inc., added to the $80 million investment of SMI will pay of in both the short and long term.

The proximity of Kentucky Speedway to fans in Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana is attractive, said First Lady Jane Beshear.

With West Virginia a 2 or 3 hour drive, she hopes fans will flock to the Bluegrass State.

So, within good driving distance, fans can add Kentucky to their favorite tracks and have the ingredients for a good day trip.

Gentlemen, start your engines! Green flag drops at 7:45 p.m. At least according to the raceday schedule distributed by track officials.

K-C July 1 results

Thanks to Scott Wolfe of K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio, for the results of their July 1 races.

Coming up at K-C is NRA Sprint Invaders, Late Models, Advanced Services Modifieds and Hobby Stocks on Saturday, July 9.

Then, on July 16, the track will host the BOSS non-winged Sprints 6 in the Gene Comstock Memorial. Late Models, Hobby Stocks, and Rear-wheel drive 4-cylinders are also on the race card.

O'Reilly Auto Parts Night July 1 results are:

All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars (29 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Qualifying - Kistler Engines
1. 89G-David Gravel, 11.580; 2. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 11.737; 3. 22-Cole Duncan, 11.874; 4. 2-Dale Blaney, 11.881; 5. 83-Tim Shaffer, 11.919; 6. 45-Rob Chaney, 11.980; 7. O4-Cap Henry, 11.982; 8. 4K-Kody Kinser, 12.027; 9. 6-Jac Haudenschild, 12.052; 10. 78-Todd Kane, 12.082; 11. 4-Danny Smith, 12.085; 12. OO-Jim Nier, 12.085; 13. 1Z-Jessica Zemken, 12.109; 14. 12-Jared Ridge, 12.115; 15. 11N-Ed Neumeister, 12.124; 16. 6X-Nick Nabor, 12.135; 17. w20-Greg Wilson, 12.149; 18. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.260; 19. 7-Darren Long, 12.320; 20. 3-Pete Miller III, 12.425; 21. 11D-Bryce Dickson, 12.452; 22. 41-Randy Fink, 12.666; 23. 4X-Eddie Slone, 12.777; 24. O6-Brandy Bower, 13.122; 25. 2N-Nathan Skaggs, 13.240; 26. 3F-Rick Frayley, 13.525; 27. A79-John Shewbrooks, 14.656; 28. X-Jeb Lowder, 99.999; 29. 9J-Jesse McCreary, 99.999

Heat 1 Kears Speed Shop (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 6X-Nick Nabor[1]; 2. 1Z-Jessica Zemken[2]; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[5]; 4. O4-Cap Henry[4]; 5. 78-Todd Kane[3]; 6. 89G-David Gravel[6]; 7. 7-Darren Long[7]; 8. 2N-Nathan Skaggs[9]; 9. 41-Randy Fink[8]; 10. X-Jeb Lowder[10]

Heat 2 All Pro Heads (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. w20-Greg Wilson[1]; 2. 4-Danny Smith[3]; 3. 12-Jared Ridge[2]; 4. 83-Tim Shaffer[5]; 5. 4K-Kody Kinser[4]; 6. 3-Pete Miller III[7]; 7. D4-Danny Holtgraver[6]; 8. 9J-Jesse McCreary[10]; 9. 3F-Rick Frayley[9]; 10. 4X-Eddie Slone[8]

Heat 3 MSD Ignition (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[1]; 2. 6-Jac Haudenschild[4]; 3. OO-Jim Nier[3]; 4. 45-Rob Chaney[5]; 5. 11N-Ed Neumeister[2]; 6. 22-Cole Duncan[6]; 7. O6-Brandy Bower[8]; 8. 11D-Bryce Dickson[7]; 9. A79-John Shewbrooks[9]

Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature
1. 2-Dale Blaney[2]; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[4]; 3. 45-Rob Chaney[1]; 4. O4-Cap Henry[5] ; 5. 89G-David Gravel[3]; 6. 22-Cole Duncan[6]

B-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (12 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. D4-Danny Holtgraver[1]; 2. 7-Darren Long[2]; 3. 11D-Bryce Dickson[3]; 4. 2N-Nathan Skaggs[7]; 5. 4X-Eddie Slone[5]; 6. O6-Brandy Bower[6]; 7. 9J-Jesse McCreary[11]; 8. 41-Randy Fink[4]; 9. 3F-Rick Frayley[8]; 10. A79-John Shewbrooks[9]; 11. X-Jeb Lowder[10]

A-Main - O'Reilly Auto Parts (40 Laps)
1. 2-Dale Blaney[1]; 2. 89G-David Gravel[5]; 3. 4K-Kody Kinser[7]; 4. w20-Greg Wilson[17]; 5. 83-Tim Shaffer[2]; 6. 1Z-Jessica Zemken[13]; 7. 78-Todd Kane[9]; 8. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[18]; 9. D4-Danny Holtgraver[11]; 10. 12-Jared Ridge[14]; 11. 11D-Bryce Dickson[21]; 12. 2N-Nathan Skaggs[24]; 13. 11N-Ed Neumeister[15]; 14. 6X-Nick Nabor[16]; 15. 4X-Eddie Slone[22]; 16. O6-Brandy Bower[23]; 17. O4-Cap Henry[4]; 18. 3-Pete Miller III[20]; 19. 45-Rob Chaney[3]; 20. 7-Darren Long[19]; 21. 6-Jac Haudenschild[8]; 22. 22-Cole Duncan[6]; 23. 4-Danny Smith[10]; 24. OO-Jim Nier[12]
Hard Charger: w20-Greg Wilson[+13]

O'Reilly Late Models (37)
Fast Time: Ben Adkins 14:350
Heat One: Steve Casebolt, Jr., Eric Wells, Josh McGuire, Delmas Conley, Greg Johnson, Clint Keenan, Ken Howell, D.J. Miller, Nick Latham, Brian Casey
Heat Two: Ben Adkins, Brad Neat, Tim Dohm, Mark Frazier, Billy Gullion, Dean Boyd, Dylan Huron, Ross Nicastri, Kirk Phillips
Heat Three: Donnie Moran, Rod Conley, Earl Pearson, Jr., Jared Miley, Mike Wilson, Chad Smith, Harold Redman, Jr., Jason Perry, Russ Fronapfel
Heat Four: R.J. Conley, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Johnny McCool, Devin Moran, Frank Heckenest, Jr., Kevin Wagner, Paul Davis, Brett Kennard, Carrie Mason
B-Main One: Greg Johnson, Ken Howell, Dean Boyd, Clint Keenan, Dylan Huron, Nick Latham, D.J. Miller, Kirk Phillips, Ross Nicastri,Brian Casey
B-Main Two: Frank Heckenest, Mike Wilson, Chad Smith, Harold Redman, Jr., Kevin Wagner, Jason Perry, Brett Kennard, Russ Fronapfel, Carrie Mason
Feature: Eddie Carrier, Jr., Steve Casebolt, Jr., Donnie Moran, Tim Dohm, Earl Pearson, Jr., Greg Johnson, Johnny McCool, Ben Adkins, Josh McGuire, Delmas Conley, Mike Wilson, Jared Miley, Clint Keenan, Brad Neat, Chad Smith, R.J. Conley, Rod Conley, Frank Heckenest, Mark Frazier, Ken Howell, Russ Frohnapfel, Devin Moran, Dean Boyd, Eric Wells, Brian Casey
Hard Charger: Greg Johnson 17 to 6th

Hobby Stocks (14)
Heat One: Brandon Mather, Mike Brust, Tim Cutler, Jack Martin, Butch Eblin, Bruce Gray, Jr., Brandon Thompson
Heat Two: Jamey Adams, Tommy Mossbarger, Garry Park, Tracey Ross, Keith Dubois, Phil Rice, Danny Lewis
Feature: Jamey Adams, Brandon Thompson, Brandon Mather, Gary Park, Mike Brust, Keith Dubois, Butch Eblin, Jack Martin, Tim Cutler, Tommy Mossbarger, Bruce Gray, Jr., Tracey Ross, Phil Rice, Dan Lewis