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02/24/2013 |
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PAVEMENT
NOTES:
DAYTONA UNOH BATTLE AT THE BEACH
by Walter
Stubbs |
It’s
been a while in more ways than one. Some of you are
probably wondering where this column has been
lately. Some could care less I really don’t have one
particular answer. Many factors had led me astray,
if you will, from the smell of racing fuel and burnt
rubber. As someone who has followed racing, and
modified racing in particular, since the early
1970’s, much has gone on in the racing circles, many
good and many bad. Some of these have factored into
my “hiatus.” To be honest, not one particular thing
has stopped me from going to the races. Things just
change in life, and with it more responsibilities.
Your priorities also change. I guess the days of
traveling five hours up to New Hampshire, then
driving back the same day and then writing a column
before heading to work are gone. While it may have
worked when you were in your 20’s or 30’s, it
doesn’t bring the same adrenaline when you are in
your mid 40’s. Of course, dealing with traffic and
the ridiculous gas prices also doesn’t help. Another
change has been the racing, and the drivers in
particular. There seems to be no respect on the
track today for the drivers and equipment. While
there might have been a few wrecks twenty or thirty
years ago, and a few might have been intentional or
payback, today it seems like there are more wrecks,
and there not necessarily pay back, but unnecessary
altogether.
With that said, it’s also been a while since I’ve
attended Speedweeks. 1998 was the last time I was in
Florida and I guess I figured it couldn’t get any
better as I witnessed Dale Earnhardt claim his first
and only Daytona 500 victory. It still seems like
yesterday, standing on pit road, and being fortunate
enough to get to slap the hand of Earnhardt as his
car went down pit road into Victory Lane.
What then, could lead me back to sunny Florida in
February and to pen this space? That’s simple. When
NASCAR announced that the modifieds would be racing
at Daytona I had a flight booked faster than you can
say Danica Patrick. For those old enough, the last
time the modifieds raced at Daytona was in 1980 and
the track used was completely different than that
decided for the Inaugural UNOH Battle at the Beach.
For this race, NASCAR though it best to set up a
4/10 of a mile track using part of the backstretch
at Daytona. Tires would be used on the inner track
to show where the turns would be located. This led
to a track with long straight a ways, no embankment
and tight turns. In the pits before the heats on
Tuesday evening, no one driver could compare the
track to any other that they raced on. One compared
it to Chemung based on the turns, while another said
it was a mini Martinsville. The closest comparison
for most was Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem,
North Carolina. Eddie Bohn called it two long
straight-aways with a u-turn. Whatever the track
comparison, at the end of the 150 lap modified event
, many were left wondering what could be done to
make it a better race. That’s because the race was
marred with caution after caution, with the longest
stretch of green only being 11 laps. To put it
mildly, it was ugly and frustrating from everyone to
the drivers to the fans. So what exactly was the
reason? Some blamed the track configuration, others
blamed drivers being over aggressive while some
blamed it on a combination of both. Eric Goodale,
who wound up second at the end, probably had the
best perspective. “ Lets be honest. There are a lot
of tracks out there that aren’t configured perfect
and by no means is this track configured perfect but
it’s a race track. I went out there. I didn’t have
to take anybody out and I ran up front all race and
I don’t think my bumper got used until there was
under ten laps to go. It was just drivers hyped up.
You need to take it in stride. We had a tough year
last year and I know when it’s not your night, it’s
not your night so don’t ruin the race for everyone
else. Quite honestly, I don’t think there was
anything wrong with the track. I went out there and
drove it with no problems. Racing a race track is
supposed to be difficult.” Whatever the reason,
suggestions were abound afterward on what NASCAR
should do in the future for the race. Ideas ranged
from putting the race on the front tri-oval, much
like Lowe’s Motor Speedway does with the Legend cars
to others suggesting making the straight-aways
shorter. A few even suggested making a temporary
track where the modified pits were located, putting
some banking in and using temporary stands. The
other rumor making the rounds was possibly moving
the race to New Smyrna Speedway, now NASCAR
sanctioned, and around twenty minutes from the big
track. That idea wouldn’t make sense as the
modifieds already race there, and moving the Battle
at the Beach would take the allure away for many who
dream of racing at Daytona, be it just the back
stretch, the tri oval or in the pits behind the
backstretch grandstands.
If you asked Steve Park winning at Daytona, no
matter what type of track, would be the preference
over moving the race to another track. That was the
reason he signed up to be a teammate of Todd
Szegedy, to have a shot at winning at Daytona. Of
course, Park never expected his first win in Daytona
would be in a modified, considering he has raced
Daytona in Cup, Nationwide and the Truck Series. But
as Park said after winning the Inaugural Battle at
the Beach, “I never expected the modifieds to race
here, let alone me win here in a modified,” said
Park afterward. Park’s win, though, was not without
controversy. Park, who started way back in the back
due to an incident in his heat race, made his way
through the calamity of cautions and was running
second to Mike Stefanik when he made contact with
Stefanik in turn two, sending Stefanik spinning and
Park to Victory Lane. Park was apologetic afterward
but was dead fast that he could do nothing about it.
“ My strategy changed after we had to start in the
back after our heat race. We wanted to survive this
thing and if we had something in the last five laps
and we are in a position to win, we were going to go
for it. On the last restart we were in the inside
and we got in to turn one and I never thought I’d
get my car stopped as the guy behind me (Goodale)
was just pushing me so hard I could hear his motor
not giving up. I thought he was going to push me
right off the corner. I gathered up Mike (Stefanik)
in the mayhem He was trying to do what he could to
hold his position and it was just unfortunate that
he got turned around. I hated it for Mike. Mike had
a car capable of winning the race. When Mike got
turned around I still thought we were going to get
caught up going on the outside of him. When we
cleared him, the spotter just screamed go go because
we were going for the checkered flag.”
Stefanik, as could be expected, saw things
differently and really wasn’t in a talking mood
afterward. It was apparent he was frustrated not
just at what happened in the last lap, but the
developments that took place throughout the race. “I
didn’t see it. I saw it on my daughter’s phone cam
and I don’t agree with what he (Park) said
occurred,“ said Stefanik of what occurred. As for
all the cautions that marred the event, Stefanik
would only say, “Bugs Stevens said he couldn’t race
in this era because his knuckles would be too sore
the next day. It’s just sad,” said Stefanik.
Eric Goodale, who was the driver behind Park and who
finished second, gave his version of what happened
on that final lap. “I knew I was going to have to
move Steve in turns one and two to have a shot at
winning the race. I put the bumper on him and by no
means did I get him out of shape. He didn’t even
wiggle when I got in to him. We got some separation
and then he got into the back of Mike there and
turned him around. I was really hoping they were
both going to push themselves up high on the track
and I would be able to tuck up underneath them but
Stefanik spun. It probably would have been in my
best interest if neither one of them spun so I could
have dropped down low because I started to peek and
when I saw Mike spin I had to push it back up top,”
said Goodale.
While Stefanik had every right to be frustrated,
there was probably no driver more frustrated than
Todd Szegedy, who started from the pole, held off
every challenge of Kyle Larson and Stefanik on all
of the restarts yet wound up parking his UNOH #2 due
to mechanical ills so close from victory. Szegedy
himself couldn’t exactly put into words his lack of
success, not just in this race, but dating back the
last year or so. “ I don’t know what it is. Ever
since the championship year where I had a chance at
winning, nothing has gone right for whatever reason.
Constant disappointments. Good runs here and there
but disappointments just keep coming and I’m not
sure why. For whatever reason, it’s luck. I feel
like I’m doing everything right. I’m putting myself
in to position to win races but it’s not happening.
What are you going to do. When you only race 14
times a year, it’s very difficult to overcome these
disappointments. I believe when it turns around, and
this is racing so who knows, but if it turns around
we are going to win a lot of races. I just don’t
know what to do to make things better. Everybody
says to keep your head up and be positive, which I
am, but it’s hard to ignore the bad luck this team
is having.,” said Szegedy. And what was the culprit
at Daytona. A spindle which fell out. And for a team
that is as meticulous at preparation as Szegedy’s
team is, sometimes there is no explanation.
SPEEDWEEKS NOTES: A good field of modifieds
were on hand for the race at Daytona, with strong
representation from the Whelen Southern Series. One
of the strongest runs put in by the Southern
Modified Series was put in by Danny Bohn, who got
his racing start at Wall Stadium, following in the
footsteps of his grandfather Parker Bohn and Dad,
Eddie Bohn. Bohn’s strong run, though, came to a
scary hault when his car got air borne near the
starter’s stand. Bohn was not hurt but his car had
severe damage… Besides the action at Daytona, a few
competitors saw action at New Smyrna Speedway in
nearby New Smyrna. Unfortunately, the field at New
Smyrna still didn’t get as many cars as they hoped
to get. One driver who did the opposite was Chuck
Hossfeld, who passed on Daytona, but raced all the
races at New Smyrna. Even Ted Christopher, who has
had quite a bit of success racing at New Smyrna, was
not in the field for the Blewett Memorial race held
the night after Daytona or the Evans Memorial, held
on Friday Night. While he didn’t win and did have a
controversial win the night before, Kyle Larson did
turn heads in the Kevin Manion modified usually
driven by Ryan Newman. The teenager ran up front but
got in contact with Woody Pitkat, ending his night.
As most of you know, that wasn’t the hardest hit he
took at Speedweeks. That was Saturday during the
Nationwide race.. The Battle at the Beach was called
by Ken Squier and Joe Coss to those in the
grandstands. Coss, who announces at Stafford, talked
up the modifieds but at times talked them up a tad
much. More talk in the pits was that there might be
a future Whelen Modified Series race at New Smyrna.
We will wait and see if that happens. Finally, it’s
good to be back in these pages, and who knows, maybe
you will see this space more often in 2013. And
finally, this Weeks Quote of the Weeks goes to Steve
Park, on what his plans are for 2013. “Well, I hope
to break 80 on the golf course.”
All views and news can reach me at 2 Constitution
Court, Unit 501, Hoboken, N.J. 07030 |
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Source: Walter Stubbs
Posted: February
24, 2013 |
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