Top Five

my top

FIVE

By Paul Arch

WE TASKED PAUL ARCH WITH TRAWLING THE GROUNDS OF ELDORA FOR FOUR STRAIGHT NIGHTS OF ACTION DURING THE RUNNING OF THE DOUBLE DREAMS AND CAPTURING THE FIVE MOST INTERESTING SIGHTS HE COULD SHARE WITH THOSE OF US UNABLE TO HAVE FULL ACCESS TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST CROWN JEWEL DOUBLEHEADERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT.

TOP FIVE INTERESTING SHOTS FROM THE DREAM(S)

FANS - The coolest and greatest thing I saw at the Dreams was truly incredible. After attending all the 2021 surreal events at Eldora, sans fans, it was cool to see a large crowd at The Dreams!

MEMORIAL - The pace lap on June 12 for the Dream No. 26 was cool with the sunset and the “Missing Man” formation in the front row to remember Berneice Baltes, who passed on February 24, 2021. I suspect “the House That Earl Built” would have never happened without Berneice. God bless them both!

DESIGN - The super late models are showing an offset or twist of the body to the right so as not to be aligned/parallel to the roll cage and frame. The Kevin Rumley No. 6 driven by Kyle Larson shows this trend. TECH - It was cool to see a relatively thorough pre-race tech inspection including driver’s helmet, fire suit and HANS, plus body templates. The inspectors included officials from the Dirtcar Late Models, the World of Outlaws Late Models, and the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Models. Many cars failed the body template test or had improper window openings and were pushed aside for revision and then re-inspected. The opening of the rear side window had to be enlarged on many cars. Here Travis Stemler wields the tin snips.

DRAMA - A Dream or other marquee late model race at Eldora would not be complete without some Scott Bloomquist drama. The Bloomquist team arrived last on Wednesday and then had issues getting through tech inspection. President of Team Zero Cody Sommer is seen here leaping onto the hood and front fender in an effort to pass the template while Scott and a large crowd looks on. It is cool to see Bloomquist continue to be a draw even as his win totals have dwindled in recent years.