39 minute read

IT’S LARSON (OF COURSE IT WAS AT KNOXVILLE

review in

PICTURES

Photos: Travis Branch

ONE OF THE MOST HISTORIC seasons anyone has ever put together behind the wheel of a race car (or in the case of Kyle Larson, multiple race cars) got another huge boost when Kyle Larson held off Donny Schatz to score his first Knoxville Nationals in the 60th edition of the Granddaddy of Them All.

Larson claimed a record winner’s purse for the event and cashed $176,000 in winnings and lap money for the largest purse of the 2021 season. Schatz was back in prime form and nearly took the lead before the mandatory halfway point and again nearly chased Larson down in the waning laps but settled for second, his best finish since 2018. Brad Sweet, polesitter Gio Scelzi and Logan Schuchart rounded out the top five spots.

A year removed from the One and Only in the COVID summer of 2020, the Knoxville Nationals roared back in 2021 with an excellent and quality car count, a sellout crowd on Saturday and a first time winner for the third straight Nationals.

Jac Haudenschild (22) led them to the green in the Friday Night Hard Knox program in his final Nationals.

Photo: Paul Arch

Photo: Paul Arch The first four to take the green on Saturday night - Gio Scelzi (18), Kyle Larson (57), Brent Marks (19) and Brad Sweet (49).

A bunch of drivers ran the 360 and 410 Nationals like this trio that featured Austin Miller (83), Kyle Reinhardt (91) and Devin Kline (7c) with their 360s. Only Kline didn’t return with the Big Iron.

Parker Price-Miller gets some serious air in turn one while Greg Wilson (97) and Kerry Madsen (14) managed to get by him on a preliminary night A-main.

Photo: Paul Arch

Knoxville regular Rob Kubli felt the need for speed and went deep into Top Gun mode with his throwback special and even had the guts to list Maverick on the cowling as the driver’s name.

short track

STARS

Rochester, Minnesota

Heading into Saturday night, the consensus on the grounds was bet on Kyle Larson or David Gravel, who won the Capitani on Sunday and his prelim on Wednesday before dropping out of the finale.

Photo: Paul Arch

Two absolute legends - Larson and Schatz - battled to the final flag.

Think these kids ever get tired of victory lane?

Photo: Paul Arch Photo: Paul Arch

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SPEEDWAY CAR CAMS

For nearly ten years, Michael Elliot has been placing cameras into the cars for amazing POV shots of what the drivers experience. We’re pretty big fans. Use the provided YouTube links or the QR codes to access the videos. You can visit dirtempiremagazine.com for easy links as well.

#21P DARREN PHILLIPS - USRA STOCK CAR - 8-21-2021 LUCAS OIL SPEEDWAY - FLIP - IN CAR CAMERA

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PICS

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behind the

SCENES

Photo: Paul Arch

HEARTBREAK ABOUNDS

AT KNOXVILLE

By Larry Weeks

THE FOUR DAYS of the Knoxville Nationals are a beast that tests cars, crews, patience, resolve, and can break your heart in an instant. Every year, several cars fall victim to frustrating “sh*t happens” moments. Parts failures, freak occurrences, and things that “never” happen.

It started on Wednesday night. The Vermeer 55 driven by Hunter Schuerenberg would not fire for time trials. When that happens, everyone automatically replaces the ignition “box”. The 55 crew did that but still no luck. Then the magneto was taken out to make sure the drive gear was still attached. It was. That left something inside the magneto itself as the problem. “The bad part was not being able to run our prelim night to be better prepared for Friday. At this place it doesn’t take much to throw you off.” The team came back Friday with a fresh engine and did well enough to start 2nd in Saturday’s “C” main, win it and get up to 17th in the “B” main. But what might have been...

Thursday was full of bad moments for several teams. Jeff Swindell, Colby Copeland, Tim Kaeding, Shane Stewart, and Sammy Swindell all had “ah ‘bleep’” moments.

Mike Vanderecken owns the 10V Jeff Swindell was driving. He’s a shoestring budget guy and hasn’t raced in a year and a half. He finally got an engine ready, hired Jeff and was hoping to do all right. A poor, but good-enough time trial put them on the front row of the heat race. Jeff did his job and took the lead and held it. Until the 10V ran out of fuel. Mike took the blame, “I take full responsibility, I made that fuel stick and must have put it in the tank upside down. We only had eleven gallons instead of thirteen or fourteen.” With a resigned tone he finished, “It’s the Nationals.” Jeff told Dirt Empire, “It pisses you off for a few minutes but we weren’t going to make the Saturday A anyhow. It might have kept us out of that big wreck.” After Friday’s Hard Knox program, the team was in Saturday’s “D” main where Jeff finished 15th.

The big wreck he’s talking about happened on the second lap of the Thursday “A” main and took out four cars. Two more were damaged but restarted.

Shane Stewart in the Bernie Stuebgen 71 was another driver with bad luck that kept him out of that “A” main mess. Lining up 11th for Thursday’s “A”, the 71 picked up a huge mud clod that hit the spark plug guard so hard that it drove it into the #1 spark plug and broke it off. Shane felt the engine missing and pulled in. Unable to get the problem fixed before the green, the team took the car back to their pit. Bernie said, “I don’t get down or up. Obviously it sucks, but yesterday’s news is yesterday’s news.” Shane had this to say, “We think everything happens for a reason. If we’d gotten back out there we might have been in that mess. We would have really been behind the eight ball if we had to build a new car!” Coming back Friday they did everything right and finished 3rd in the Hard Knox feature, earning a spot in Saturday’s “A” main where he went forward from 23rd to 14th.

Tim Kaeding lost an engine in Thursday’s hot lap session. The 11TK was one of Jason Sides’ team cars. A mad scramble got the 11TK wing, shocks, tires and gears switched over to Wednesday-night-qualified, 7s car

so Tim could time trial. With that, the team parked the 7s, knowing they were headed to Friday’s Hard Knox program. Jason told us, “It’s a huge setback. You prepare yourself all year, and there’s a lot of work to get it ready. All the races are stacked so it makes it really hard to come back.” Tim said, “It’s Knoxville, one little hiccup and it takes you back to starting all over.” They must have cured the hiccups, after Friday the 11TK started fifteenth in Saturday’s “C” and made it to 7th before he ran out of laps.

The 5V crew with driver Colby Copeland travelled all the way from California only to have the throttle linkage come apart while lining up on the FRONT row of his Thursday heat race. A tiny jam nut wasn’t tightened and vibration caused threads to unthread. Owner Jim Van Lare took it in stride and said, “We just have to move on.” Colby ran 2nd in Thursday’s “C”, started near the tail of the twenty-four car “B” and raced his way to fourteenth. That effort earned a twelfth starting spot in Saturday’s “C”. In his forty-sixth, that’s 46, Nationals, Sammy Swindell timed thirty-first in the Pete Grove #70, started outside of the front row of his heat and won it. That put him in fourteenth at the start, right in the lap 2 mess. The 70 was collected, flipped and landed on its wheels. Grove’s crew, and others, put on a new top wing, fixed everything visible and sent Sammy back out to cheers from the crowd. Several laps later, the 70 slowed. The culprit turned out to be broken spur gears in the quick change rear end. Grove was upset, “That crash jammed the driveline and caused those gears to break. It stems back to young drivers driving out of their asses and causing these wrecks. They ought to sit them out a week when they do stuff like that!” Sammy philosophically told DE, “That’s out of my control, not much I can do about it.” He ended up finishing 20th in Saturday’s “B” main.

“Hard Knox” are part of why we love the Nationals so much, there’s no shortage of drama because, “It’s Knoxville”!

Mitchell Dumesny surveys what is left of his Nationals’ dreams in the number 47.

Photo: Dave Pratt These two photos show the violent crash and fire that ended Paul McMahan’s Nationals and put him out of the cockpit for several months.

shooter at

LARGE BUCK MONSON

MAYBE YOU’VE NOTICED, but we here at Dirt Empire Magazine love us some racing pictures. This is our opportunity to honor the great photographers of our sport who are on the road throughout the season shooting race cars and drivers and chronicalling history. They are our shooters at large. Lone gunslingers who have choosen to wield a camera as their weapon. Ride on, shooters. Ride on. Josh Angst with a bit more than a peck on the cheek of Deer Creek’s concrete.

Mike Sorensen, whose son Dustin is featured in this issue, goes for a ride after the leader spun early in feature action at Deer Creek Speedway a dozen years ago.

Christopher Bell autographed the Dome’s racing surface in St. Louis following a victory in his midget in 2018.

Hometown: Albert Lea, Minnesota Age: 47 Year Started Shooting: 2007 First Publication to Print Your Work: Dirt Modified Magazine Favorite Track to Shoot: Boone Speedway, 141 Speedway, Chateau Speedway. Favorite Division to Shoot: Tie between mods and late models. Remaining Bucket List Races: I have a bunch for sure. The World 100, Prairie Dirt Classic, World Finals, any big block modified race and a show at Lucas Oil Speedway and East Bay before it closes. Favorite Thing About Racing Photography: Just the thrills and spills of it all. Meeting new people. I enjoy trying to get better each time out. What Else Do You Shoot: Senior photos. I have shot weddings. I photograph a lot of youth sports like hockey, softball, volleyball, soccer, football, tennis and baseball. I have had the pleasure of shooting the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Timberwolves, too. As I get older, I will dabble a lot more in landscape photography. Camera Equipment: Cameras - Nikon Z6ii, Nikon D750 (2), Nikon D7000 (2). Lenses - Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 FL ED, Nikon 70-200mm (older),Nikon 24-70mm 2.8, Nikon 300mm 4, Nikon 50mm 1.8, Rokinon Fisheye, Nikon TC20 converter. Flashes - NIkon SB900, Godox AD360ii, Godox V860ii (2), Godox TT600, Meike 910 (3).

GET TO KNOW BUCK MONSON

If you wait long enough, you can capture any time of race car jacked up on three wheels!

Monson got fancy with his slow shutter speed feature to capture this dynamic image of Darwyn Karau at Deer Creek in 2016.

141 Speedway in Wisconsin soaks in nature’s beauty as it waits for the 2015 Cheesehead Triple Crown event.

Monson retreated to the rafters to fisheye the Dome in St. Louis in 2017.

A jaw dropping Iowa sunset highlights a trio of USMTS mods at Cedar County Speedway back in May of 2014.

Rico Abreu leaps into the late Bryan Clauson’s waiting arms after the former scored his first Chili Bowl victory.

universal

TECH

Photos & Text by Vahok Hill

UNDERSTANDING ALCOHOL FUELS PART I

THE USE OF ALCOHOL as a fuel in race cars, specifically open wheel and in some closed wheel cars, has been the standard for many years. Many of us may not realize or understand why this is the case.

When comparing alcohol to gasoline on the surface, it is not obvious why one would select alcohol over gasoline. The common answer is that alcohol makes more power. But gasoline is much denser from an energy content perspective and that makes gasoline on an energy-available perspective a much lighter fuel. It takes less to make the same power. The energy potential versus the weight of the fuel is what makes gasoline lighter and seemingly a more logical choice. It is also easier to ignite gasoline than alcohol fuels.

When we talk about alcohol fuels, we are referring to methanol and ethanol-based fuels [there are some significant differences that we will cover later]. Gasoline is available all over the world, the quality and the chemical blending may be different based on local government requirements, but it is available everywhere. Gasoline is also more compatible with the materials that are currently used in the construction of fuel systems in use on the road today, from inside the car and the infrastructure used to move fuels from the producer to the customer that is what is currently utilized. However, gasoline, particularly racing gasoline is not the same all over the world. The fuel used in race cars at the highest levels may be called gasoline but the only similarity between many of these fuels and what the Saturday Night racer calls gasoline is the nomenclature alone.

The characteristics, between the gasolines used in say a NASCAR Cup car and a F1 car are worlds apart. It would be easier to get a date on Saturday night with the latest en vouge movie starlet than to buy 55 gallons of the “gasoline” used in a F1 car. It is pretty much unobtainable to the average racer. That said we are still able to buy racing gasolines that are a far cry from what is available at the pump today. We have available at our fingertips, if we can pay, some of the finest racing fuels that have ever been offered to the racer at any time in history. We are a truly lucky lot. While we pay for this privilege, the cost is very reasonable given the amount of technology and infrastructure it takes to manufacture and deliver these high-quality products.

It is instructive to look back to why alcohol was even introduced to the racing community. It boils down to one word, SAFETY. Yes, there are other benefits but the fuel was really legislated into use due to perceived safety benefits. The great things about gasoline and its use in racing engines is also why it is inherently a riskier fuel than alcohol - gasoline will ignite in less-than-ideal conditions, especially outside the engine. And, once it is lit, it is considerably harder to extinguish outside of the controlled burning that is taking place in the combustion chamber of our engines. If you have ever been present when a race car catches fire it is a truly scary event. It is scary regardless of the fuel used. But gasoline is a bit more intense. The bright orange of the fire, the very intense heat and the fact that spraying water on the fire does very little to the fire other than spread it around. I am not suggesting banning gasoline as a fuel for racing; I am just stating a fact. The fact that fires are a very rare occurrence in today’s racing cars is a testament to the safety that is designed into the modern race car’s fuel systems, at all levels of the sport. A condition that was paid for by the fellow racers that perished or were injured in the past in gasoline fires.

A car that is fueled by alcohol is no less scary should it catch fire but there are a few critical differences. The fire is much easier to extinguish with waterbased fire extinguishers. In fact, water is the extinguisher medium of choice for alcohol fires. There is less need for special extinguishers to be used outside of the car itself. This goes back into our racing past - in 1964 when there was a crash and a terrible fireball due to a ruptured fuel tank early in the Indy 500 and two prominent Indy car drivers of that time, Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald, perished as a result of that fiery crash. The following year, in 1965, all the cars racing under the USAC banner including the Indy 500 were powered by methanol as the use of gasoline was banned. Some other alcohol facts that make it a bit safer from a fuel perspective, it burns at a much cooler temperature and slower than gasoline. Consequently, this slower burn rate around 18 to 22% slower depending on the conditions, results in an open fire that is a bit less intense and easier to control with easily obtained firefighting equipment. Please do not confuse this as a “safe fire”; any fire that is unintended is a scary and serious matter!

But not everything is all roses and honey from a safety perspective. In the light of day, it is almost impossible to see an alcohol flame. While it is easier to extinguish an alcohol fire, first you have to see it to extinguish the fire. Often times you will see the driver or crew reacting to the fire before any pit personnel can see the flames. Their reaction is due to the fact they are being burned. Think back to the Indy 500 when Rick Mears was burned by a fire ignited during a pit stop. This was

the genesis of Indy car teams squirting water on the re-fueling interface, right after it is disconnected from the car as a fire mitigating process. As a fuel, alcohol is to be treated with the same respect as any other fuel. It is dangerous and can cause some serious injuries just like any other combustible liquid. The same level of care should be exercised when dealing with alcohol as you would with gasoline.

For the racer, there seems to be as many positives for using alcohol as a fuel; are there any negatives? Yes, there are a plethora of issues that alcohol brings to the party that are not even considerations with gasoline fuels. The first is that alcohol is hydroscopic. It will absorb water out of the air if it is exposed to the environment. This little feature can make a perfectly acceptable jug of fuel not worth using if the water content gets too high. This feature of alky fuels is and has been the bane of many a tuner as they make changes to the fuel system only to find that the fuel was contaminated with water. This is a real problem in areas that have a good bit of humidity in the air. In the Southwest it is not a big issue but it still means that any alcohol that is stored needs to be in containers that are not vented and that the fuel should not be exposed to the environment any longer than possible. While gasoline that is exposed to the environment also loses its potency, as the light bits (from a molecular level) of the fuel evaporate and it is those lighter compounds of the fuel that differentiate racing blends from pump gas. Another downside is that many of the “rubber” seals that are used in gasoline fueled cars do not hold up when the fuel is changed to alcohol. They do not react well with alcohol fuels, often degrading and no longer offering acceptable performance or even worse they degrade and contaminate the fuel downstream of their location. They can also cause seals to degrade to the point of failure and then the damage is even worse. While this seems like a real issue, it is simply rectified, by using seal materials that are resistant to alcohols, from the tank to the end of the fuel delivery system.

The chemical makeup of alcohol is very corrosive to many of the coatings that are typically used on metals in the fuel system. Many of the coatings that are designed to protect the metal components in the fuel system are easily attacked by alcohol. It is not uncommon for metal components to get surface oxidization and pitting as a result of alcohol fuels. This becomes a real issue if the alcohol is allowed to sit in the fuel system between races. The fuel system should be maintained between races to prevent the alcohol in the system from turning into what is a very strong corrosive agent. If the fuel system is not cleaned frequently, preferably after each race day, the corrosive nature of alcohol will play havoc with the metal and rubber components in the fuel system, especially those components not designed for this type of fuel. This is not a real issue as most racers who are using alcohol fuels are already familiar with the required maintenance. For those not familiar with the maintenance rigors required when using alcohol fuels; education comes quickly and with a vengeance.

Failure to properly maintain an alcohol fuel system will find that aside from the corrosion that will occur on many metallic surfaces there will be a grit like substance almost a fine sand type of residue, in the lines and around aluminum parts. This grit is the result of an increased electrical conductivity that alcohol has over gasoline fuels. The grit is from the galvanic corrosion caused by the greater electrical conductivity from the fuel as it interacts with the various different metals in the fuel system. This contamination will migrate throughout the system clogging fuel filters, fuel jets and generally cause havoc within the fuel system.

In the next issue of Dirt Empire Magazine, we’ll continue to learn more about the properties of alcohol fuels and learn more about maintenance issues and why it has become the preferred fuel for so many different types of race cars. The author can be reached at: Vahok.Hill@cox.net

yesterday’s DIRT

Words: Lee Ackerman Photos: Tony Hammett

The final salute at the final Colossal.

A TRULY COLOSSAL EVENT

PART II

In Issue 4 of Dirt Empire Magazine, we detailed the first two Colossal 100 events that were won by Scott Bloomquist and now we revisit the final two events to give a look back at some of the biggest dirt late model events in the first decade of the 21st century. It was just announced the Colossal will return to Charlotte in 2022.

2009 – COLOSSAL III

In April 2008, the Colossal 100 returned to the Dirt Track at Charlotte Speedway with the third edition of the event and when the checkered flag waved standing in victory lane was the same driver who had been standing in victory lane at the Dirt Track the previous fall as the 2007 World of Outlaws Series Champion - “The Kentucky Colonel” Steve Francis.

A field of 69 cars were on hand and it was Batesville, Arkansas’ Billy Moyer setting fast time with a lap of 14.672 seconds. Eight heat races were run in an effort to get the feature field set. Moyer took heat one with Jackie Boggs and Earl Pearson, Jr. in tow. Dan Schlieper took the second heat over Tim McCreadie and Francis. Jeep Van Wormer won heat three with Jimmy Mars and Bob Gordon following and Steve Shaver posted the win in heat four with Ray Cook and Dale McDowell following. Josh Richards bested Chris Madden and Darrell Lanigan in heat five with Chub Frank holding off Scott Bloomquist and Eddie Carrier, Jr. in heat six, Jimmy Owens winning over Ricky Weeks and Randall Chupp in heat seven and John Gill taking honors in heat eight over Jeremy Miller and Brian Birkhofer.

Two 25 lap B-features each added four to the field and Brady Smith won the first B-feature with John Blankenship, Doug Horton and Dennis “Rambo” Franklin also moving on. In B feature number two it was Rick Eckert taking home the honors with Mike Marlar, Vick Coffey and Jeff Smith also moving on to the big show. Donnie Moran, Clint Smith and G.R. Smith were also added to the feature as provisionals.

Starting on the pole for the 100-lap, $50,000 to win feature, Francis had smooth sailing the whole way as he led wire-to-wire beating runner-up Chris Madden by just over three seconds. “I was so impressed when I drove my car in the corner for the first lap,” said Francis. “I just thought, well, if we can just keep from breaking something, we can win this. Actually, it’s probably the best car I’ve ever had for a 100-lap race. It just never changed a characteristic the whole race.”

Darrell Lanigan, Shannon Babb and Chris Madden took shots at Francis, but no one had enough to get by the Kentucky Colonel and take the point. “The car was absolutely phenomenal tonight. We never even had to run a lap hard. We had a lot left if we needed to go.” said Francis. “That is just unbelievable to have a car that good against this kind of competition.

Darrel Lanigan works by Steve Shaver (30) and Jeep Van Wormer (55) en route to second in IV.

When you get a car that good it just makes your job that much easier.”

It was Francis’ first World of Outlaws win of the season and 15th of his career. The win also put an end to Scott Bloomquist’s stranglehold on the event. Bloomquist, who captured the first two Colossal victories, was never a factor in the race. After starting 17th, Bloomquist had trouble early starting with Eddie Carrier Jr.’s lap one spin in turn four. He briefly cracked the top ten before pitting multiple times. Bloomquist night ended in a lap 82 multi-car mishap.

Lanigan’s hopes of taking home the big prize ended with ten laps to go when his Lanigan Motorsports/Gotta Race Rocket suffered rear end problems. When Francis saw Lanigan falter, he became concerned for his own fuel situation because of excessive caution laps throughout the event.

“It was a race that didn’t want to end,” said Francis. “I’ve led a lot of these caution plagued things and usually something happens to me right at the end, so when I see Darrell coasting down through there, I figured he was out of fuel and I was worried I might be next. The last five laps were the scariest of the race for me because I was watching the fuel pressure gauge rather than what I should’ve been watching at this point.”

Following Francis and Madden to the line were Josh Richards, Jimmy Owens, and Dale McDowell. Sixth through tenth went to Shannon Babb, Tim McCreadie, John Blankenship, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Ricky Weeks.

2010 – COLOSSAL IV

For two days mother nature was determined to win the Fourth Annual Colossal and in the end “the Hurricane” went to victory lane. Earl Pearson, Jr., the four-time Lucas Oil Series champion held off the hard charging Darrell Lanigan to pick up the win and a check for $50,000. The race was held on Sunday afternoon after rain washed out both Friday and Saturday night.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Pearson. “At the end I saw that Lanigan was coming in a hurry and I was getting worried about that, but I got through lapped traffic good. It’s just a dream come true. My crew worked their butts off. I’m just tickled to death.”

Pearson used lap traffic to take the lead on lap nine when he pinned race leader Jonathan Davenport behind the slower car of Clint Smith. From there, Pearson cruised around the surprisingly smooth surface of the Dirt Track at Charlotte and patiently made his way through lapped traffic with the caution flag waving just three times. The last 47 laps being caution free.

Lanigan started sixth and steadily made his way to the front, finally taking the runner-up spot from Josh Richards and set out after Pearson, but the Hurricane was long gone.

“We had a great race car, but at the end of the race my car got loose and I was like, “What in the world is going on?” said Pearson. “We came to find out that the right front tire had a great big hole in it. When we got back to the pits it was flat.”

“We just fell short again,” said Lanigan after the race. “That was the best race car I have ever had here. We just cut across the center of the corner and pulled guys, but there were a couple of lapped cars that hurt me and cost me too much ground. A couple of more laps would have been nice.”

Josh Richards finished third, Steve Francis fourth and early race leader Jonathan Davenport fifth. Sixth through tenth were Chris Madden, Scott Bloomquist, Steve Shaver, Kelly Boen and Jeep Van Wormer.

Scott Bloomquist was the fast qualifier of the 64-car field with a lap of 16.962 seconds. He was the only driver under 17 seconds. The 24 cars that qualified for the feature through the heat races redrew for positions one through 24.

Four drivers from each of the six heats qualified for the feature. Pearson took heat one with John Anderson, Shannon Babb and Bloomquist also qualifying. Heat two went to Davenport with Jeep Van Wormer, Rick Eckert and Billy Moyer also moving on. Shane Clanton won heat three with Steve Shaver Tommy Kerr and Casey Roberts moving up.

Lanigan won heat four bringing along Kelly Boen, Jared Landers and Michael England. The fifth heat saw Steve Francis, Josh Richards, Eddie Carrier, Jr., and Dale McDowell qualify with Ray Cook taking heat six followed by Chris Madden, Dennis Franklin and Austin Hubbard.

Chub Frank won the first 20 lap B feature with Tim Fuller, Jimmy Owens and Russ King also making the big show. The “Wisconsin Wildman” Dan Schlieper took the second B bringing along Matt Lux, Donnie Moran and Davey Johnson. Brady Smith, Clint Smith and Ken Schrader were added to the show to make up a 35-car feature field.

Unfortunately, there was to be no fifth edition of the Colossal, ending one of the biggest events in dirt late model racing. But, for four years, the Dirt Track Earl Pearson Jr. takes the checkered flag after leading the final 92 laps at Colossal IV and enjoyed the unique victory lane ceremony (and the $50,000!) in the photo below.

at Charlotte provided race fans with some of the best dirt late model racing in the country every spring. That tradition has continued on, however, with the season ending World Finals.

dirt

CHRONICLES

By: Bob Mays

Lynn Paxton (Shorty Emerich 1) started his racing career in the early 1960s and quickly became a force in Central Pennsylvania. After winning the 1983 National Open at Williams Grove, Lynn climbed out of the cockpit for the last time. Since his retirement, he has become a major force at the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing as curator and one of the most outstanding ambassadors the sport of sprint car racing has ever had. (Lloyd King photo)

POSSE WRANGLERS

Jan Opperman (Luke Bogar 99) authored one of the most legendary seasons in sprint car history from his home base in Central Pennsylvania. In 1972, he won 44 features, making Opp the most recognizable short track driver since Jud Larson. (Lloyd King photo)

Kenny Weld (Bob Weikert 29) settled in Central Pennsylvania from his home in Kansas City in late1960s and helped revolutionize the sport of sprint car racing. A savvy self-taught engineer, Weld’s mechanical acumen was a counterpoint to Jan Opperman’s natural ability and charisma and natural ability. (Lloyd King photo)

Keith Kauffman (Al Hamilton 77) is a native son on Central Pennsylvania soil with more than 300 career wins. Kauffman won with all the big traveling circuits but it was his time as a Posse member that will always be remembered. (Bob Mays photo)

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PHOTOGRAPHERS FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE

Bob Mays - catsracin@yahoo.com Brendon Bauman - brendonbauman30@gmail.com Buck Monson – buckmonson@gmail.com Dan Demarco - deacon39@me.com David Campbell – www.seemymind.com David Giles – davidgilesphoto@gmail.com David Pratt – dspphotoz@aol.com Dennis Krieger – dkracepics@q.com Don Holbrook – freebirdmotorsports@gmail.com Greg Stanek - greg_cubs23@yahoo.com Jason Spencer – https://motormafiaphotography.zenfolio.com/ Jim Collum Jr. - actionphotos8@gmail.com Joe Shivak - josephshivak@gmail.com John Lee - highfly-n@comcast.net Josh James – joshjamesphotos@gmail.com Matt Butcosk – mbutcosk@gmail.com Mike Campbell - mikecampbellphotos@gmail.com Mike Musslin – dirtnut777@gmail.com Paul Arch - peanumber10@comcast.net Ron Gilson – rongilson@msn.com Ryan Roberts - jryanroberts@ymail.com Tony Hammett - tony.hammett@charter.net Vahok Hill – vahok.hill@cox.net

costs down and put every penny into production. There were no redundancies for the final design and layout.

I feel a responsibility to each individual who has entrusted their hard-earned dollars with me to get our publication. The pressure of letting thousands of individuals down by missing that deadline was so heavy. As I gulped for air, all I could think was that they would think I had lied to them. That I was trying to cheat them. My heart was breaking, even as my lungs were trying to live.

Within 24 hours the UFHealth team had me stabilized and able to think clearly.

I made the executive decision to pause production. I did not know what was about to happen. What if I never recovered? What becomes of Dirt Empire Magazine?

Don’t misunderstand my sentiments. My family was foremost in my mind; my wife and my children who I hadn’t seen in person in weeks. But Dirt Empire Magazine is like a child to me. One that is new and fresh. One that I’ve been proudly showing to everyone who will look, and I was failing as a father.

Then something amazing started happening.

After posting to social media the decision to pause production (without much detail), support started rolling in. Individual subscribers sent kind messages. Advertisers reached out to see how I was doing. (Joel Smith at CRS, in particular, checked up on me through this whole ordeal. Thank you, Joel!)

I had competitors reach out to me to offer help and kind words. I had complete strangers offer their support. So many people offered prayers.

I wept.

It was so humbling. I don’t deserve anything I have. I don’t deserve my wife or my beautiful children. I don’t deserve to be at the helm of a magazine for one of the greatest sports to have ever existed on the face of the Earth. I deserve none of it. It is all a blessing from my Creator above, and I respect that if I remain humble, He will continue to guide me and help me where I need help.

To see such a swell of support from this industry was overwhelming. One of the reasons I eschewed the corporate life with all the back-stabbing and skullduggery of the cubicle farms and the big corner office was because I get to interact with so many genuine people in this industry. Selfless individuals.

As my strength slowly returned and my oxygen levels improved and it looked promising that I might only be in the hospital for a week, all I could think about was getting back to finalizing this issue with the team and getting it out to all of you that showed me so much support.

It will take weeks and perhaps even months to get myself back to the same level of physical strength, stamina and work performance as I was able to utilize prior to becoming ill, but the doctors have assured me that it looks like that a full recovery is pretty much guaranteed – if there are such things as guarantees in this world we live in.

I promise to put all efforts into working hard to give you a great magazine, each and every issue.

How do you say thank you to so many individuals who selflessly showed their human support for you? You give them what you can; a note, a call, a small gift. Often all that is necessary is a heartfelt Thank You.

To all of you who have been so patient as we’ve launched this publication and have been doubly patient as we worked to get this edition out with all the adversity, I just want to say Thank You.

Thank you for giving us your trust. Thank you for being a part of the Empire. Thank you for not giving up on me.

If this seems overly dramatic and self-serving, I can understand that. I can understand the skepticism. Our world has become so embittered over so many things. So many other individuals are facing adversity on a daily basis and it’s overwhelming and crushing. It robs us of joy. It robs us of our humanity if we let it.

What helps us all get through is our fellow humans. Empathy. Love. Compassion. Self-sacrifice.

As I was in the hospital and a string of doctors and nurses came through to help, I could not but appreciate the humanity. None of them knew me. But it didn’t matter. And it was more than just a job. They showed genuine concern. The folks at UFHealth were amazing.

I could have written a column about overcoming, about triumphing, about winning! But my heart has been changed by this experience. People mean so much more than things and accomplishments suddenly. It’s like the volume on the rat-race has been turned down and the beauty of humanity has been turned up.

I cannot help but feel blessed by my situation. I have seen the numbers. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost loved ones, family and friends during this tragedy. So many others have fallen ill for other reasons during this pandemic and their lives came to an end alone without those around them who loved them most.

I think about them. I think how each one has their own story. How each person undergoing adversity right now feels helpless.

During my darkest moments, I had faith in my Creator and the love from other humans to carry me along.

Maybe by relating this story I can add just a small level of empathy and humanity into the mix. At the very least, I can show my appreciation for those who bestowed such upon me.

I can also work hard to reflect the humanity and empathy that was shown toward me and my family during this ordeal.

In this journey of life, as we mature emotionally and learn how to cope, we can share these skills with others to try to make their journey less bumpy.

As recovery continues, there are real world impacts from this ordeal.

Based on timing and logistics, we may have lost an issue for this calendar year. I assure you that just means your subscription will just stretch out another issue forward.

I still plan on being at the PRI show in December in Indianapolis and I’m really looking forward to meeting many of you who have put your trust in us.

Every great story requires overcoming adversity. Thank you for being part of our story and helping us overcome.

I promise I will continue to work hard to give you a quality publication with each edition.

Even Covid can’t stop the Dirt Empire! Let’s go racing! ...and I will see you next year, Knoxville!

Adam Cornell Owner/Publisher Dirt Empire Magazine

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