I am never happy to see racing season come to an end, but if there was ever a time to say " Good Riddance!" 2020 would be it. When inclement weather wiped out a couple of events on my schedule in March, I had no idea that all of April and the first half of May would also be race free thanks to the still lingering virus.
Finally on May 15 I was able to kick off the 2020 season with the help of this blog and catch opening night at the Davenport Speedway. The next week it was pitside only for the Lee County Speedway opener, then Memorial Day weekend Keagan and I paid our first visit to Central Missouri Speedway in Warrensburg, Missouri for an SLMR west division special. But just as things were picking up I found myself in the hospital for the first time in nearly fifty years! Two weeks later against my better judgement, I climbed in the back of Freds' van and headed south to the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri for MLRA action.
The combination of my recovery and our attempts to dodge the covid hot spots for sure put a crimp in our adventures, but all things considered it was still a pretty good season.
My final tally is thirty eight nights, a drop of about fifteen or so, at fourteen tracks in three states. Staying close to home much of the time, Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa topped the chart with twelve visits. Davenport Speedway was next with six nights, with all but one being "special" events. Randolph County was our destination four times, followed by West Liberty, Iowa for three shows. 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa each hosted a pair of visits, as did Tri City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois, with those two coming late in the year when the virus had calmed somewhat. One time each we visited the Bullring at RICO in East Moline, Illinois, Dubuque, Iowa Speedway, 300 Raceway in Farley, Iowa, Marshalltown, Iowa Speedway, Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa, and we concluded our season last weekend at the Springfield, Missouri Speedway. The only new track on the slate was the one visit to Central Missouri Speedway.
There are a handful of tracks that have been staples in recent years that we did not get to in 2020, with scheduling and attendance restrictions often the culprit along with a few untimely rainouts. Of course most notable of those is Quincy Raceways which did not open all year, citing covid restrictions, and that accounted for several of the fifteen less races we attended.
As the new schedules continue to be posted, I have already identified fifty plus attractive options for 2021, but of course we likely will still be dealing with some restrictions, so...We will again look to get things started sometime in March with the SLMR late model visit to the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Missouri high on the list. Of course, five nights of mid March action on the dirt at Bristol promoted by Scotland County front man Mike VanGenderen is mighty tempting, as well!
In the meantime, everyone stay safe and have a Merry Christmas!
