Our First Rainout

Saturday we loaded up the Sonata and four of us headed to I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Missouri for what was to be the $20,000 to win lid lfter for the newly created NDRL late model series. Designed by southern late model team owner John Kennedy, the NDRL is scheduled to be a five race mini series beginning with shows at Paducah International Raceway followed by Pevely, then three races in October back east. With Paducah cancelled early Friday and a sketchy forecast for Saturday in Pevely, several teams headed for the two nights of racing in LaSalle,Il. LaSalle was offering up a $2,000 to win show on Friday, won by Dennis Erb, Jr., and a $10,000 to win Saturday finale, captured by Brian Birkhofer. With LaSalle a tidy four hour drive, we decided to gamble on Pevely, and we stayed dry until we were about five miles from the track. Even as the Cody McCarver concert went on, the sprinkles continued, and we decided not to buy tickets until closer to race time. Instead, we ventured down to pit road and visited with a few drivers as the rigs continued to arrive. Although the rain never came hard, it just refused to quit, and with around 30 super late models already in the pits, including the likes of Bloomquist, Owens, Clanton, McCreadie, and UMP national champ Brian Shirley,  as well as some big name modifieds, the decision was made to pull the plug about 4:00. We briefly considered crossing the river and trying our luck at Highland Speedway, but the odds did not look good, so we headed back north. As it turned out, Highland did manage an abbreviated program, but I was tucked in bed when the final checkers fell there!
 Already the NDRL has rescheduled for the weekend of April 12 and 13 for Paducah and Pevely. While both the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil Series were off this past weekend, the Outlaws will be in action the 12th and 13th. Still, the single day $20,000 to win, $1,500 to start format should draw plenty of top notch competitors. Unfortunately, we will now have to choose between Pevely, the always exciting IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series race at West Liberty, and the Corn Belt Clash at Peoria. Maybe this time, we will let the weatherman have some input. In the meantime, this Saturday will hopefully find us at the 5th annual Slocum 50 summer series race at 34 Raceway in West Burlington. As of now, the forecast looks promising. 34 Raceway and Lee County Speedway in Donnellson both have one night of racing in the books, so if you have not been to a track yet, what are you waiting for?  Be sure and say " Hi " when you see us Down the Road.