GIR Jet Drier Provides Assistance to IDOT on Bridge Project

(GIR's jet drier, pulled by a Dodge Ram 1500 and operated by Gateway's Safety Coordinator Brian Eckmann and Maintenance Manager Tom Hefer, work on drying a section of the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge near the track. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

MADISON, Ill. – Under a gray, dreary sky amid temps in the 40-degree range, Gateway International Raceway’s jet drier was called into action Thursday. Not on GIR’s 1.25-mile oval or NHRA-sanctioned drag strip, but on the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge spanning the Mississippi River from St. Louis to East St. Louis, Ill.

The jet drier, pulled by a Dodge Ram 1500 provided by the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers, and operated by Gateway Safety Coordinator Brian Eckmann and Maintenance Manager Tom Hefer, was used to dry the bridge deck prior to the asphalt paving portion of the project.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has commissioned Keely and Sons Inc., to transform the structure from a four-lane bridge to a three-laned one, with two lanes travelling east and one west. The work is being done to widen the existing lanes and create a median wall, making traffic on the bridge safer.

Bob Germann (pronounced GUR-man), who coincidentally was involved in the paving of Gateway’s oval, is the project manager and said the drier was essential in getting the job done in a timely manner.

“We’re under a 12-day time period to get this job done,” he said, “so with the inclement weather we’ve had in the past few days, it was very essential to get the deck dry so we could get it primed and pave tomorrow.”

Germann said working with Gateway was the only avenue they pursued for assistance. “We didn’t really pursue (another option) once we found out (Gateway) could help us. (They) were our first choice. We just appreciate (their) cooperation.”

GIR’s Director of Operations Tim Giger said it was rewarding to know the facility could respond when called upon for such a project. “We were honored to be able to help Keeley and Sons and the Illinois Department of Transportation with this project. It makes us feel good to know that Gateway International Raceway can do positive things like this for our community.”

Gateway International Raceway will once again host the NHRA Full Throttle Series in 2010 (April 30-May 2) along with a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series/Nationwide Series doubleheader weekend (July 16-17). For ticket information, call 866-35-SPEED or visit GatewayRaceway.com.

Race fans can follow all the action throughout the season at Gateway International Raceway on its official Twitter site at Twitter.com/GatewayRaceway and its official page on Facebook.

Camping World, Youth Movement Combine to Make Truck Series Fresh

(James Buescher waves to the crowd during driver intros at Memphis Motorsports Park last year after earning the pole position. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

James Buescher. Brian Scott. J.R. Fitzpatrick. Chase Austin.

Get to know them, because they're going to be the next big things.

The NASCAR Truck Series is creating another identity for itself under the Camping World banner, after being sponsored by Craftsman since its inception in 1995. The Truck Series has always been seen primarily as an equivelent to the PGA's Senior Tour. Drivers such as Mike Skinner, Ted Musgrave, Johnny Benson, Todd Bodine, and so on have seen success here after years in the Cup Series. Other drivers such as Ron Hornaday and Jack Sprague started in the Truck Series, moved to Busch (now Nationwide) and Cup, and then returned while still others, such as David Starr, Terry Cook, and Rick Crawford, have been successful in NASCAR's third-tier series with no overt intentions of moving onward.

To a smaller degree, the series has also been a training ground for drivers to eventually drive in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Arguably, the most successful Truck Series alumnus has been Carl Edwards. Edwards started his NCWTS career with Mike Mittler and MB Motorsports (along with two-time Cup Series winner Jamie McMurray and 2008 Cup Series Rookie-of-the-Year Regan Smith) and moved over to Roush Fenway racing, winning five Truck races during the 2004-2005 seasons.

Other drivers who paved their way to NASCAR success via the Truck Series include Kevin Harvick, who won the Truck Series title as an owner in 2007; Greg Biffle, a Truck Series and Nationwide Series champion; and Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup Series champ.

After that, a number of young drivers came and went through the Truck Series, none of them matching the success of the aforementioned racers. While drivers such as David Reutimann stayed in the Truck Series a number of seasons before moving up, several have only made a small number of starts there or have avoided the series altogether. While the veterans have provided the foundation, it was the "young guns" who provided the flavor. That flavor was missing for a while.

But now it's back.

The NCWTS race in Daytona, while marred with crashes, showed that there are a number of drivers who have the ability and the talent to put the Truck Series back on the national map. J.R. Fitzpatrick, a 19-year-old Canadian driver, had never raced a track bigger than a half-mile prior to finishing fourth at Daytona. James Buescher made the most of his limited number of Nationwide Series starts in 2008, earning his first top-ten at Gateway and finishing the season at Memphis on the pole. Brian Scott had a runner-up finish last year in the series and is expected to win at least one race this year.

These young men are exactly what Camping World needs to help promote its series. These are going to be the next Carl Edwards and the next Kevin Harvicks and will entice fans to the tracks, especially ones like Gateway, Memphis, and Nashville that host stand-alone NCWTS events. The addition of Ricky Carmichael, considered by many to be the greatest AMA Supercross racer of alltime, adds some star power and much-needed media attention to the series as well.

Plus, Camping World has promised to increase the amount of promotion it does for the series, especially in the stand-alone markets. There is no reason not to believe that. Camping World, in a short period of time, has saturated the NASCAR world and has become one of the sports most visible sponsors, thanks to the hard work of folks like the organization's director of motorsports, Kurt Hunt. After the 2008 season, when Craftsman provided nearly no activiation or promotion to the series or its drivers due to its lame-duck status, anything Camping World does will be welcome by the sanction, the tracks, the drivers, and the fans.

At the end of the season, we will probably still see Johnny Benson and Ron Hornaday fighting for the title, but the under-20 set will definitely let them now they're there.

Mother Nature Adding to NHRA's 2009 Woes

(Photo by Jim Compton)

On the heels of a great season in 2008, the NHRA Full Throttle Series' list of problems continues to mount.

The series' no. 1 problem is, obviously, its lack of drivers. Some of the biggest names in the sport are currently without a ride due to sponsorship issues. They include:

• "Hot" Rod Fuller


• Hillary Will


• Doug Herbert


• Bob Vandergriff


• JR Todd


• Tommy Johnson Jr.


• Melanie Troxell


• Dave Connolly


• Chip Ellis


• Craig Treble

All of those drivers are Nationals winners and most of them not only won events last year, but were in the title hunt in the six-race Countdown to One.

Making matters worse for the NHRA this week was the weather. The Winternationals in Pomona started Thursday, but the extra day of qualifying provided nothing as rain cancelled Thursday's and Friday's schedule and limited the teams to a single pass on Saturday. Because of the weather, two great storylines were obliterated: Can Tim Wilkerson match the career year he had in 2008, now driving a Ford as a teammate to Bob Tasca III, and can Larry Dixon put Alan Johnson's Al-Alanabi team in the Winner's Circle at its debut race?

Because of the weather, neither driver made the field. Two drivers with championship potential this season are already on the outside looking in because of a situation no one could control. I think the NHRA did the right thing because at the end of the day, the priority is racing on Sunday. It's a logistical nightmare for the teams, track, and fans to have to stay an extra day.

The series, again, due to no fault of its own, is struggling out of the gate. Hopefully, the stars (and economy) aligns to allow a season similar to last year's.

Chili Bowl Diary: STL's Loyet Makes The Show!

First, let me apologize for the lack of photos. The SpeedZone camera gave up the ghost today. A moment of silence...

STL native and former POWRi champ Brad Loyet had a great Friday night with a dominating heat win and a third-place finish in the A-Main, putting him in the final race Saturday night. Loyet ran (and beat) some of the top names in the sport and has a very real chance of bringing the Golden Driller to the Gateway City.

Tim McCreadie continues to improve and sources tell me he is out of the hospital. T-Mac does not have health insurance and for fans who wish to donate some well-needed cash to his medical fund, visit GatewayRaceway.com and click on the McCreadie story where you can find more information on how to donate.

While we're talking about T-Mac, a shoutout to James Spink and USAC for all the help they are providing Tim. USAC is NOT the official sanction of this race, yet they are doing everything they can to help a racer in need. You don't see a lot of that in other sports.

When you're watching NASCAR on Sundays, it is sometimes hard to recognize just how truly talented these drivers are. Kasey Kahne reminded me tonight why he is racing with some of the biggest names in the sport. He came from near the back during one of the heat races to win and while that's impressive, it's HOW he did it that is noteworthy. Not only did he drive it like he stole it, he made the other drivers overdrive and make mistakes, giving him the win. You want to see REAL artistry on the track? Watch these guys race dirt. Drivers like Dave Blaney may not be too impressive in the Cup Series, but the former Chili Bowl/Knoxville Nationals winner and World of Outlaws champion was, and still is, a sight to see on the dirt.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the final edition of the Chili Bowl diary and head over the SpeedZoneRadio.com tomorrow night for a special Chili Bowl edition of the O'Reilly Auto Parts SpeedZone. And don't forget, the SpeedZone returns to 590 the Fan Saturday, Feb. 7, at 9 a.m. for a TWO-HOUR season kickoff show.

Good night from Tulsa.

Chili Bowl Diary: Get Well Soon, T-Mac

Former World of Outlaws Late Model Series/Chili Bowl champ and friend of the show Tim McCreadie was seriously hurt Wednesday night in a scary crash here at the 23rd Annual Chili Bowl in Tulsa. He broke two vertebrae, but does not appear to need surgery.

The injuries are not life-threatening and from what I'm told, Tim is in good spirits despite the fact he was a solid pick to win the mid-winter classic again this year driving a Wilke-Pak Toyota-backed machine. Best wishes from the SpeedZone to Timmy, who is expected to be out of action for at least two months.

Another interesting part to this story is the reaction from two-time Chili Bowl winner Tony Stewart. Stewart and T-Mac have been adversaries on the track, most notably last year at the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, which McCreadie won. Smoke was one of the first people to visit McCreadie at the hospital and, according to sources, told the racer anything he needed, Stewart would provide.

THAT'S what racers do for each other.

In other news...

One of the great things about motorsports is the respect of the fans. Tonight, during the National Anthem, all action stopped during the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner. Not just trackside, but all throughout the building, including the pits and merchandise alley. You could hear a pin drop as the anthem was being sung. You don't see a lot of that in other sports.

Justin Allgaier, the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series champ and Springfield, Ill. native has been hot all week, including a dominating heat win tonight. He finished third at this event in 2007 and with Stewart and McCreadie out of the picture, this could be Allgaier's year to win the Golden Driller.

Check out SpeedZoneRadio.com Sunday for a special website-only Chili Bowl wrap-up show featuring exclusive interviews from the drivers.

Finally, the O'Reilly Auto Parts SpeedZone returns to 590 the Fan KFNS Saturday, Feb. 7, with a special two-hour season premiere. You won't want to miss it.

Chili Bowl Diary

Be sure to come back here Thursday for the beginning of my Chili Bowl Diary. You'll also want to check out SpeedZoneRadio.com frequently over the next few days for exclusive photos and interivews from one of the biggest races of the year.