Hometown Week

There’s not a whole lot of time to reflect when you get out on the World of Outlaws circuit. The term, “living out of a suitcase,” is a true and literal statement, especially now that we are entering into the month of the July. We’ve already raced two of the 14 scheduled races and the long gauntlet is ahead. Ask anyone out on the road and they will tell you that getting some time away from the grind is crucial to keep you going. When I took this job, I glanced at the schedule and circled the first weekend in July. The Boothill Showdown at Dodge City (Kan.) Raceway Park was a mere hour from the city in which I grew up. Garden City is a quiet farming community situated in the plains and prairie of Southwest Kansas. Water is scarce at times but never is hospitality nor friendly faces.

After rain washed away hopes of racing at Husets Speedway near Brandon, S.D., I hitched a ride back to Minneapolis, Minn. and departed for my hometown via Denver International Airport. Upon arriving at the Garden City Regional Airport, I was greeted with the staple of the area; fierce wind. After a few years, you grow accustomed to always seeing a flag straight in the air.

My mom picked me up and drove us home. The house is a place that we have lived for over 20 years. Thanks to my dear mother, the place has been completely remodeled and looks nothing like the faux wood paneling and shag carpeting heaven that I grew up in. You have to hand it to Mom, she got things the way she wanted and spared no expense (much to Dad’s chargin.)

My folks have always been a big part of my life. Growing up was fair as my sister and I could cause more trouble than you would ever believe. Looking back on it now, I’m surprised our rearends didn’t meet the business end of my Dad’s boot more often. There were times of running away in stores, vicious fights and the time my sister sent me sailing into the kitchen all, cracking the dry wall (the true story of what happened that fateful day in ’06 may never be known as neither side can seem to agree on the series of events.) Either way, my parents were always there for both my sister and I and continue to be.

My first day at home was spent in the yard with a lawn mower and a weed whacker. Growing up, I hated mowing the yard until about the age of 16 then it became a bit of a religious ritual for me. Often, my Dad could brag that he had the best kept lawn and cleanest 18-wheeler. Trucking has been a huge part of my family on both sides as it seems everyone in my family has driven a truck at some point or another. In 2001, my parents were given the opportunity to form their own trucking company and that’s when the work began! Each weekend, there was always a list of things to fix or a truck or two to wash. I became very skilled and scrubbing layers of bugs of the chrome bumpers of a Peterbilt in nearly any set of weather conditions. As time has moved on and the kids have left the house, the local truck wash isn’t as busy as it no longer see’s the near mirror finish of Dad’s truck and trailer. With no more free labor, the old man takes the rig to Blue Beacon truck washes and complains that the crew of five grown men can’t match the quality of a wash job that he and I pulled off so many times.

Tuesday was a day for heading to the local gym for a workout, meeting with a few friends and a doctor’s appointment. I still never have gotten used to the forms you have to fill out for the insurance. With a clean bill of health and refilled prescription for acne in hand, I took off for Western Motor. The GM-Honda dealership is where I spent many summers in my late teens changing oil, washing and towing cars and, it seemed, getting in and out of trouble. My first summer was in ’06 when my next door neighbor, Wade Crawford, helped me out of a jam. I was working on a lawn crew for the city recreation department and hated the job. I went to talk to Wade one night and he told me to come down and fill out an application. Within a few days, Wade found a place for me working in the Tire Shop. The shop was an old service station where the Dealership kept their supply of tires and some fuel pumps. I was working with a two twenty something guys and was learning a lot. The first two weeks went smooth except for the day that I was backing a brand new Buick car around a pole and scraped the entire driver’s side. Without realizing it, I had caused so much damage that you couldn’t even open the driver’s door! Needless to say it was a long walk of shame to Wade’s office two blocks away.

During the rest of my time there which included all of my senior year and stints during summer and winter breaks, I learned a great deal about working in the real world. I learned that hard work was the biggest means to achieving things in life. It also taught me that life is a team sport. It takes a great team of people to satisfy a customer and to keep them coming back. I have several great stories from my time there but that could fill 10 blog entries. I will close this portion by saying that I am extremely grateful for the lessons I learned there and the people I got to work with. I tend to make fun of Wade quite a bit (I have a pretty good impression of him) but I do respect that guy quite a bit. He keeps a large group of people entertained and working well together which is the mark of an extremely gifted manager. Chris, Jimmy, Carrie and everyone else down there are also a great deal of fun and great people all around.

Tuesday night was exciting as Maegan arrived in Kansas. After getting lost in a small town she made it over to the house and we spent the next two days by relaxing and going to look at different things around town. It was pretty cool to be able to take someone around town and show them where you grew up and why it had such a profound effect on you. By the way, we also saw, “Cars 2,” which was decent but not as good as the original. We went to see it after we were turned away at the Holcomb pool because it was, “contaminated.” (YIKES!)

From there it was on to Dodge City Raceway Park and an exciting weekend of racing. The heat bothered some but made me feel right at home. The humidity is low in Kansas so it feels like stepping into a large, 360 degree hair dryer. With the wind and heat, I got a good tan and some aide when putting up the banners. The racing action was great both nights as Dollansky and Sides were the victors. Both are some of the nicest guys in the pits so it’s great to see them doing so well this season.

On Sunday, Maegan and I took off for Oklahoma City. She lives and goes to school in Norman so we stayed the night there and got to hang out some more before she took me to the airport on Independence Day. Air travel has it perks and downfalls. My downfall on the fourth was that I was delayed in Chicago for a total of two and half hours due to weather. However, on the plane to Charlotte, we did catch the Chicago fireworks from 10,000 feet in the air. Now that was COOL!

P.S. check out this awesome video that some of my friends with Dial House produced about Donny Schatz.

Wild Wild June

WOW! Things have certainly been busy as of late and I will use that excuse when it comes to why I haven’t updated this blog that much during the month of June. Between a trip to Kansas, rain in Knoxville and nearly missing a flight in Minnesota, the sixth month of 2011 has been the craziest yet.

June 3^rd and 4^th saw us race in my home state of Kansas at the Belleville Highbanks and Lakeside Speedway. Two big half miles back to back proved who had power and who didn’t as Paul McMahan and Steve Kinser emerged with the checkers. A shout out to Knoxville regular Brian Brown though. That guy drove an awesome race at Lakeside, only to come up short on a restart. It was really cool to be back home in Kansas for a weekend. Even though we were in the Northeast corner and I am from the Southwest, I still saw plenty of folks I knew and even had a good friend (Ken Lutters) run the URSS race at Belleville which prompted many to ask, “Kyle, is that your grandpa racing?”

From there, it was on to the Mecca of Sprint Car Racing, Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa. Friday brought rains which canceled the event for that evening. Justin Reimers saw fit to jump out of an ice box at me which led to several Mothers covering their children’s ears as I went on a profanity laced tirade while my banner hanging partner tried to stay on his feet despite extreme laughter. I also paid my first visit to the legendary Dingus bar. With the narrow hallways, and wide open patio, everyone from drivers to crews to fans were enjoying themselves immensely. Before anyone gets implicated, I’ll just say we all made it home safe and the cops were not called. It won’t be my last and we had an AWESOME time.

Saturday night was clear and the racing action was read hot as Sammy Swindell and Jason Sides duked it out on the famous black gumbo half mile over. Swindell took the checkers but Sides continued to prove to everyone that his name is certainly in the running for the 2011 title.

During the Knoxville weekend, I was able to sit down with Steve Kinser in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame for a one on one interview for WorldofOutlaws.com. It was amazing to hear Steve talk about so many things. You really begin to realize that that man has stories from everywhere and could probably not run out for days or weeks on end.To hear Steve describe how Ted Johnson came up to him and asked him for forty dollars on a hot afternoon in Texas and have that be the beginnings of a tour that has gone around the world and now draws the interest of NASCAR stars and major corporations is just unbelievable.

The next stop on the tour was to the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. Rain almost got the best of us on Friday. Thankfully it got out of the area but we had to run an accelerated schedule the rest of the night an completed a full show in one and half hours. Talk about quick! Just as we settled in for a few cold ones, the rains began in earnest outside. The next night was dry and made for great racing but we didn’t get finished until after midnight and I was due to return to Charlotte early in the morning. I can’t explain it and I don’t know how he did it but somehow Johnny Gibson made it from Grand Forks, N.D. to Minneapolis, Minn. in time for me to hop on the plane. A whirlwind night indeed!

It was nice to be at home for a few days and you would think I would take the time to relax, sit by the pool and do nothing. Wrong! I recently purchased a ’94 Jeep Wrangler as a side project, something to work on when I want to get away from it all. Some people watch TV, some go on tropical vacations, Gump works on old dirty vehicles.

I spent the better part of Wednesday and Thursday stripping the “Red Rambler,” (We’re still working on the nick name for it. So far, iSore, Money Pit, Diablo Espanol, The Bleep) down to the steering wheel, gear shift and windshield. I think I cleaned at least 150 pounds worth of dirt, grease and old carpet out of that thing (and found a buck twenty seven in change.)

Several empty containers of Simple Green and Windex later, the Jeep has a shine to it and is awaiting a fuel pump and a turn signal switch. When I finally get it all fixed up, it’ll make for some nice topless drives through the winding hills of North Carolina with country music blaring through the speakers. It should also make my girlfriend, Maegan, quite a bit happier when I’m no longer spending, “hours upon hours working on an old beater.” (I can finally use the line, “It’s a Jeep Thing, You Just Wouldn’t Understand.”

As I write this, we are currently gearing up for all the racing action at Princeton Speedway. Guess we'll see if Dollansky can make it three in a row tonight.

- Gump

Full Size Sprint Car Experience

I was thinking it was bound to happen. Sooner or later, through "politicking" or sheer good fortune, I was going to be able to get behind the wheel of a full sized, World of Outlaws Sprint Car. My prior racing experience includes only a test drive in a Mini-Sprint that my good friend (and sometimes considered brother) John Campbell Jr. let me drive last summer at our home track in Garden City, Ks. It was a very cool experience but I always wanted to drive something bigger. I was given my chance tonight after the World of Outlaws agency challenge at the East Lincoln Speedway in North Carolina. We hosted a great event to hopefully get the word out about truly awesome our series are and I really think it went well. Part of the competition was a driving challenge with cars and instructors courtesy of the Dirt Track Racing School. With the guest filtering out, CEO Brian Carter came over to us and explained that we could take a ride in an instructor in a two seater sprint car or take the wheel ourselves in a Late Model.

The idea of driving appealed to me over riding so I selected the late model. As I suited up, I noticed the single seat sprint car sitting off to the side. I asked an instructor if a drive in the winged chariot was possible. He grinned and said, "yes." Off I went to prepare for my drive. I crawled into cramped quarters of the 1,400 pound speed machine. I don't know how the Outlaws get in and out of the thing multiple times in a night. It doesn't help that I have a 6 foot frame, with most of it being arms and legs. With a few bruises and scraped knuckles, I settled into the seat and found my belts. The five point harness would be strands of nylon that kept me planted into my cocoon. Next came the helmet. A black Bell would keep my ugly mug safe. Next came the arm straps and neck roll.

After a quick briefing from the instructor. I was rolled up to the entry way and was left to set a minute. It was strangely quiet and calming. I could see the late model making laps out on the track but I couldn't focus on that. I was focused on what my hands, feet and arms were about too. As I saw the Late Model pull off the track in turn three, I could feel the push truck make contact with the rear bumper of my sprinter. A great roar of a motor was the next thing I felt as I was pushed out onto the track from turn 4. I could feel the car fire and gave it a little gas to help it out. As I neared the start/finish line, I was under my own power and took off. I was amazed at how responsive the car was to even the smallest adjustments. I continued to idle around and take it easy for the first few laps.

As I came of turn 4 of lap 2, I decided it was time to be a hero or zero. One of my dreams in life was to hold a sprint car wide open. I did just that. It may have not looked fast but I did feel that rush of adrenaline that every driver talks about. The front end of the car rose off the ground and the roar of the motor was deafening. The front end came back down just in time to enter turn one and I was able to get a partial slide job going. I continued to try to hit my marks each lap, building up more bravery until I realized I was getting too cocky and almost took the wall out in turn one on lap 5. Eventually I saw the checkers and my ride was over. As I coasted to a stop off of turn two and waited for the four wheeler to push me back to the pits, I finally collected my thoughts. What a purpose built machine! With the stagger in the right rear, the car pretty much turns itself. The main job of the steering gear is to point the vehicle. You mostly steer the car with the throttle and how hard your push it down. Based on this and the angle and line in which you make it through the corner, the number of G forces on your body changes. I also learned that things happen extremely quickly. Driving this sprinter requires 100% focus the entire time. One slip up or false glance and you could go tumbling end over end. I took my eyes off the track once to catch a glance of the flagmen and nearly smacked the turn three wall.

After crawling out and reflecting on my experience, I have a tremendous amount of new found respect for those who race these machines at the high speeds and close quarters that they do. I certainly know that I would never have the nerve to race one on a regular basis. I also can't believe that anyone would ever say that all racing is is people driving in circles. If you are of that opinion, then go see the crew at the Dirt Track Racing School, take some laps and then see if you still say that.

All in all, it was a life experience that will leave a smile on my face for weeks to come. Certainly a great way to kick off the week before heading to Knoxville Raceway this weekend!

328 dollar towing bill at 3:30 a.m.

Have you ever lost something important and tried to find out hours later? It's nearly an impossible task isn't it? During our recent race at the I-96 Speedway, I made a big mistake; I lost my rental car keys. I can partially blame this on a scooter and a long night of racing but the whole mess started right after I had finished my race report for the night. I had begun to pack up my things so that I could head over to Grand Rapids for a few winks before having to get up and fly home. I searched throughout my bag for Toyota Yaris keys but the search was futile. Earlier in the day, I had ridden a scooter over to the car, which was sitting in the general parking area, amidst mud and puddles of water. I remembered locking the red micro machine and that was the last time I saw the keys.

Despite frantic searches and visits to the track office, my ticket to a getaway was gone. I pulled out my BlackBerry and called Hertz. I explained my situation and they informed me of the charges. I reluctantly agreed and they sent a tow rig on its way to the track. During this time, WoO Competition Director, Don Grabey, and I continued to comb the area with flashlights, making a last ditch effort to find them.

Eventually a driver named Bob (nope that's not a typo nor is it made up) arrived with Ford F-450 truck topped out with a Jerr-dan tow arm attached. You'll have to forgive my attention to tow truck detail but I used to be a driver of one myself and enjoyed it quite a bit. Bob used a lock out kit to rescue my luggage and the proceeded to hook up the car from the front. A few minutes later, Bob, myself, my luggage and four sugar free Red Bulls were bouncing down old county black tops on our way to Grand Rapids. Along the way, Bob told me about his job, family and the like. We swapped towing stories like his of fishing a big rig out of a river and mine of tugging a car out of a burning house.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at the airport and made it to the rental car garage. A problem arose when we realized we couldn't place the car near the other vehicles the company owned. Upon this revelation, I called Hertz quickly and asked where they would like to have the vehicle dropped. With the instructions of, "just where we can see it," I asked Bob to drop it on the sidewalk, in plain view of the counter. With my signature scribbled on his ticket and a fresh cup coffee, Bob crawled into his Ford and took off for home. I made my way through the garage and into the terminal, only to find out that I wouldn't be able to check in until 4:30 am. After an hour of working with minimal battery power and room in the lobby, I checked in with United and made my way to the business center at Gerald R. Ford International Airport. I set to work for the next three hours, updating charts, voicing a podcast and more. Along the way, I scarfed down a Quiznos sub (yes they still toast them at 5 am believe it or not) as I had not had any dinner the night before.

Around 7:30, Hertz called and asked how my rental car experience had gone. Known for my smart alec tendencies, I calmly replied, "well I enjoyed the car, what little I got to use it until the keys lost themselves in a mud pit." The operator had no idea what had happened but then understood why I had not returned the keys with the rental agreement earlier that morning. After a quick explanation and confirmation of the quote, I hung up and finally collapsed into a chair just as the sun began to illuminate the landscape fully. It'd been 25 hours since I woke up and I was exhausted from the ordeal. Unfortunately, I was squeezed into the middle seat on the flight to Cleveland so any hopes of sleep were dashed. After a brief lay over, I boarded the small hopper plane for the jaunt to Charlotte. I landed, grabbed my luggage and took off for the parking lots. Fortunately, I had not lost my personal keys. I took off for our home office and was greeted by this sight when I arrived.


My co-workers had heard of my misfortunes through my boss and editor-in-chief, Chris Dolack. They had also placed a sign on the back of my office chair that read, "The Keymaster." With all of the jokes and red faced looks I had endured, I couldn't help but laugh at my situation. Here I was, covered in mud and dirt from the previous nights races, deep black lines under my eyes from one hour of sleep in the prior 30 hours and a 328 dollar bill in hand from Hertz. Still chuckling, I remembered what a wise man once told me, "The lessons of adolescence are often humiliating and expensive, but the wisdom acquired by an old man gets cheaper every year."

With the ordeal behind me, I'm ready to head for my home state this weekend as the Outlaws invade Kansas for two nights at the famed Belleville Highbanks and Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Ks.

Home field advantage

Being on your home turf is usually always a good thing. Sure schedules get hectic and the hours might get a little bit longer but hey, you get to sleep in your own bed at the end of the night. Normally, my week involves flying to a major hub city like Detroit on a Thursday, meeting up with Johnny Gibson and then heading out for successive nights of racing. Usually, I wrap up the weekend on Sunday morning with an early flight and a long day of laundry and cleaning.

So far in 2011, those nights of "successive racing," have been few and far between but that's another story for another day. This past week was different. After flying home from another rain out on May21st at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan, I took a little time to relax. I was in a calm state of mind because the week's race was in the Charlotte area which is a quick 30 minute drive from my apartment. Although we had a very busy schedule leading up to the race with planned live TV coverage, I was a bit at ease knowing that I would be able to go home after the checkers flew and the equipment was put up and the fact that my girlfriend would be out here.

Maegan made her first trip on an airplane to come out for the weekend. I picked her up Thursday night amidst rain and thunder. I jokingly told her that she always knows how to "make an entrance." Originally we had plans to do several things until Mother Nature got in the way. For the eighth time this year, rain either delayed or canceled a World of Outlaws Series event and what a show it was on Friday. Right after the drivers meeting, the wind and rain blew in full force. Even though it only lasted about 10 minutes, the amount of water that was dumped on the grounds was immense. Small and large pools of water emerged all over the pits and the racing surface had a bright sheen to it as the lights came on. Track officials tried their best and prepped the track with such a situation in mind. As the hours ticked on, it appeared we might be able to get the show in. An impromptu autograph session helped tide the fans over and just as the drivers had returned to their haulers and began to suit up, the rains came again, effectively ending the night. You could see the dejection on everyone's faces as they packed up once again and took off for the motels.

Saturday was the polar opposite of Friday. With sunny skies and warm temperatures all day, the track was in great shape as we began the night of racing. Once the dust settled a few hours later, Paul McMahan emerged victorious with car co-owner Kasey Kahne looking on. It's great to see some like Paul win because he does race so hard. The driver of the HR cattle wagon hasn't had much luck this year but has been fast. It truly was only a matter of time before he got to victory lane.

While McMahan and KKR had a great night, I experienced a horrible one from the checkers on. When I went to go set up my camera for the post race interview, we realized the camera had froze with the only fix being to let it slowly die on battery power and then recharge. Thankfully, Sean Cain from KKR stepped in with a beautiful Canon SLR and helped me out. Due to that and a delayed Victory Lane celebration on the front stretch, most of the drivers had packed up and were on their way to Michigan so my story was a little lean on quotes. A big thanks to Donny Schatz and Cody Darrah for helping me out in a pinch. With the internet giving me fits again and a delayed delivery on my video, I wasn't able to get our results and recap posted until after I got home. The evening finally ended at 3 am when I crawled into bed and shut my eyes for a few hours.

Sunday on Memorial Day weekend is a racers dream. The Grand Prix of Monaco, the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 highlight a day made for fast cars, good friends and even better food. Maegan and I made a quick trip to the grocery store for supplies and then it was over to Kellen's apartment for deep dish pizzas and watching America's best. I must admit, the pizza's were good and so were both finishes! I really feel for both National Guard machines. First at Indy and then at Charlotte, it seemed like the cars that represented our troops couldn't make it through the final turn without an issue.

It was another early wake up call today as I had to be at the airport by 7. Maegan dropped me off and gave me a big hug before I walked into the terminal. As I saw my pickup drive off, I realized how truly lucky I am to have a gorgeous girl who puts up with a lot. Originally, she was going to get to go white water rafting, go to a few big malls and experience her first NASCAR race. Instead, 'lil Mae,' got treated to cold and damp conditions on Friday, muggy weather Saturday and a lazy Sunday. She didn't see nearly as much of her boyfriend as she would have liked. Being the little trooper that she is, Maegan never complained and helped me out with what ever I needed. In life, you are truly blessed if you have someone that is willing to stick by your side as you do something you enjoy.

As I write this, I am hearing the boarding call for my flight to Grand Rapids, Michigan for tonight's make up race at I-96 Speedway. The radar looks clear and I feel refreshed after having a race at home to get me ready for the gauntlet stretch coming up.

More Rain

It seems like rain follows the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Series everywhere it goes these days. However, it appears that Mother Nature really sends the rain on Saturdays. So far in the month of May, the Outlaws have not raced on a Saturday. With no races scheduled the first weekend and the next two Saturdays rained out, the 'Greatest Show on Dirt,' hasn't seen a Saturday night of racing action since April 30 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind. Even before that, the series raced twice in the month April with both dates coming during the first two days of the month.

The sad thing is that not only is this effecting national touring series like the Outlaws and others, but it's effecting regional and local shows as well. Racers are truly a different breed of people. They sink every cent they have into their machines with the hopes of glory under the lights on a Friday or Saturday night. However, when Mother Nature drops the rain and races are canceled, the money cannot be recovered. Rising fuel costs, material costs and lodging are slowly bleeding racers from the weekly factory stock driver all the way to the nationally touring Outlaws circuit. It's truly inspiring to see people hold out for so long to race. It's a passion that can't be denied.

Another group who is just as determined are the fans of the sport. As I type this now, throngs of racing fans remain at the wet and dreary I-96 Speedway, cloaked in hoodies and ponchos, anxiously waiting for the rain to stop and track packing to commence. These dedicated fans are the reason why the racers can race and the officials can govern. For that, we are truly thankful.

As we continue to wait out the rain, here's to hoping that the rain starts to go away and the roar of motors can be heard from coast to coast.

First night at 'the Grove.'

It seems like every track we end up going to on the World of Outlaws schedule is a first time visit for me. Aside from Eldora, Knoxville, Dodge City and a few more, I should be sporting two yellow stripes across the back of my khakis as I attempt to navigate the dirt tracks of American (and Canada for that matter.) One of the stops I was looking forward to the most was the Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Penn. This semi banked, half mile oval is steeped in tradition and is almost mythical. Growing up in the plains of Kansas, we rarely heard of this grand track with the likes of Knoxville and Devils Bowl Speedway dominating the headlines. I remember as early as 1995 of reading about how Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell battled for wins in the face of some of the toughest local competition anywhere. I experienced the track virtually after Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars was released for the PC. I spent several summer nights waiting up until my parents fell asleep and then quietly turning on our Gateway computer to experience the thrills of Husets, Knoxville and this place called Williams Grove via simulation. I had to wait up because my mother despised computer games since I usually ended up crashing the family's only computer in my motorsports pursuits I came to love racing the track on the computer and eventually mastered the set up that would carry the #5M car of Mark Kinser that doubled as my own (Big Mopar fan here and that car just was AWESOME looking) to many victories.



I arrived in person a little bit before noon on a Friday the 13th. It was interesting to take in all the sights I had heard so much about and to see the die hard fans camping for seemed like acres upon acres of green grass. Once we had completed our regular series duties, I explored a bit more and used the blue backstretch bridge, visited Beer Hill and other places.



Something that caught me as the day and night progressed was the general excitement and buzz in the air. This speedway really has the feel of a college football game. When the Outlaws come to town, it's like Ohio State going into the "Big House" in Michigan or USC coming to play the Fighting Irish in South Bend. Everyone has a side and there can be no middle ground.

As we settled into racing action for the night, I couldn't help but describe the place as Martinsville with dirt. With it's paper clip design and tight narrow corners, the right gear and big horsepower would be the keys to victory. The Penn. Posse flexed some serious muscle last night as Stevie Smith, Brian Zeppo and Daryn Pittman were the only three leaders on the night. Smith appeared to have victory well at hand until a jumped start dropped him back a row for the next one. This opened the door for Pittman to show what he had in his Heffner Racing #27 as he tracked down the leader Leppo and executed a brilliant slide job in two turn. Pittman led the final six laps to score his 30th career WoO victory (to go along with six preliminary wins) and first Outlaws triumph for his owner. Daryn is the kind of guy you can't help but pull for. The fresh faced Oklahoman has fans across the country from his years of racing on the Outlaw circuit and proved to be a big draw when the series visited the Salina Highbanks earlier this month.

As we gear up for day two, I look forward to taking in more of the sights, trying more of the food and hopefully interviewing an Outlaw in victory lane twice tonight. It really would be nice to walk into the office each morning and see that brilliant Sterling silver cup as a reminder of my first trip to 'the Grove.'