The Moody Mile
As many of you already know, I fall under the category "Girlie Girl", and yet the roar of an engine and the smell of exhaust never fail to put a grand smile on my face. This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending Super DIRT Week with Sean Corr and Empire Racing. A re-transplant from the south, Sean's words of wisdom on race attire had me a bit nervous; "Wear layers and bring boots!" Oh boy, this was gonna be interesting...
Stocked with several pairs of leggings, multiple pairs of socks, and a new pair of hiking boots (bought from the boys section of the shoe store so I could share them later with my son) I headed out to Syracuse. Friday was deceptively warm, in the 70s, so I thought perhaps there might be some hope for a nice weekend, weather wise. Mother nature had other plans ~ about halfway to Syracuse the skies opened up and the NYS Thruway slowed to a crawl. Turns out that Sean's Friday evening practice was shortened by the rain, however he was third fastest prior to the rain!
Saturday morning was WET and COLD! My extra layers certainly helped out, but the Empire Racing burn barrel made the day much more comfortable :) This was the first dirt race event I have attended since I watched my neighbor race 4-wheelers in high school. I was very impressed with the "Moody Mile", named after the first driver to sustain an average speed of over 100 mph for a lap, and the DIRT organization. I can imagine no greater frustration for a race director than to have the very carefully planned event turned on its ear by Mother Nature. From the press to the vendors, officials to drivers, everyone I met took the changes in stride. There was a camaraderie in sloshing through the mud puddles and trying to find the high ground around the mud slicked areas. When the sun finally made it's appearance over the NYS Fairgrounds, most of the group knew that the schedule had to change to ensure that the Small Block 125 lap feature could run. As the big wheeled semi's ran the track to dry the dirt, a drivers meeting was called. Practice and time trials for the Sportsman and Pro Stock events were being cut, the be run on an abbreviated schedule in the morning.
We stayed to watch the Small Block race - amazing how they are able to whip around the place, especially with all the mud! By the end, there was a lot of dry dirt floating through the air - I had it in my hair, my eyes, and my mouth! I had been baptized into the world of dirt racing! After, the entire group headed out to dinner, wearing our dirt stained clothes and mud covered boots as badges of honor :)
Sunday was clearer, and colder. Because of the rain shortened schedule the day before, Sunday was jam packed. Practice sessions and last chance qualifier for the Big Block feature all had to be be run. Practice runs were also qualifying runs to fit everything in. Sean was able to post the 11th fastest practice lap to start just outside the top 10. As we waited for the race to stage, announcements kept us abreast of the tweaks that were being made in the schedule, and the grandstands began to fill up. The Pro Stock race started and completed lap one when an accident brought out the caution. Caution laps are not counted in the Pro Stock, which is probably a good thing for race fans. At 25 laps, the cautions would eat up a huge percentage of the race. Sean took the green flag and was 10th as the scoring tower turned to lap 2. A huge accident occurred before lap 3 could go on the boards, bringing out the yellow flag again. After a couple of caution laps, the red flag was shown and the field collected near turn three while the clean up crew went to work. The cars being brought back to pit road had sustained some major damages, one having turned over during the crash. Finally the cars began again, following the pace car. When the field went green, I was waiting for the #8 Trans Group/Trans Tech Bus Pontiac Grand Prix to make its way out of turn 4, counting cars as they came through. After the 15th car, I was starting to get worried...
Unlike the ARCA and NASCAR races I have attended, drivers in the Pro Stock division have one way radios, connected only to the race control folks. This division has no spotters, no communication with the crew chiefs, so when we saw Sean turn onto pit road the guys were grabbing jacks and tires heading out to make a tire change or adjustment. Unfortunately, such an easy fix was not in the works. The clutch had broke on the restart, and was completely useless by the time he made it back to the hauler.
Normally, this is the time for the driver and crew to clean up and get out of Dodge, trying to to beat the rush of fans and haulers on their way out. But Empire and Corr were there for the dirt, so to speak, and wanted to see the Big Block race as well. What a great group to experience my first Super DIRT Week with ~ Already planning the wardrobe for next time! :)
10/10/2012 07:45
Michael Waltrip
Danica Patrick
