I guess I'm old and don't get it anymore.And Dutilly wins Full Throttle 100 at Citrus

[zerofor]

It was a very packed place at Citrus County Speedway Saturday night.I stood in line at the ticket window that stretched back almost to the road that runs along the pit area and turns 3&4.That was an hour before the scheduled start time.It was definitely a type of night most places dream about.Jesse Dutilly took home the gold,with Stephen Nasse close but no cigar.Joe Boyd had a damn good run,I believe coming home fourth.Trey Bayne took a fifth place check back home to Tennessee with him and Jarrod Irvan ran strong before pulling off.Michael Atwell made the show,but then didn't as his car needed to be towed off before the green ever waved.Wayne Anderson had to race his way in through the last chance race which he won.Dylan Bigley didn't make the field as well as a half dozen others.Cody Stickler was relegated to the last chance race but didn't answer the bell for it.So 33 cars qualified.The top 20 locked in,six advanced through the last chance that should have lined up 13 but instead started 9 or ten cars.Mike Bresnahan had it in the bag,but Nasse punted him around in turn four around lap 78 at which point Bresnahan disagreeing with the tracks decision to send Nasse and him to the tail pulled off,done for the night.Daniel Keene did the same thing for the same reason earlier in the race.L.J.Grimm (in a second Keene ride) pulled off because he said the car wasn't any good.My point is only NINE cars finished.Keith Zavrel finished ninth a lap off the pace.So only eight lead lap cars.I respect the world of these guys,BUT,isn't the whole point to race until you can't or they won't let you or the checker flag flys? I mean why bother paying for fuel,tires,pit passes and oh maybe the car? Isn't even tenth place money better than eighteenth place money?Only nine finished.I mean what the hell? Why bother at all then?A.J.Waller took home the outlaw street stock feature which started twenty cars but timed out after only nine of the scheduled twenty five laps had been completed.James Peters used a last lap pass of Larry Welter jr.to take the pure stock feature.

[OldSchool+]

Zerofor--am right there with you philosophically.

But in the real world it is no longer about how much you win, but how much (or how little) you are going to lose.

Those motors have "x" number of hours on them before they do something requiring five grand or more (maybe a lot more)--and no one knows how many hours, just that the bill is a-coming.

Now, same-same for the Rolex 24 (maybe even worse...). Every year, some cars park it if they no longer have a chance at a class win. And then come back at the end of the race for a few photo-op laps. I always felt that was kind of an insult to the guys who ran the whole thing.

But you mention "old" as in, presumably, "the good old days".

Ernie Bass saved and protected equipment back in the day when it was rarely done. He would pull off if it was hot--or missing-- on a regular basis.

And he raced a lot--more than most, overall.

[Circledude]

Hey Eric, I was there with the Bigleys, of course we got screwed in the last chance race by the 22, it seems these guys aren't concerned with the money not to finish, of course Nasse doesn't need the money so he takes ppl out figuring he would get back up front like he did, Mike runs a little higher off 2 and he may have got into Nasse a little and you can't do that to him so he spins you, I didn't like some of the calls when you can tell who was really at fault in these incidents, CCS thought this was the best way to or easiest to decide who goes to the rear so they don't get bitched at for bad calls, really stupid IMO, you should at least protect the leader, I'm racing the truck on the 12th wish you could make it, later my friend

[zerofor]

Mike I wished I could make it back down there sometime.I haven't been there since Homestead week last year.Its just been getting tougher for me to make that long run down there for several different reasons.Good luck with the Truck next Saturday.I heard something that I don't know if it's true or not,maybe you can tell me.Is John Vallo the race director at 4-17?

[zerofor]

old school

I get the whole point about saving the equipment and it reminds me of a story one of my dads buddy's told me about one of his drivers pulling off leading the feature with a few laps to go.Grenading a motor isn't worth a few extra dollars at the pay window.BUT....going along with that same theory,you can totally destroy a $50,000- $100,000 dollar racecar on the first lap(that may not even count as a completed lap)so once again at what point then does it just become pointless?I don't pay much attention to payout anymore since my racing days are long behind me (maybe I should) but I always felt that sentiment was best reserved for a heat race and not the feature.

[Circledude]

I'll check on that, I don't think so but I'll find out

[Circledude]

I talked with Joe, Vallo was the race director when 4-17 first opened for a short time, now he is traveling with his wife, He lives in Cape Coral, wish I knew this would have been fun to talk to him about CMS and racing