TBARA at Pensacola and Mobile

[Marty Little]

For you sprint car fans TBARA had a pair of outstanding events at Pensacola and Mobile (Alabama) over the weekend. The crowd at Penscaola Friday night was the largest in history other than for a Snowball Derby.

Pensacola (5 Flags Speedway) Friday 7-10. 30 laps, 24 cars.

1. David Steele, 2. Shane Butler, 3. Bo Hartley, 4. Troy DeCaire and 5. Larry J. Brazil, Jr.

Mobile (Mobile Int'l. Speedway) Saturday 7-11. 30 laps, 19 cars.

1. David Steele, 2. Troy De Caire, 3. Greg Leonard, 4. Joey Augilar and 5. Shane Butler.


Marty Little

[JackTripper]

I was there for both races and not only were the crowds amazing but the racing was incredible. Five Flags was packed like nothing I've seen down in these parts and the crowd at Mobile was the largest they have seen in over three years.

The gang at Five Flags does an incredible job of promoting the racing there and it is a great facility. Mobile's track is one of the most amazing layouts I've ever seen. You haven't seen banking until you have been to Mobile. And the first TBARA heat race Saturday night was one of the best races I've seen in years.

I'm quite tired at the moment, but I can expound at another time if anyone wants details.

[HaudFan]

All I can add is WOW! The fans were awesome. The facilities were awesome. The promoters were awesome. All the racing was great! They even had asphalt motorcycle racing. Those guys are NUTS!... If you've never been to Mobile Speedway you may want to think about making a visit. That place is wicked FAST!

Dave Steele set new track records for both tracks...The only negative for the whole trip was no Dreamland BBQ!

[bubba]

What were the lap times at Five Flags? I imagine they were in the 14's?

Did the tire wear come into play ? For 30 laps maybe not, but those guys but such a strain on the right rear and that place is a cheese grater.

You guys get a chance to sit in the stands or were you in the pits? Those new stands in turn one are great. Just renewed mine for the snowball - along with a camper this year. Gotta like have a guaranteed parking spot.

[HaudFan]

Bubba I think I remember hearing Steele ran something like a 14.2 at Five Flags. Those TBARA cars were halling the mail around that place...Most of the teams experienced some tire wear on the right rear...The Five Flags flagman said he'd never been hit with so much flying rubber before...We were in the pits but that place is such a clean facility and so friendly.

The rumor after the Five Flags race was that they were trying to figure out a way to incorporate the TBARA with the Snowball or at least have them back. Talk about a show that would be worth the price of admission!

[bubba]

Wow, I would love to seem them add the TBARA to the Snowball! They already have a great show with the mods - that would put it over the top.

If you ever get a chance..watching from the pits right behind the tech shed by the guardrail gives a great perspective of speed and acceleration down the backstretch. Kinda scary though. Watching the SLMs get loose out of 2 is quite a sight.

[JackTripper]

Friday, Steele set a new Five Flags track record with a 14.124-second lap.

I think I heard mention over the PA of Steele then hitting 135 mph at Mobile...

[AJ14]

Sorry i missed those shows . I like both tracks and i can only imagine the TBARA cars at those venues . Dave Steele won huh ? Hard to believe him winning on asphalt .

[fred23]

Not knowing David Steele at all, but love watching him wheel a sprint car, Can someone with some insight try to explain why he has not been given a sniff at a truck or nationwide ride?
It would seem to me that someone with that kind of car control with that much horsepower would get a look from someone........

[Gary J]

Steele tried Busch series for about half a season,didn't like it and quit.

[Marty Little]

I've heard that David hated the down time associated with the Buschwide series when he tried it. He's a very hands on guy and in that environment he was simply the driver. Not his cup of tea so he went back to what he knows best. I believe that he also had an IRL tryout with Panther Racing at one time.

[Gary J]

Dude Teate had a couple of Busch starts too.

[ancrdave]

Dave's success has been mostly in USAC where he could be "hands-on"... He's won a pair of USAC Silver Crown titles (before USAC ruined the class) and many USAC wins in Sprints and Midgets... Now a two-time winner of the Little 500... Again, if you want to be a real part of a race team, the big leagues aren't the way to go... A guy like Steele just can't stand to sit back and watch someone else do the work... Pete Orr was the same way when he tried the Busch GN cars... He wasn't happy because he didn't feel he was being able to give the input needed to make his team successful... Same with Steve Kinser... that's why he went back to WOO...
The big teams are now in the business of "grooming" 13-18 year olds to become their robot drivers... Just tell us what the car is doing and the "engineers" will try and make it better... When was the last time you heard reference to a "chief mechanic" in NASCAR or IRL... The Smokey Yunicks, Herb Nabs and Harry Hydes are long gone... I'd love to see some of these young kids get in an old Bud Moore '64 Mercury with no power brakes, power steering etc. etc. That would be funny... Look at Tony Stewart this year... Whether you like him or not, he's the best "pure" racer to come along since A.J. Foyt... He took a team that was a piece of crap and has already won, leads the points, and has several poles between himself and Ryan Newman... I think Tony had to see if the old "hands-on" approach would work and he has proven that it can... There also is not a happier guy in the pits right now with maybe the exception of Mark Martin...

[AJ14]

I 've always been curious about Daves' failure to move up the ranks , but your analysis is probably correct . I watched Stewart at the IRL race at Disney when he co-owned the team and was impressed with the fact that he was working on the car right along with the mechanics , not just holding a flashlight for them , but turning wrenches himself . I've also seen him lying in the mud working on one of his sprint cars at Volusia . And as you point out , that approach to racing is sure paying off for him this year in the CUP series .

[JackTripper]

I was trying to find it, but there was an interview conducted with Dave that pretty much backed up everything listed here. But I did find this nice little piece of footage of Dave's driving. I don't know who shot and edited this, but this is really nice work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdcC8udU5AQ

Also, if you are curious, we've posted our reports from this weekend's TBARA activities at the website listed in my signature.