Eldora Speedway
World 100 winner avoids drama, achieves success
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com managing editor
John Blankenship (left) and crew chief Tom Buckingham. (thesportswire.net)
ROSSBURG, Ohio (Sept. 7) — For a driver and team intent on avoiding drama, John Blankenship created some excitement for fans of the No. 23 Saturday night at Eldora Speedway.
The 32-year-old driver from Williamson, W.Va., stormed into the lead on the 53rd lap of the 43rd annual World 100, then led the rest of the way to earn $46,000 and Dirt Late Model racing’s most prestigious event. | Complete World 100 coverage
Blankenship, who first arrived on the Dirt Late Model scene 10 years ago with little driving experience, credited his solid team with pushing him to the pinnacle of the sport.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, and it was just a matter of getting a crew together that’s dedicated and works well together. It’s hard to get a group of guys that will want to live in a little truck and go up and down the road,” Blankenship said. “To find a group that wants to keep working together and not get at each other all the time — and keep the drama down — that’s really helped us more than anything.”
The son of former coal-mining magnate Don Blankenship has sometimes been questioned for a laid-back approach to racing, but his success the past few seasons — including a stint atop the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points this summer — should quieten critics, he said.
“I think it’s been responded to,” he said with a smile.
Blankenship’s laser focus combined with a winning team is the key, said crew chief Tom Buckingham.
“John has lived a different lifestyle than a lot of people. John’s real humble, and he never fusses at nobody, but he doesn’t like drama. He don’t want to have no animosity,” Buckingham said. “And the people that worked for John five years ago, they were there for a paycheck. I’m not here for a paycheck. I’m here to help John win, and my entire team is that way.
“It's not only me, it’s Trevor (Crittenden), it’s Tony (Trent), it’s Allen (Champ) back at the shop, it’s J.C. All these guys communicate and we don’t have no drama. There’s no fussing, cussing, or whatever. And we don’t have bad habits.”
The team chemistry has developed along with Blankenship’s maturation as a driver, Buckingham said.
“A lot of people thought he abused the car tonight, but he didn’t. The car was tight enough that he had to run the car real hard to keep his rhythm going,” Buckingham said. “He paced his self. I told him from the start, 'Don’t go out there and get wadded up. You’ve gotta pace yourself and take care of your tires.' Because I feel like at the end, he was probably running like 95 percent, 95 percent.
“He’s matured. He’s matured as a driver.”
The mature approach helped the 12th-starting Blankenship work into the top five near the midpoint of the race, then quickly pick off Bobby Pierce, Darrell Lanigan and Terry Phillips to take a lead he’d never give up. Lanigan crept within 10 lengths in the final 10 laps, but never close enough to take a serious shot at the lead.
Blankenship handled himself perfectly, Buckingham said.
“He didn’t try to pass a car in one lap. He would take two laps to pass the car. You clock yourself or time yourself to get under that car. Don’t try to pass 'em when you can’t make it,” said the crew chief. “The slide job here, everybody wants to slide job and push and shove. You wad the car up, you’re done. The aero package — and that’s something that Scott Bloomquist taught me — the aero package is huge at the end of the race.”
Blankenship was proud to hoist Eldora’s globe trophy, but he wasn’t ready to etch his name among the sport’s great just yet.
“It’s a really tough sport and to say that you’re at the top of it, I don’t think anybody can say that now. You can lose any night,” Blankenship said, later adding that he knows there aren’t guarantees on a weekend with 113 competitors entered. “You definitely have doubts, especially when you come out here and run last in the B-main — that’s happened before, too.”
But on this night, Blankenship came out on top.
“John has stepped up to a tier-one person,” Buckingham said. “He’s a threat at the World 100 or the Dream or anywhere he goes.”
