The Dome at America's Center
By-the-numbers wrapup at Gateway Nationals
By Andy Savary
DirtonDirt.com
Friday's action at the Dome. (heathlawsonphotos.com)
A by-the-numbers review of the inaugural VP Racing Fuels Gateway Dirt Nationals presented by Karl Performance, an unsanctioned Late Model and modified event at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Mo. (complete Gateway coverage):
0: Car number of Scott Bloomquist, Saturday's feature winner.
0: Late Model qualifiers who improved their time during Thursday's second qualifying session.
00: Car number of Jay Elliott, who who was uninjured in a backstretch rollover accident during a Saturday consolation race.
.16: Percent chance of Rusty Schlenk successfully drawing the No. 1 pill (out of 250 possible numbers) in both sessions of Late Model qualifying.
.602: Winning margin in seconds for Shannon Babb over Darrell Lanigan during Friday's feature.
1/5: Size in miles of the temporary dirt oval inside the Dome at America’s Center.
1: Crotch crop from Scott Bloomquist, who stole the show during Saturday's lively driver introductions.
1: Frozen fueling lane outside the Dome at America's Center during Friday evening's action.
1: Lap completed by Kevin Weaver, the first retiree of Saturday’s 40-lap feature.
1: Pill draw number for Rusty Schlenk during both sessions of Thursday's qualifying.
1: Starting position for eventual winner Scott Bloomquist during Saturday's feature.
1.328: Winning margin in seconds for Scott Bloomquist over Don O'Neal during Saturday's feature.
2: Downtown St. Louis venues hosting trading places sports events around the holiday season: the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome at America's Center on Dec. 15-17 and the NHL's Winter Classic at Busch Stadium on Jan. 2.
2: Drivers who led laps during the weekend's Late Model features: Shannon Babb and Scott Bloomquist.
2: Rollover accidents during the weekend's Late Model action.
2: Thursday qualifying sessions for both Late Models and modifieds.
3: Days of racing action inside the Dome at America's Center.
4: Drivers competing in both the Late Model and modified divisions: Scott Bloomquist, Timothy Culp, Nick Hoffman and Justin Kay.
5: Starting position for eventual winner Shannon Babb during Friday's feature.
6: States represented among Friday's heat race winners.
7: Total caution flags during Saturday's feature.
8: Laps in distance for Friday's heat races.
8: Top finishers locked in to a redraw from Friday’s feature to Saturday's finale.
8: Total Friday heat races for Late Models.
10.687: Time elapsed in seconds during Darrell Lanigan’s fastest qualifying lap on Thursday.
11.296: Time elapsed in seconds during Shannon Babb's fastest lap of Saturday's feature, the best lap for any driver.
12: Age of Harrison Hall, the youngest Late Model entrant.
12: Positions improved by Nick Hoffman during Saturday's feature, the most of any driver.
13: Drivers who completed 40 laps in Saturday's feature.
17: Car number of Doug Glessner, who was uninjured in a fronstretch rollover accident during Friday's third heat race.
18: Car number for Friday's Late Model feature winner Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.
19: Low temperature in degrees observed early Friday morning.
19: Total number of caution flags during Friday's Late Model heats, along with one red-flag stoppage.
20: Drivers who started Friday's $5,000-to-win feature for Late Models.
21: Minutes on the clock to complete the first four laps of Saturday's Late Model feature.
21: Staffers who assisted with DirtonDirt.com's pay-per-view broadcasts and coverage throughout the weekend.
21: States represented among the field of Late Model entrants.
21: Total victories for Scott Bloomquist in 2016.
22: Drivers who started the weekend's $20,000 finale for Late Models.
22: Total races scheduled for Friday's program, 15 of which involved Late Models.
23: Lap on which Shannon Babb went from third to first en route to winning Friday's feature.
25: Laps in distance for Friday’s Late Model feature.
29: Age of Gateway Dirt Nationals promoter Cody Sommer.
30: Minutes (and 15 seconds) to complete Saturday's feature.
34: Years between the Gateway Dirt Nationals and the indoor event at the Pontiac (Mich.) Silverdome on March 6, 1982.
35: Late Model entrants from Illinois, the most of any state.
40: Laps in distance for Saturday’s Late Model feature.
42: Age of Shannon Babb, Friday's feature winner.
53: Age of Scott Bloomquist, Saturday's feature winner.
57: Seconds of track time during Thursday's program for Ray Cook, according to a tweet from the driver.
62: Laps led by Scott Bloomquist out of a possible 65 total laps (22 on Friday and 40 on Saturday).
68: Number of pit parking stalls reserved for stacker trailers.
97: Late Model car count.
131: Modified car count.
200: Number of 300 square foot open pit parking stalls.
288: Concrete barriers used to house the indoor dirt track.
489: Days between victories for Shannon Babb, snapped with a Friday triumph.
590: Approximate time in seconds to complete Friday's 25-lap Late Model feature.
722: Minutes of live streaming on DirtonDirtcom's pay-per-view broadcast during Thursday's lengthy opening program.
750: Truckloads of dirt brought in to complete the indoor dirt track.
1995: Year in which the Dome at America’s Center was built.
5,000: Friday’s winner’s purse dollars for Late Models.
7,000: Approximate feet of dirt brought in to complete the indoor dirt track.
20,000: Dollars, Saturday’s winning Late Model purse.
66,000: Capacity at the Dome at America’s Center.
1,400,000: Pounds of concrete barrier brought in to house the indoor dirt track.
1,700,000: Approximate square footage at the Dome at America’s Center.
280,000,000: Approximate construction cost in dollars for the Dome at America’s Center in 1995.
Still counting: Times drivers struck (and track workers then replaced) infield tires during the weekend's bottom-feeding action.
