A few weeks ago, my home track of Southern Raceway in Milton, Fla., held the only Late Model special event it currently has on its 2011 schedule. It was the second annual Champions Memorial. For the past two years, the unsanctioned, $2,000-to-win event has replaced what used to be the Derek Henley Memorial, a race that ran for 16 years at Southern and for the majority those years, paid $4,400 to the winner.

I'm not going to question the track’s management at for axing the $4,400 winner’s pay. MORE

June 7 seems so long ago. It was the day before the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway and until Sunday, the last time I saw home.

That fateful Tuesday was the beginning of a month-long trip that had me crisscrossing the Midwest from one side to the other and back again ... and again and again. It all started at Eldora for the Prelude and the Dream XVII and continued through the 16th race on the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals July 9 at Clarksville Speedway.

Thirty-four days, 17 races and an MORE

While driving down the road a few days ago, Luke Bryan’s song Rain is a Good Thing played on the radio and, of course, I found myself humming along. But about halfway through the song I recalled just how bad rain has plagued racing this year, and I was so disgusted by the thought that I quickly changed the station.

I’m not a musically talented person in any kind of way, but I’ve always enjoyed listening to music, and I’ve always liked how many songs translate well to real-life situations. MORE