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Fast Talk: Protest stokes Mars-Bloomquist rivalry
Here's the latest edition of Fast Talk, a new DirtonDirt.com feature appearing each Monday. Staffers Michael Rigsby, Todd Turner and Joshua Joiner will gather weekly for a roundtable discussion about what's going on in Dirt Late Model racing:
Todd Turner: I guess we should get right to the buzz of the weekend. Not that Jimmy Mars was a surprising winner at Lernerville's Firecracker 100 — though he was after some struggles this season — but Scott Bloomquist's unusual move of officially protesting the race, essentially saying he believes Mars used illegally-enhanced tires.
Bloomquist is sometimes surprising and passionate postrace after losses, but this might be off the charts. I'm wondering if he just legitimately wants to make sure tires being policed, and perhaps he doesn't realize how critics might call him a sore loser. What do you guys think?
Michael Rigsby: Honestly, and I'm not really saying anything most people who know Scott don't already know, I think he was genuinely shocked he didn't win the race, and in his mind, assumes that just to be 100 percent sure, this is the step he feels he has to take.
I talked to him before the race, and he was very confident that he had the car to beat. I think it threw him a bit when Mars not only won, but dominated the race by four seconds. In no way do I think Scott is going to lead the charge against tire-cheating sportwide or anything like that, I just truly believe he was so surprised he didn't win the race, this was the action he took. But I'd not only be very surprised — I'd be flat-out shocked — if Mars' tires came back treated. Either way, we've got a hell of a rivalry brewing, one that could flush itself out a few more times this year.
And of course we don't have to get into the irony of Bloomquist leading the charge against tire-cheating, when he himself has had a few dustups with that exact issue. It was a bizarre post-race that went from a dominant win by one driver, to a side-show about tire-treatment.
Joshua Joiner: I can understand where Scott is coming from on this. Jimmy Mars goes from struggling as bad as nearly anybody on the national level to not only winning a race, but winning a major race in dominating fashion. I can somewhat understand why someone who is as confident in their race program as Bloomquist is in his would want think something might be wrong with that picture. But with that being said, I don't see how there's anyway Mars would have cheated tires at a race as big as the Firecracker. I don't expect any disqualifications to come out of this.
TT: We could use a good rivalry, couldn't we? I don't think you would necessarily predict a Bloomquist-Mars rivalry on paper, but while Bloomquist-Moyer is a good rivalry in the record books, it doesn't have the tension that really makes a good rivalry work. The Firecracker will definitely keep fans on their toes when Mars and Bloomquist pop up in the same heat races in coming months.
MR: Oh, it's already creating a ton of buzz. I'm guessing that Cedar Lake is our next showdown between the two, and it just so happens someone is a little website I know is doing live pay-per-view video from that event! (wink, wink)
JJ: Anything involving Scott Bloomquist gets fans fired up. There's no doubt everyone's going to have their eyes on him in the coming months, especially if he and Mars happen to be at the same event.
TT: Back to the boring stuff just about the racing, isn't it amazing how much this sport is of "what have you done for me lately?" Of course, after Mars reeled off three $50,000 victories in 2009, anything would be a letdown, and Mars and I joked during trade-show season about his "subpar" 2010 season, which was impressive by the standards of most drivers.
And this year even Mars admitted struggling, but he'd knocked off a Florida Speedweeks victory and an Appalachian Mountain Speedweeks victory, among others. It's bizarre the wild swings you can have in a week, a season, a career.
MR: I felt mildly stupid asking him: "Are you back"? But after the 2009 he had, anything after that was sort of a letdown. The best part about Mars, though, as I've gotten to know him, he shoots totally straight — watch this weekend's postrace Firecracker 100 interview for that. He's still one of the best drivers in the country, it just took this weekend to make some people remember that. When he wins one, more usually follow.
JJ: This sport is full of ups and downs. Drivers can go from being on top of the world to banging their heads against the wall in just a short amount of time. But as we saw this weekend with Mars, it only takes one good run in a big race to turn everything around.
TT: I still get the feeling that Mars is somehow underrated. Maybe that he's too low-key, or not flashy — or may be the all-white car — but he's the kind of guy that, when you start stacking up careers, he looks awfully strong.
MR: Oh there's no doubt about it, and he may be "underrated" by "flashy" standards, but his interview after the race this weekend alone should give him some "flashy" points. I mean, the guy flatout tells you what he's thinking, and we've often said is one of the funniest guys in the sport. I have a feeling he'll probably sell a few T-shirts based on Saturday night.
TT: Let's move on to the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals. Shannon Babb just won a few hours ago at I-96 Speedway to move into the series points lead. Anyone think this will be a permanent position for a driver who hasn't been the same Summernationals driver in recent years that he was during his absolutely dominant title-winning seasons of 2005-06?
JJ: Babb definitely seems to be getting in a groove, but he's far from dominant right now. After the first three races, I felt Scott James would be the driver to get hot and reel off some more impressive runs, but he seems to have gone the other direction. Babb is definitely in the driver's seat as far at the title chase goes, but I don't expect to see him running away with it just yet.
TT: I think for James — the last of the series regulars to take a series provisional when he did so tonight at I-96 — it was important for him to salvage the night with a seventh-place finish. He needs to steady the ship a bit, but he's still in good position and solidly second in points.
MR: Babb looks good, but he's not '05-'06 good just yet. Obviously Brian Shirley had Sunday night's race locked up if not for his late misfortune, so it was in essence another second-place finish for Babb. But you can really see the wheels turning with him in this Victory Circle, and he's starting to figure it out. He's a "bunches" guy, and as one veteran crew member told me Sunday night, "once he figures out how to manhandle those Victory Circle cars, we're all in trouble."
TT: One thing you can't help but notice is how some of last year's standout drivers are struggling mightily. No top-five finishes for three-time series champ Dennis Erb Jr. Jack Sullivan not only got his first top-five at I-96, but really it was the first time you might've noticed him during the series at all. And Billy Moyer Jr. has struggled with just one finish inside the top 10.
The Summernationals pit area can be a place where you really feel for a guy who is struggling night-after-night-after night. It's a humbling series.
MR: Billy Moyer Jr. and I had a talk Sunday night before the race about DirtonDirt.com labeling him in a "sophomore slump." He joked that we could have said a lot worse, and that his dad told him that maybe that would motivate him. Ha! The pendulum swings on this series are epic, and right now Sullivan and Moyer Jr. are nearly suicidal, but it only takes one. And I predict for Jr., it'll be this week sometime.
JJ: You absolutely can't help but notice those guys struggling. As much as I'm sure they're disappointed, I know fans — myself included — are disappointed as well. While the racing as been pretty good in nearly all the events so far, it's almost a bit of a letdown to see those guys not only not contending for wins, but struggling just to make feature races.
TT: OK, it's a busy week, so we'll wrap it up. But let's all toss out a prediction for this week's Summernationals events at Lincoln Park, Belle-Clair, Clayhill, Paducah and I-55 ... any takers?
MR: I think we'll finally see the hot weather roll in this weekend. Ugh. Forecasts in the 90s. I think we'll see a heavy dose of Billy Moyer this weekend, who could potentially sweep Clayhill Paducah, and I-55. And I think Brian Shirley redeems himself with a victory sometime this week.
TT: I'll take an off-the-wall, first-time series winner at Belle-Clair. And Joshua's keyboard will actually melt at Clayhill.
JJ: I don't expect to see anyone driver start dominating any time soon. In fact, I'll predict a different winner at each event. Although I wouldn't be surprised if Babb and James each win a race.
