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Fast Talk: T-Mac's rich victory and North-South
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Here’s the latest edition of Fast Talk, a DirtonDirt.com feature appearing each Monday and sponsored by Out-Pace Racing Products. Staffers Michael Rigsby, Todd Turner and Joshua Joiner gather weekly for a roundtable discussion about who’s hot, who’s not and other issues regarding Dirt Late Model racing (edited for clarity and length):
Joshua Joiner: We have plenty to discuss this week with one $50,000-to-win race behind us and another one coming up this weekend. Let’s start with the one already in the books. Tim McCreadie led the final 47 laps of Cedar Lake Speedway’s USA Nationals, earning the biggest victory of his decade-long Late Model career.
McCreadie has struggled with consistency at times this year, but when he’s on, is hard to argue that he’s not one of the sport’s top drivers, wouldn’t you guys say?
Todd Turner: McCreadie is definitely a guy people love to see win a race. The guy knows how to celebrate a win with burnouts and donuts — and good luck getting with 100 feet of him at the hauler after the race. As far as up-and-down, this has been one of his steadiest seasons in a while, and he's definitely avoided dropping off a cliff and disappearing like he did for part of last season. The World of Outlaws title might be out of reach, but he's got some good opportunities to match his richest career payday at special events the remainder of the season.
Michael Rigsby: I've always made this simple statement: Dirt Late Model racing is better when Tim McCreadie is good. He's exciting, he's fun to watch, and flat-out one of the best wheelmen in the history of our sport. We did an award called the "Social Media Superstar" this weekend, for the driver that generated the most buzz ... and I'm not sure there has ever been a more well-received win than McCreadie's. Fans love him. And when he's running like this, it makes things so much more fun.
JJ: While McCreadie controlled the second half of the race, the first half was all A.J. Diemel. The home-state driver drove under McCreadie and Josh Richards to move from third to first on the race’s opening lap and appeared as though he might’ve been headed for an upset victory if not for the engine woes that sent him to the infield on lap 54.
There was still a long way to go, but if not for the engine problems, do you guys think Diemel could’ve held on for what would’ve been a career-defining victory?
TT: It wasn't in the bag — after all, even McCreadie had O'Neal, Lanigan and Richards on the same straightaway as him when he took the checkers — but Diemel looked awfully good the first half of the race. He wasn't too smooth early, but he settled down and McCreadie — who slipped high on the first lap to let him by — was never in position to make a serious challenge. As they say, we'll never know, but you've gotta think someone would've had to make quite a run to catch Diemel, especially with the race running caution-free the final 58 laps.
MR: I think even McCreadie said it. A.J. Diemel was flat-out going to win this race. This will probably make it even harder for him to read this ... but if not for the mechanical issue, I truly believe that he was set to win that race. And I say it in this weeks' VideoCast, it would have been the biggest upset in crown jewel history.
TT: Don't forget Shannon Babb. He came from 17th to fourth despite losing his rear brakes, and a burnt piston forced him out on lap 80. He might've had something at the end — but it's all woulda, coulda, shoulda.
JJ: Over the past few years, Cedar Lake has had a bit of a reputation for being producing hammer-down, sometimes rough-and-tumble track surface. But, judging by what I saw on the live broadcast and the video highlights, it seemed like the track prep crew had a pretty solid weekend, with the surface providing multiple racing grooves but never getting too fast or too rough. What did you guys think about the track surface, and did you hear any reaction from the drivers about it?
MR: Really lost in a lot of it was them fixing a monster hole that was in turns three and four. I've never quite seen a hole fixed that way, and they should get a lot of credit for getting that taken care of. Overall yeah, I think it was great. For the most part it wasn't some throttle-stomping, wide-open, mash-it event, especially Friday's heats, where it was slicked off and made for great racing. Yes, Saturday was wetter, but compared to a few years ago, I think all drivers would agree ... for the most part the track was great.
TT: Definitely solid track prep for the weekend, and drivers got a look at a faster surface on Thursday, a slower surface on Friday, then a mix on Saturday. The 100-lapper didn't feature a bunch of crazy, back-and-forth action, but it was an entertaining race and guys could run high and low with ease. It was nice to have a surface that wasn't so hard on cars that it caused lots of cautions ... the flow of the 100-lapper was nice with just the single yellow.
JJ: Before we look ahead to the upcoming weekend’s big event, let’s review some of the past weekend’s regional events. I know you were both busy at Cedar Lake, but did any of the regional results catch your eye this weekend?
TT: Not real surprised to see William Thomas click off the first two victories on the Chevy CT 525 Series — after all, he'd won't a couple of open-competition races with the same powerplant the weekend before. It'll be interesting so see how that series develops and more drivers run that CT 525 all-aluminum crate engine elsewhere.
MR: I think two guys that really needed wins got them in Billy Moyer Jr. and Eddie Carrier Jr. Both of those guys have been following the Lucas Oil Series all year long, and haven't had what they'd call "great seasons" ... so to go back regionally, and gobble up some wins had to be a great thing mentally for them (and of course financially). You often see that happen when guys take a step away from the national tour.
JJ: It was good to see Eddie Carrier Jr. in victory lane this weekend at 201 Speedway’s Hatfield-McCoy 50. Following the Lucas Oil Series for the first time this season has been a bit of a struggled for Carrier, so I’m sure it was a boost for him to pick up some cash and momentum on an off weekend for the tour. And the same goes for Billy Moyer Jr.; winning a Comp Cams Series race over the weekend was probably a nice boost for him as he gears up for the rest of his Lucas Oil Rookie campaign.
TT: Otherwise, Jeff Babcock's Barney Oldfield Race victory at Oakshade Raceway was the continuation of a solid season — his best in Late Models, for sure. He's put himself in position to become one of the Ohio guys who's a threat at Eldora's big races.
JJ: Let’s wrap up with a look ahead to the 31st annual Sunoco Race Fuels North-South 100 at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky. The $50,000-to-win Lucas Oil Series event always seems to bring out the best in the tour’s top drivers, especially Jimmy Owens, who won the race in 2010 and ’11 and was in line for a third straight victory last year before Don O’Neal’s bold pass relegated him to a runner-up finish and stirred up a rivalry between the two drivers.
What are you guys looking for heading into the weekend? Any chance we get another Owens-O’Neal duel?
TT: Florence is one of those tracks — like Lucas Oil Speedway, among others — where Owens comes in as a solid favorite. He's had two victories in the past three weeks, but he's also looked more human this season than he has in the past couple of years, so maybe that opens things up for someone else at Florence. New winners and contenders are always fun, so I'm pulling for that.
Speaking of O'Neal, he's winless since Florida, so having him up front at Cedar Lake in the Illinois-based Moring Motorsports car was a confidence-builder. Maybe he can bring that back when he returns to the MasterSbilt house car at Florence, a track where he's carried home a lot of cash over the years.
For $50,000, I'm sure Owens wouldn't mind passing O'Neal for the lead this year, with or without a little contact.
JJ: I'll agree Owens enters as the favorite. But John Blankenship will definitely be looking to rebound from his disappointing run in the tour's most recent event. And Scott Bloomquist sure looked good in winning Florence’s Summernationals race last month.
MR: I think if you're Las Vegas ... Jimmy Owens is going off at a -400 favorite coming into the weekend. He's just so strong there it's hard to bet against him. I'd love to see a Darrell Lanigan-Don O'Neal duel again as that hard-racing rivalry heated up again at Cedar Lake, but it appears Lanigan will once again sit out the North-South this year, so we won't get another taste of that in back-to-back weeks.
