Reflections of the 2018 Racing Season By RPW Staff Members
Column By: RACE PRO WEEKLY STAFF – As we close out this final day of 2018, we at RPW share our lasting impressions of an exciting season gone by. While we wait for the ball to drop and the first green flag of 2019 to fly, Let’s take a look at the RPW Staff’s reflections of 2018.
Bobby Chalmers: Editor-In-Chief & Columnist
My observation for the 2018 season? We’ve come a long way in 365 days, but we still have a long way to go.
The day that we think our sport is 100% perfect is the day we need to shake things up again, because it’ll never be perfect, but we need it to be as close as we can get.
I am very encouraged by the effort promoters are putting into their weekly programs. It’s starting to show that they are working to not only build up the fan experience but make racing better for the competitors. I am also encouraged by the way things have progressed with the touring series…namely the Super DIRTcar Series and Short Track Super Series. Higher purses, more races give racers more chances to get noticed while giving fans more chances to see the best of the best.
I hope that, for the fans and the racers alike, we can all get along and realize that for short track racing to succeed, we all need to work together.
While I am happy things are moving in the right direction, there are still plenty that needs to be addressed. From safety of the cars to cost of racing all the way down to event purses and the facilities teams race at. I hope that I can see the positives continue to grow and the negatives begin to dwindle, but we must keep pushing forward for any chance of that happening.
Mike Petrucci- Photographer
In 2018, Matt Sheppard stole headlines as the dominant force on the Super DIRTcar Series, but the emergence of Erick Rudolph and Max McLaughlin as the second and third place finishers in points are what struck me. Their stars are bright. Rudolph has already claimed an indoor victory on the clay of Trenton’s PPL Center, and you will see him dicing it up on the concrete in Allentown, Atlantic City and Syracuse. McLaughlin is an outstanding representative of the sport and is really putting together solid finishes on the SDS. As Max finds more success, his popularity, as well as the series will grow as well.
Justin Bonsignore enjoyed a career year on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. A .500 season winning percentage is impressive, for sure, but what stands out most is this: Bonsignore was 400 feet away from completing every lap of every race this season. While leading the final lap at the Musket 250 in September, Bonsignore was on the receiving end of contact from Ryan Preece, and that resulted in Chase Dowling’s way-overdue first career Tour victory. Despite the incident, Bonsignore still finished sixth that day and clinched the championship a week later at Stafford with, ironically, his worst performance of the year — 12th.
Bonsignore will remain a force to be reckoned with on the Tour in 2019, but Chase Dowling has the potential to break out this year after so many oh-so-close second place finishes. Don’t expect Doug Coby to back down, either, as he looks to claw his way back to championship form.
It was a breath of fresh air to see creative promotion come back to track operation in 2018.
New ideas usually involve a significant amount of risk, so you can’t blame a track operator for sticking to what works. However, four events in 2018 stood out as new ideas.
Albany-Saratoga’s Lyle Devore could have swung his gates open for opening night, and for sure the place would have seen a healthy crowd and a great car count. But Devore decided to beef up the purses and put up $7,500 to win for modifieds. That caught the attention of outsiders who hadn’t started their weekly racing yet.
Devore had to postpone the show to the next Tuesday, but it turned out to be a great decision, as the admission lines stretched out to the woods outside the track’s fourth turn, and a majority of the fans went home happy that night when Tim McCreadie beat Matt Sheppard by a half-car length in a thrilling event.
Another Tuesday night event in June honored C.D. Coville and again brought an amazing front gate and hard racing. That would have been enough, but not for Devore. Prior to the night’s national anthem, a strange sight appeared in the skies over the Malta facility: a plane circling overhead, and a skydiver jumping down to earth with the American flag in tow. It was a complete surprise to the crowd and another example of some old-school showmanship.
Devore’s effort’s paid off – He was recognized as DIRTcar Northeast Promotor of the Year, and Albany-Saratoga added a Super DIRTcar Series weekend in fall 2019. It will be exciting to see what tricks “Humpy” Devore has in store for the coming season.
Another Friday night track mixed it up a bit in 2018. Stafford Motor Speedway put on two open competition events, which were big hits with fans and racers alike. Stafford is all about tradition, and the track does everything it can to give weekly racing a major-league feel. From multi-camera TV production, to ceremonial driver introductions, to interviews by broadcasting professionals who work at the highest levels of the sport, when you’re at Stafford, you know you’re a part of something big.
Stafford’s two events paid big money and placed great emphasis on strategy. A common complaint from outsiders is that most of the racing on asphalt is done over the radios, but it truly is part of the experience to listen in on. The shows were a solid success and Stafford is bringing them back for 2019.
2018 saw myself and the brand of Race Pro Weekly grow leaps and bounds. While 2017 was tough with at home problems about mid way through the season I had a good 2018.
I traveled. A lot. Saw the famed Eldora Speedway to work the NASCAR event, toured Indy, Oswego for Super Dirt Week and my first World Of Outlaw show. Visited some tracks I had been to before out in the finger lakes region and saw some great friends.
51 Total exclusive columns and so many friendships made. I can not thank you the reader for the support you show not only myself but what a great staff we have here through the photos, the show, the writing, to social media and it will only get better in 2019. It truly has been a humbling experience and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it and will continue to.
Come April i will once again smell the race fuel and feel the thunder in my heart as the Northeast comes alive every weekend once again, until then stay safe everyone.
John Douglas- Assistant Editor/Columnist
As I reflect on a long 2018 racing season, I think of how my decision to scale back my at track participation made me regain my love for the sport. As contrary as it sounds, the time away from the track gave me a new appreciation for the little things you experience on a race weekend.
The smells of the concession stands with their hamburgers, pizza rolls and other amazing delicacies best served with a thin dusting of clay. The sound of roaring engines, and the stories they can tell about the pilots inside as they maneuver and jockey for position.
Most of all?
The people. Random fans that you spark up a conversation with during the night, that tell you stories you never knew and help you feel that sense of community we all come to feel at some point as a fan of racing.
Ray Rogers – Columnist
What a great year 2018 was…one I will remember for many years to come. The highlight when I received the Bruce Dostal dedication to the Fonda Speedway Museum award.
I am just one person in a large group of people who truly love the old speed plant and enjoy sharing the love. It was an honor to be recognized for my efforts at the museum.
Another memory I will not soon forget was meeting up with my childhood friend Erik Nelson in victory lane at Fonda. Seeing my friends childhood dream of winning a Modified feature at “The Track of Champions” become a reality right before my eyes is another reason I keep coming back week in and week out.
Toby LaGrange- On-Camera Personality
I look back on the 2018 season one word comes to mind – different. For the first time in my life I didn’t have a home track, I went on the road with the CRSA Sprint Car Series as their announcer. It was fun and I will do it again in 2019. In doing so I visited tracks that I have never seen, let alone announced at.
What stands out to me, besides the great racing action is how technologically advanced some of the tracks are. For example, the Land of Legends Raceway boasts an entire television production area behind the announcer’s area. The Albany-Saratoga Speedway also is equipped with a new sound system and cameras. The Weedsport Speedway production crew is second to none, as evident by their MAVTV broadcasts.
It is the forward thinking and ingenuity that is allowing these tracks and others to thrive, something that is very much in need here in upstate New York. Of all the news and happenings in 2018 it is the forward thinking that stands out the most to me.
Lucas Ballard- Photographer
This past racing season, I ventured more out of the box with my photography, and learned a lot. This past year I started to really go for angles the average race fan won’t see every weekend. I also aspired for my work to be more like art, instead of just a picture somebody will scroll past. Capturing true emotion in candid shots is one of my favorite types of pictures I take, and by the response I got back weekly on my albums, I am happy to say that I achieved my goals.
John Meloling- Photographer
Some observations are positive for the growth of short track racing in general. Car counts in some divisions are growing while others are staying the same or loosing. Some tracks are doing more with the fans. Allowing people to meet the drivers up close. Good and bad comes from that if drivers are not friendly.
I overheard one comment at one autograph session and woman said to her husband, “I always thought he was an ass, now that I met him I know I was right.” I’ve heard that before on several drivers over the years. Most people really like meeting the drivers and little things with kids make a difference. One kid wanted a shirt from one of the drivers. The mom said she spent all she could, maybe next week. The driver told them stop but the hauler after the race. I heard they gave him a shirt and wouldn’t take it off. I think some drivers forget that these things put fans in the stands.
Promoters seem to still have the back gate mindset. When you have more people in the pits than in the stands, that should signal something needs to happen.
Many tracks treat us well when we cover their events. I have talked to many fans and most just want to have a good time. Comments often are uninformed opinions. Track prep times and long periods between warmups and heats can be 45 minutes or more. Late running shows in today’s world is not working. Years ago we did what it took. If it was midnight so be it. From the infield I often see people leaving before races are over. Forget any crowd for lower divisions that run late.
We have some good young drivers coming up. Seat time is needed and speeds up the learning process. Fulton and Brewerton with their novice sportsman is example. The seat time drivers get makes them not be so daring trying to qualify when the car is not right. The bad part of that is the multi victory lanes. A poor driver wins their first race ever and they have to wait for a 2nd feature to be over to go to Victory Lane. All the emotion is gone by then
Series races and winners taking green to checker victories too often. I know myself if I see a certain one or two drivers starting on the pole I lose interest in the race as well do others. How to fix it? The draw was an attempt but falls short, top 12 is not enough, maybe go 18.
Brett Horlacher – Columnist
Starting this season, working my way on to a Modified Pit Crew, my eyes were truly opened to how much time, effort and capital each member, sponsor and driver puts into just making the premier division’s weekly show. I gained more perspective for each and every driver out there.
With that, we close out 2018 and look forward to the promise of a new year and a new season upcoming in 2019.
