Mother Nature must HATE racing....

Here it is, my 2^nd N4U racing article of the year, and it has become obvious that Mother Nature really does not like racing! Liquid Sunshine has been way too common on weekends and has forced a couple of tracks to push back opening nights.

            Western KY Speedway was able to host the Bluegrass Bash 5 on the last weekend of March, but the weather was far from favorable for that event. Seventy-six cars showed up to battle but Kevin Weaver of Gibson City, IL, became the 5^th different winner of the race. However, some of the local drivers did shine. The $6,000 to win feature saw Clifty, KY's Randle Sweeney make a late race charge from the back of the field to finish 3rd, Rick Mallody of Harrisburg, IL, made the show, as did Tim Dierlam of Chandler, IN, Clayton Miller of Elkton, KY, and the overall fast qualifier – Jeff Parks, of Marion, IL, made the big show as well. Good job to everyone who attended the race. I must say a special thanks to all the workers at WKS for going above and beyond to get this race in. Tim Coble and his crew worked their tails off all weekend to get the track to a point where cars could get out there. We all know with rain, and snow, dirt tracks are going to be a handful! After the Bash, the regular season was slated to start and was pushed back after being rained out for two straight weeks.

            Chandler Motor Speedway and the Chandler Dragstrip are another two tracks that were forced to push back opening night. This complex was among many other locations around the tri-state that suffered flooding and their crews are working like mad to get things dried up so they can put the wood to the mat.

            Windy Hollow Dragway was slated to start their season the first of April but guess what... Mom Nature saw the red light when she took off from the tree at the 1/8 mile speed plant and made sure nobody was going to do any NHRA weekly drag racing. Phillip, Jessica and the entire crew are chomping at the bit to press a huge Jr. Dragster event. Good luck to all in competition.

            Soggy Bottom Raceway in Morgantown, KY, has been the lucky one of all tracks in the tri-state! Don Adams has been able to get everything he has had scheduled in thus far and kicked off his season opener on April 12^th. Yes it was a tad chilly but the racing was great! They had over 100 cars in the pit area and for an opening night... everything went well.

            Tri-State Speedway kicked off their season with the annual World of Outlaw Sprints and UMP Mod's on April 19th. Let me tell you what, if you have never made a trip to the "Class Track" to watch some racing, YOU ARE MISSING IT! Tommy and Lois have a super racy little track and it is family friendly! This is one of the premier tracks in the country right here in our back yard!

            Windy Hollow Speedway, High Banks Speedway, Rockport Raceway and Ohio County Raceway are all scheduled to start up in the very near future. Make sure to check their websites or tune into Radio Goes Racing live on Monday nights from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Power Rock 93.9 WKTG for all the local racing updates and results!

            Before I close this issue out I want to mention Jason Koger. He is a very good friend of mine who was seriously injured in a 4-wheeler accident over the winter and lost his arms. Jason has been home now for a little over a month and I was lucky enough to talk with him the other day. He is great! Hang in there buddy; you have tons of support from your family, friends and even strangers.

            As I wave the checkered flag on this issue I want to remind everyone to support your local race tracks and racing sponsors. This is what makes motorsports go ‘round. Without the sponsors we won’t have anyone to watch. Without anyone to watch we won’t have tracks but the biggest factor in motorsports is YOU, the fan, and without you... well we would just be sitting on the couch every weekend!

Until next month, hold the pedal to the metal and keep it real!

PEACE!