A Racer's Weekend in Concord - Short Track Weekend Racing

Editor's Note: This is the first column by SCR's new contributor, JoeSaleem, a passionate racer and regular visitor to tracks along theEastern Seaboard. Joe's work will appear regularly in Stock Car Racing,as well as on stockcarracing.com.

A phenomenal weekend of racing transpired in Concord, North Carolina, onNovember 1-3, as two spectacular race programs were held at two tracksapproximately 30 minutes apart, and both featured some of the best shorttrack cars and drivers from around the country.

On tap at the four-tenths-mile Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway wasthe World Finals extravaganza for World of Outlaws winged Sprint Carsand the thrilling Super Late Models. This was the first-ever show withboth WoO divisions racing, and both championships were up for grabs.

Over at Concord Motorsport Park, a unique half-mile paved tri-oval, theFifth Annual North-South Shootout was held. Several different divisionscomprised this show, including three classes for the open wheelModifieds, four-cylinders, vintage Modifieds, and the Ford FlatheadClub, a division with antiques coupes and sedans that took me back tothe first race I attended in1958. Lastly, a special East-West Shootoutwas added for the open wheel Supermodifieds. These cars are roughly theequivalent of the WoO Sprint Cars but have huge 500-plus cubic inchmethanol burning engines that actually hang outside the left sideframerail. They also have large wings on top of the rollcage thatflatten out on the straights for maximum speed, then tilt down in thefront when entering the corners, providing necessary downforce to slowthe 800 horsepower beasts ever so slightly.

The festivities at Concord Motorsport Park held the distinction of beingthe John Blewett III Memorial Event in honor of Blewett, the greatModified driver who lost his life in August during a race at thefive-eighths-mile high-banked Thomspon Speedway in Connecticut. Blewetthad twice won the North-South Shootout, in 2003 and 2005.

I spent a week trying to decide which track to attend during thisweekend and lamenting the "big one" that might get away. After studyingthe schedules, I decided that my '94 Lumina with 174,000 miles wouldtake me between both events and I could enjoy both shows.

Thursday was spent watching four hours of practice at CMP, then it wasoff to the dirt track for practice and two sets of time trials for the48 Sprint Cars and 82 Super Late Models on hand. Complete shows followedon both Friday and Saturday.

On Friday I took in qualifying and heat races for the 70 Modifieds, 38Supermodifieds, and other support classes at Concord. I arrived back atthe Lowe's dirt track to see Jason Meyers' exciting last-lap, last-turnvictory over Donnie Schatz in the Sprints, and cheered on ScottBloomquist as he stormed through the Late Model field for a win afterstarting 19th.

Saturday began on the pavement of CMP with the main events. JimmyBlewett, driving his late brother's No. 12 SK Modified, won the exciting50-lapper that concluded with a very moving and emotional Victory Laneceremony. The Flathead Ford race offered a wonderful return toyesteryear as the 1940s-era coupes and sedans battled and rubbedfenders.

Next up was the Supermodifieds, displaying tremendous speed and agilityas A.J. Russell of California held off the heavy favorite, Chris Perleyof Massachusetts, to win the 50-lap race that was marred by a couple ofhigh-speed wall-climbing mishaps. Russell used a "small" 410 engine towin over the big block of Perley.

Although I missed it, Matt Kirschman won the North-South Modified racefor the North as the Pennsylvania native won his second consecutiveShootout.

Finally, it was back to the Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway to watchthe main events. Twenty-time WoO Sprint Car champion Steve Kinser heldoff Danny Lasoski to win an exciting race. This was Kinser's 543rd WoOvictory, as Schatz clinched his second consecutive title.

The Super Late Models put on spectacular racing in their unique style asthe Million Dollar Man, Donnie Moran, took the victory as he battledShane Clanton and newly crowned 2007 WoO champion Steve Francis in athrilling show.

All in all, it was a fantastic three days of racing. Two great racingvenues, hundreds of top-notch racecars, and record crowds each day.