Alan's Assessments?

I don't think there is anything like Saturday night racing at a local short track. I tend to make it to our local short track, Lanier Speedway, once or twice a year. And each time, I never come away disappointed. And this Saturday was not an exception.

This trip was the first for my twins and although we failed to bring ear plugs (we bought some there) the girls had a great time. Normally, we would have picked a date that had school bus races or acrash'emup derby after the main events but The schedule on this night only involved racing, so we wondered if they would enjoy it. This was also a chance to test out the video of my iPhone3GS.

As far as the racing went, we had 2 different levels racing (ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour and USAR Pro Cup), it was great. The first event was marked by numerous crashes and started to look like the race no one wanted to win. Several times the leader was crashed or blew up, so after 300+ laps (it was only a 250 Lap Race, since caution laps don't count), it came down to a green, white, and checker finish.

Coming out if the 4th turn to take the green, the second place car was literally in the trunk of the leader. By the time they made it to the back stretch they were side by side, with the third place car coming in strong. In the end after some side by side racing, the second place car came in for the win. Now the leader going into the restart was not a happy camper and raced the winner to the "victory lane," just to show he should have won.

USAR Pro Cup

For the second race of the night, the ASA series the racing was also hit and heavy. We barely got going before the action started on the track witha little " it's a racing deal" accident. Since this race was only 100 laps on a 3/8 mile paved track, the racing gets good fast.

Several times we thought we found a favorite only to have them blow up or wreck. Although the action was great during the race, the end was not nearly as exciting as the first. Here is just a sample of the race. It is also from my iPhone3GS

ASA Race

These races may not have the stars that NASCAR has or the quality from top to bottom, but this racing actually is more enjoyable to me. You get to sit nearly in the track, once it is over you can walk around the pits and the cost is more reasonable.

Here is a still from the pre-race.

So until next time, keep your foot on the gas and watch out for the cops.