DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS Night 1 Notes: Volusia Speedway Park

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Posts-Ad”]

DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS
Night 1 notes: Volusia Speedway Park
By Jim Murdoch

DirtCar Nationals kick off start to Daytona SPEEDWEEKS 2016 at Volusia Speedway Park

While parts of my home state were under either a blanket of white, or water, depending on how close to the beaches you were, the palm trees of Volusia County swayed as a stiff breeze threatened to bring a chill to the opening night of the DirtCar Nationals.

Let me begin by saying there are thousands and thousands of race fans in the greater Daytona Beach area, of which only a tiny fraction actually venture out to the dirt track a mere 20 miles away. In my opinion, that is a horrible mistake.

We counted no less than a half dozen NASCAR faces ready to strap into their UMP modifieds, tracing their grass roots to the rough and tumble world of dirt track slide jobs and ever changing track conditions.

Justin Allgaier, Matt Crafton, Kenny Wallace, and Ken Schrader welcomed fans with smiles and photo ops, something nearly impossible to grab over at the big track unless you have the proper passes.

A strong field of around 60 UMP mods took to the track, time trailing in groups. Around 24 410 sprint cars, a combination of All Stars and World of Outlaws ran several practice sessions throughout the night.

The track proved tricky at times, slicking up in some spots, and rutting up in others, keeping drivers on their toes searching for the fastest groove around the ultra high-speed Volusia County D-shaped oval.

Several hundred fans donned winter survival suits, you could easily spot the locals dressed head to toe ready for a blizzard, while the hearty northerners bravely paraded around in short sleeves and in some cases shorts.

Nick Hoffman, the Mooresville, NC native, drove to victory in the UMP modified feature as temperatures dipped into the 40s.

The series is a bit of an endurance test-the UMP mods culminate their 8 night series next Tuesday.

The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars join the modifieds tonight for night 2 of DirtCar Nationals.

Gator Bites:
New Egypt Speedway regular Brian Papiez landed a ride for the series in the Discount Towing #72x UMP modified. After running a few shows last week, Papiez says he’s finally getting the hang of these machines, which handle nothing like the northeast style modifieds he’s accustomed to running. Papiez drove the 72 to a strong 11th place finish.

Kenny Wallace, one of the most popular dirt track ambassadors and prolific selfie-tweeter, started on the pole and finished a solid 3rd.

Young teenager from the Tampa Bay region Tyler Clem also showed he can wheel a UMP mod alongside the best in the country, placing 12th.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Posts-Ad”]