Las Vegas Dirt Classic Part II
By Tim Kennedy

Los Angeles, CA. - .Dirt Late Models-(Feb. 28-29): The California-based, touring Western All-Stars Dirt Late Model Series appearance at the half-mile dirt Las Vegas Motor Speedway 3rd annual Dirt Classic was impressive. It matched or exceeded the professional show the group staged on Thur.-Fri. March 8-9, 2007. Qualifying in five groups of nine cars each was the best way to qualify quickly and save the track for racing action with 46 Dirt L/Ms present. LMsqualified Thursday following the USAC-CRA sprint cars from 7:50 to 8:11 p.m. Fifth group qualifier Steve Drake, of San Luis Obispo, CA, set a new track record of 18.563 to eclipse the year old mark of 19.168 set by NASCAR Cup driver Ken Schrader (# 52). Schrader did not compete in the Dirt Classic this year. Second fastest qualifier Lonnie Parker, from Phoenix, was the only other qualifier to beat Schrader's LVMS 1-lap track record. On Friday Scott James set the LM fast time of 18.684 and second fastest Billy Griffin at 18.810 was the only other qualifier under Schrader's old record.

Dirt LM drivers this year came from 12 states as follows: 17 from CA, 14 from OR, 2 each from MT and NV, and 1 each from AZ, IN, KS, MO, NE, NY, WI and WY and 2 from Canada. LMs used straight-up starts by qualifying times with the fastest qualifiers in front. The first three finishers in the five 8-lap heat races, the first four finishers in the two B-mains brought the 30-lap A-main field to 23 cars. An added starter (whichever fifth place B-main finisher had the fastest qualifying time) received the 24th and final starting position both Thursday and Friday. Each feature winner received $3,000. Heat race winners (with starting positions in parenthesis) were the following: Thursday--Jimmy Mars (2nd), Scott James (1st), Lonnie Parker (1st), Andy Obertello (1st)) and Steve Drake (1st); Friday-Mars (1st), Drake (1st), Bobby Hogge IV (2nd), Chris Shannon (2nd) and James (1st). B-main winners were Greg Walters (4th) and Ron Bartels (3rd) Thursday, and Ed Kosiski (2nd) and A. J. Kirkpatrick (2nd) Friday. Chet Buckley earned the open 24th starting position based upon his qualifying time.

Mars, from Menomonie, WI, started and finished first and led all 30-laps of the Thursday A-main in the # H2 car owned by # 21R owner/driver Jess Anderson, of Gillette, WY. His feature victory was the fourth in a row at LVMS for Mars in the # H2 car. He won both March races and the November race last year. His bid for five consecutive LM victories at LVMS fell by the wayside Friday night. He started third and was running third on lap 4 when fourth-place Bobby Hogge cut to the inside entering turn one and hit the RF fender of Mars car. A broken tie rod caused Mars to veer up the track to the cushion and stop his disabled car. He climbed out and surveyed the RF end damage. Although he was upset at Hogge's chop down pass, Mars kept his cool and exited to the pits.

The Thursday LM feature followed the USAC sprint car feature and ran from 11:18 to 11:42 p.m with three caution flags. Mars won the Thursday A-main by 20-yards over Indiana driver Scott James (# 83). First-time LVMS competitor Tim McCreadie, an impressive 33-year old Watertown, NY versatile driver, started 8th and finished 3rd. It was his first ride in a Victory Circle-built chassis, the black & white numeral # 75 car owner is Chris Sivesind, of Bakersfield, CA. Chris works for Les Denherder's Victory Circle chassis firm in Bakersfield. Trevor Glaser, FQ Drake, Hogge, Parker, Shannon, Griffin and Walters completed the top ten. There were 17 of 24 starters racing at the finish (RAF) and 16 drivers completed all 30-laps on the tacky track that had racy grooves high, low and in the middle all night. On lap 22 third place Dilbert Smith, from Oregon, had a broken oil pump and loss of oil pressure so he pulled his # 92 out of the race.

SEVEN STATES IN TOP SEVEN POSITIONS: One of the remarkable aspects of Thursday's Late Model 24-car feature was the fact that the drivers running in first through seventh positions during a lap 19 caution flag came from seven different states. In order they were WI, IN, NY, KS, OR, AZ and CA. That many states represented in the top seven positions is rare out west. At the finish there were six states represented in the top ten finishing positions---WI, IN, NY, OR, CA, CA. AZ, CA, CA and OR.

Friday night in the first heat Mars spotted fellow front row starter Zack Forster the lead for two laps. Then Mars shot into the lead on L 3 and won the 8-lap heat by half a straight-away. He held a full straight-away advantage on L 7, but he slowed on the final lap so he wouldn't have to lap the slower # 24 car. With his dominance on display again, LVMS dirt track manager Chris Blair offered Mars a sporting proposition. He would pay Mars $5,000 instead of the posted $3,000 as a bonus if he could start at the back of the 24-car field and win the main event. 

The five heat race winners competed in a 6-lap trophy dash with a straight-up start based on their fastest qualifying (FQ) times. They were James (FQ 1) in his fifth ride aboard the Oregon-based # 83 car, 4 FQ Shannon, 7 FQ Mars, 8 FQ Hogge and 11th FQ Drake. Shannon led all six laps and beat pole starter James by 15-yards, with Mars, Hogge and Drake 3-4-5. The five drivers in the trophy dash started the feature in the order of their dash finishing positions. When interviewed at the starting line, dash winner Shannon, from Merced, CA, said, "This is unbelievable. It feels great. I have a great crew in the pits. We changed bar angles tonight. The top is glazing off, so I think the bottom will be best in the main event."

CHALLENGE BONUS: Then the track-side announcer interviewed Thursday's feature winner Mars and told him, "Your third place in the trophy dash was the first time you've lost a race here." He repeated track manager Blair's $5,000 offer for a last to first run in the upcoming feature. The announcer even encouraged fans in the grandstand to cheer for Mars to accept the bonus money challenge and predictably they did so on cue. Frequent winner Mars said, "It's not my decision. Jess Anderson owns the car. I've had that bonus offer before. I don't know what to say." They checked with the car owner and he said OK. Then Mars stated, "I'll do it if the race is 50-laps instead of 30. No if it's not." That option was not possible or in the best interests of his 23 fellow competitors, so the bonus offer did not come into play.

The Friday, Feb. 29 LM feature was a tremendous, exciting race by any standard you care to use. The race had three leaders-Shannon (L 1), James (L 2-22) and McCreadie (L 23-30). McCreadie, son of legendary New England dirt track winner "Barefoot" Bob McCreadie, is a winner in his own right. He won the 2006 World of Outlaws Dirt Late Model championship. The personable driver from Watertown, NY won the prestigious Saturday night A-feature at the Chili Bowl MidgetClassic in Tulsa, OK in January 2006. More than 250 midget drivers from all parts of the USA and from foreign nations competed for the honor McCreadie won during the then four-day event. He has returned to Tulsa for that event the past two years and performed well each year. Tim has been in the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR driver development program; he raced the # 31 Chevrolet in the 2007 NASCAR Grand National East Series. He raced that GN # 31 Chevy at Irwindale Speedway in California July 4, 2007 in competition with GN West drivers. The 200-lap race was televised nationally on a tape-delayed basis. Tim started 15th, ran in the top ten, and finished seventh on the lead lap during his first visit to the California banked half-mile paved track.

The LVMS Feb. 29 LM feature had four caution flags and ran from 10:38 to 11:02 p.m. Nearly all the fans remained in their seats following the sprint car feature and they were happy they did so. Eighteen of the 24 starters finished and eight drivers completed all 30-laps. After going to the pit scales so Western All-Star officials could weigh his winning car, McCreadie drove back onto the track from the track entrance at the second turn. He performed several donuts exiting turn four before he stopped at the finish line for his interview and Dirt Classic trophy. "I ain't seen victory lane in about a year. It feels great to win. Thanks to the big crowd for coming out tonight. We started putting this deal together Wednesday morning (Feb. 27). I started in mid-pack and could move around high and low. Scott (James) led and stayed in the same groove. The owner has to race this car tomorrow night in Bakersfield (CA). I twisted his arm to bring his car out here to Las Vegas." (Third and first place finishes in the two features were his reward.) The top ten finishers behind McCreadie and James, were Hogge, Drake, Shannon Zack Forster, Alex Stanford, Mike Balcaen, Rob Mayea and Mark Carroll.

In the pits following the feature, I spoke to winning car owner Sivesind and McCreadie as they loaded the winning car in the trailer to haul home on I-15 and highway 58 to Bakersfield Speedway's third-mile banked clay track for the Saturday night, March 1 race. Western All-Stars 2007 champion Mike Johnson, of Lompoc, CA, was to drive the LVMS Friday feature-winning car Saturday in Bakersfield. I asked McCreadie about the status of his RCR driver development agreement and he said he needs sponsorship for it to develop. McCreadie gets it done and is exciting to watch on any track. A sponsor would benefit greatly by employing his driving talent. He will turn 34 on April 12 and deserves sponsorship. He has demonstrated his versatility on dirt and paved tracks and has been a quick learner in dirt cars, midgets and GN stock cars. McCreadie is cordial and his hard-driving, go to the front racing is in the mold of Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards. He can jump into anything and give it a tremendous run to the front as his Chili Bowl, WoO, Irwindale GN stock car and LVMS runs prove. Tim said he liked the LVMS dirt track. "It was too wet early, but it raced well. That was fun racing tonight," he added. He said he wanted to compete in a Victory Circle chassis from California "after all the success Billy Moyer had in a Victory Circle car at Volusia Speedway in Florida last month." (Moyer won three of five features, the championship and $30,000.) Bill of Pro Power Engines in Wisconsin put Tim in touch with the Victory Circle organization; he then talked Sivesind into bringing his 75 car to Las Vegas even though he had not planned to do so. I asked Tim about the possibility of buying a Victory Circle chassis to race back home and he replied, "I'm thinking about it." 

Among the noteworthy drivers in the Western All-Star Late Model field at Las Vegas was Kenny Edwards, of Columbia, MO. He is the 25-year old brother of 28-year old NASCAR star Carl Edwards. Carl was fresh off a NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Fontana, CA Feb. 24-25 in the # 99 Office Depot Roush-Fenway Ford. Carl also won the Sun. March 2 400-mile Cup race at the 1.5-mile LVMS. So where was Carl on Thursday and Friday nights? He was in the pits at the LVMS dirt track helping his little brother prepare his # 25 LM ride owned by Ed Kosiski. Carl was on his hands and knees at the back jacking up Kenny's car so the team could work on a RR end problem. Kenny, who is stockier than athletic, back-flipping Carl, did not make the LVMS features. Kenny's Friday results improved with Carl's assistance both nights. Both Kenny and Carl were polite and took time to answer my questions. Carl even added, "Yes sir" to one answer. Mom Nancy raised those boys right. Carl also raced in the Sat., March 1 Nationwide Series LVMS 300-mile race. Carl was going for the victory in his Roush-Fenway # 60 Ford in the closing laps when a tap from third place Mark Martin caused Carl's spin into leader Brad Keslowski's # 88. Carl eventually placed 14th and handled the touchy situation diplomatically. Carl recently bought a jet aircraft to fly to races. Carl and his brother Kenny flew to Phoenix after the March 2 Las Vegas 400 for his Tues., March 4 Cup test session at PIR in the # 99. They also planned to go hiking in Arizona.

McCreadie returned home. The # 75 LM made it to Bakersfield for the March 1 race. Mike Johnson finished second in the 8-car trophy dash and then switched rides with Oregon driver Rob Mayea for the feature. Mayea, in # 75, DNF and placed 21st in the 22-car field. Johnson raced Mayea's # 37 to 7th place. Bobby Hogge #283, of Salinas, CA, won the $3,000 first place A-main check. Steve Drake # 11x, Billy Griffin # 7, Chris Shannon # 32s, Dino Napier # 5x and Zack Forster # 1 finished second through sixth in that order. Thirteen cars and drivers made the 250+-mile overnight or early morning trek from Las Vegas to Bakersfield for three consecutive nights of racing. Other LM drivers who raced at both LVMS and Bakersfield and finished behind P.7 Johnson were P.9 John Piker # 28, P.10 Jeremy Shank # 17B, plus Doug Thompson # 95, grandson Nick # 27 and his dad Ron Bartels # 12, A. J. Kirkpatrick # 12K, Mayea # 37 and Chet Buckley # 32B. LVMS fastest qualifier Drake also set the fastest time of 13.038 on Bakersfield's third-mile banked clay track. Two Feb. 28-29 LVMS competitors made the trip to The PAS in Perris and raced their LMs there. Grandpa Bill Bartels # 77 finished 4th in the PAS feature. Banks, OR driver Greg Walters "Hollywood" # 97 won his heat; he started and finished first in the 25-lap Extreme Late Model main event on his first visit to the half-mile clay PAS.

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