33 SuperLates and around 20 ProLates at Lanier for SpeedFest practice on Friday. Today is damp and cold with temps around freezing, so I don’t know if additional cars will show or not.
Big names throughout, Kyle Busch, David Stremme, David Ragan, Steven Wallace among the NASCAR participants.
Sunday is supposed to be sunny with temps in the 40’s.
Good races on Sunday! Probably 1500-2000 fans in the stands and trackside parking. Not bad for a frigid day. Especially considering nearby areas had snow and ice on Saturday and Sunday morning.
Kyle Busch jacked up Bill Elliott’s driver, Casey Roderick, with a few laps left in the Pro Late Model race. Roderick was mirror driving as Busch worked the inside for many laps, tried to pass high, Roderick blocked, Busch and Roderick had to go to the back. There was a 10,000.00 bonus to anyone who could win both late model races, the CRA and/or Lanier obviously did not want to actually pay out on their promtion.
Kyle Busch easily won the Super Late Model portion, well past 7 p.m., with the temp hovering around the freezing mark. At least half the original crowd hung around to the finish.
Track owner Donnie Clack announced that Speedfest would return to Lanier in 2011.
I think Lanier kind of whiffed on this deal. Track officials knew for days that the weather would be freezing over the weekend. And yet the racing started at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. That was enough to keep me from getting a media credential, much less buying a ticket. Why not start at 1 p.m. and get done before dark?
The difference was about 14 degrees. That’s a big difference when you’re trying to get a good walk-up crowd.
Things were scheduled to Start earlier on Sunday, but with Saturday being a total rain out, a practice session and qualifying had to be done in the morning before the start of racing. Without the rainout the day before racing would have started sooner.
I agree with R.J.
They could have cut the autograph session, but that would have dissappointed alot of fans.
I was told by a few late model drivers that I know, that there were water spots all over the track in the morning. When the temp is around the freezing mark and it is cloudy, nothing wants to dry out.
Lanier and the CRA are taking a huge gamble on this race date. North Georgia ain’t FLA in January. During most Georgia winters, you can usually count on the temp getting into the 60’s at least 1 to 2 days a week. The other 5 or 6 days are cold and/or rainy.
I give both the CRA and Lanier credit for putting on a fantastic event.