Traveling all over the country to cover Dirt Late Model races, you end up going to some racetracks repeatedly, while other ovals you might visit once every few years.

But even with infrequent visits to regional dirt tracks off the beaten path, it's always nice to develop relationships with the occasional friendly faces who, even if it's a few years between visits, welcome you with a smile.

Rusty Cummings always had one of those welcoming smiles.

I've probably made a dozen or so trips to Louisiana MORE

For some reason, track promoters, as well as series promoters, must think that racers have some innate ability to know when and where races are scheduled. Sometimes I think they actually want to keep their event in the dark, just to ensure that we do hang on to our “grassroots” label.

I’m not really sure what the proper medium for advertising is these days. There’s certainly plenty of free options in the form of message boards, and I often wonder why promoters don’t utilize these MORE

Sitting through a couple of weeks waiting on a new motor can be, well, a bit boring at best. I love dirt racing, but I’m not the type who heads out the local tracks for a regular Saturday night show very often unless we are actually competing.

If you race just 30 times a year — once a week for 30 weeks — that can still leave little time for family outings. Baseball games, the pool, hanging with friends or even catching a movie can all take a backseat to racing.

So when I am forced to sit out MORE

“Hey Dave, I watched that race on TV yesterday!”

My legs were churning on the elliptical machine, and Pete smiled as he approached. Pete is a staff member at the gym where I work out each morning (OK, well, some mornings). My mind immediately flashed to yesterday’s broadcast of the Show-Me 100 on CBS Sports, and I figured this network TV thing was going to work even better than I expected.

Then I remembered a conversation I had with him a few weeks ago, when he explained his tentative MORE

Let my preface this month’s comments by thanking CBS and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for an excellent production of the Dart Show-Me 100. I thought that they did a very good job of presenting Dirt Late Model Racing to potential new fans as well as us seasoned veterans. I never felt any of the “cheese factor” that I have in some past productions. I was impressed by the driver stories and the excellent camera work.

I also want to give kudos to my friend Dave Argabright for his great MORE