Kevin Kovac's Take Five
Take Five: Clash on the Wabash recap
In a new feature appearing regularly on DirtonDirt, senior writer Kevin Kovac will offer readers five things worth mentioning from around the Dirt Late Model landscape (index to previous Take Fives):
No. 1: Eldora Speedway’s location in far western Ohio proved to be perfect on Saturday. Everyone checking their weather radars throughout the day couldn’t help but notice the huge swatch of rain — the remnants of Hurricane Isaias — that was swirling to the south and east of the track. The vast majority of Ohio was covered by steady and sometimes heavy rain throughout the late afternoon and evening, but Eldora fortunately remained just beyond the farthest reaches of the system. Track and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series absolutely made the right call to move Saturday’s start time for hot laps up 75 minutes, to 4:45 p.m., with the threat of the storm’s western edge impacting the track with rain later in the evening. The 50-lap Clash on the Wabash finale ended at 9:03 p.m., and just over an hour later, after the supporting open-wheel modified feature was completed, rain began to fall and soon turned steady, though it remained light.
No. 2: Want to see a pit area empty out with incredible speed? Just be at Eldora when weather apps are indicating that rain is looming soon after the conclusion of a night’s action. Every race team on hand (all the Dirt late Models were parked in the infield) scrambled to load up and escape the pits before rain arrived. By the end of the modified feature there was already a line of haulers waiting to cross the track in turn three, where the banking can present a challenge to rig drivers when it’s made slick by rain. And by 10:30 p.m., every hauler, including race winner Ricky Thornton Jr.’s Koehler Motorsports trailer, was out of the infield.
No. 3: The rush for Eldora’s exit by race teams led me to track down race runner-up Devin Moran in the souvenir area above turn one, where Moran headed with his camper to hook up his merchandise trailer and hit the road. I didn’t visit that section of the facility during either the Dream or World 100 this year and one sight caught my eye: the stand selling Eldora’s famous Toilet Water iced cocktail. I didn’t realize that the drinks were now available somewhere other than the grandstand bar. It’s an eye-catching setup, too, with an old trailer repurposed to sell the concoctions and a Port-A-John strapped to its roof (with the door open and a monkey character sitting inside with its pants down). Nice Toilet Water marketing, Eldora!
No. 4: There was a brief moment of humor that took place during the lap-47 caution period in Saturday’s Clash on the Wabash finale. As the field paced around the track, second-running Devin Moran and third-place Josh Rice simultaneously turned their cars to the left off turn four and headed for the extreme inside of the homestretch in an effort to prep their tires for the coming restart. It presented a problem for Rice: when Moran gassed his car to light up his rear tires, the dust cloud he sent up completely enveloped Rice’s machine. Rice acknowledged the episode in a Facebook post that included a video clip of him being blinded by the dust. “Hey Devin Moran,” Rice wrote, “a warning next time would be greatly appreciated.” Rice also told me: “I don’t know why my dumb ass followed him down there.”
No. 5: The Clash on the Wabash marked the end of Abby Pierce’s three-year reign as a Miss Eldora. The wife of Dirt Late Model superstar Bobby Pierce — a non-qualifier for Saturday’s finale after slowing with a flat right-rear tire while leading a B-main — was recognized for her service during pre-race ceremonies by Eldora general manager Levi Jones and later remarked in a Facebook post that she’s closed a chapter of her life and will now “look forward to my next adventure.” But she also noted that she hopes to be “back in victory lane” alongside her husband but “just with less sparkles” in her clothing.
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