By ohnson 
Everyone who is familiar with dirt track racing knows that the track conditions are a matter of guesswork. What the track is like for the heats is not the same as what it is for the feature race. This was more evident than ever on Thursday night at the Volusia Speedway Park. The track decided to take on rubber very early in the 30-lap All Star Circuit of Champions feature race, and it effectively locked down the field. Looking at the tires left after the feature race, it was clear that many drivers didn’t expect the track to do what it did.
It was a David Gravel’s race to dominate, but Donny Schatz was lurking right behind. There was the anticipation that this could be a classic finish. With four laps to go, the yellow flag came out for Lucas Wolfe, and the stage was set for that “classic.” However, the classic never materialized. I’m not sure if Schatz spun his tires on the restart, but Gravel definitely didn’t, and in four laps, he pulled away for a seven-second victory, yes, seven-second victory. For Gravel, it was a challenging night as he qualified second only to lose his engine later on.
The Connecticut native said, “This is amazing as I have never won in Florida before and never won a Gator before. I’m hoping for great things this year, and hopefully, this is the start of it.” Reflecting on Schatz, he said, “I really wanted to beat him as he is the best. The track took rubber early, and I just needed to hit my marks. I knew it would be a tire wear issue, and on top of that, I just made the weight.” Schatz noted, “It feels good (with three wins and two seconds so far in Florida), but the track caught us off guard as we didn’t expect it to take rubber. I’m sure the track will be better tomorrow night.” Brad Sweet, who finished third, summed up what everyone else was saying, “We had a good car, but that track just took rubber quickly. No one expected that.”
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure is an old saying. So the UMP Mods started their 20-lap race, and passing was difficult, but in the end, Brian Ruhlman passed Kenny Schrader with two laps to go to win his first gator of the week. Ruhlman chased Schrader for a long time, and with a few laps left, he tried to go inside in the first turn, but he was blocked coming out of turn two. A late race restart saw Ruhlman do something no one else had tried… he went outside and drove around Schrader. Ruhlman said, “Kenny drove a smart race. He is one of my heroes and a good friend of mine. It’s nice to say I outsmarted Kenny Schrader tonight.” Schrader commented, “I heard him coming and figured it would be all about the tires. He was faster, and he went around us. I knew what tires he was running, and I knew we would be in trouble. The track might not have been good for the sprinters, but it was good for us maybe due to the dampness and the smaller tires.”
There were a lot of problems for the Sprint Car field. The number of cars was smaller than the night before, and more drivers had difficulties and had to retire. T.J. Michaels lost his engine early in the night, and Gravel had to replace his after the time trials. Kraig Kinser went up in a cloud of smoke, and they had to pull out the car. Then Dale Blaney, in his Zemco car during the time trials, not only lost his engine but also blew out the rear end. Other drivers also had issues on the cold and damp night.
The night started with 33 Sprint cars and 60 UMP mods… Jason Johnson and Jason Sides didn’t return… Ryan Smith, after rebuilding the car overnight, lost a rear end and the team packed up and went home… Blaney indicated the team would make repairs and be back for the rest of the weekend… Only 31 cars timed… Chad Kemenah could be one of the All Stars who performs well against the Outlaws in the coming nights… Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was visiting with his team and wandering around the infield during the night… Caleb Armstrong grabbed attention in the heat race as he passed Donny Schatz on the final lap with a bold move between turn three and four and then raced to the finish line, winning by.072 of a second. It was the best heat race of the week so far… It was fun to watch Justin Allgaier and Kenny Wallace battle in their UMP heat race for the win… Armstrong and Gravel won their dashes… The Bobby Allen team, also known as Shark Racing, was stranded in North Carolina due to a motor problem in the hauler. Supposedly, someone will come to help and get them to Volusia… New faces tonight include Jason Sides, Logan Schuchart, Jacob Allen, Clyde Knipp, and Greg Wilson… I’m not sure who will go home, so around 30 cars should be at the pit area tonight… There was a decent crowd present, and it will grow as the Speedweek fans arrive… One thing about the VSP is the midway with a wide variety of foods, such as pizza, calzones, strombolli’s, shrimp fried rice, Chinese food, steak and shrimp on a stick, pork chop sandwiches, deep-fried corn dogs, and all the regular racing concession foods. The track hamburgers are great. Just a warning: $3 water in the midway and $2 at the concession stands. Compare the prices… It was the coldest night I’ve seen in Florida in nearly two months. I had long underwear, a short-sleeve shirt, a long-sleeve jersey, a hooded sweatshirt, and it wasn’t until I put on the fleece-lined jacket that I felt warm. It was supposed to be the coldest night, but now the temperature is rising… Rain is expected to be spotty in the forecast for the next few days, and Saturday doesn’t look good… Many thanks to the reps from Ferris Mowers. My pens ran out, and I searched all over the vendors for a replacement but didn’t find any. Ferris Mowers had a couple and kindly gave them to me. It’s good because my memory isn’t what it used to be. That’s about it for now. Back to Volusia tonight for more Sprint races.