There are too many great performances to list in one of our driver of the week features. Normally we do one clear cut driver of the week and several deserving honorable mentions. We will do so again this week, but we're going to add a few guys to the mix that took some special victories this week, important to each of them. Some drivers you may of heard of, some you might not of. But part of the job here at TDN is to sing praises of all great stories at the moment, not simply to glorify a small handful of drivers that win routinely.
They get their due on this site, but we'd like to take the opportunity to give some love to some great stories from outside the national sanctions too. So that being said, we'd like to present our Driver of the Week, Mr. Brett Hearn!
 |
| John Dearing- STLracing.com |
The jet went two for three this week. Many may just yawn at this point. But for those not familiar, Hearn came from 10th starting spot or further in all three and the one race he didn't win (Malta) he came in second.
More than that, he took home $17,500 in an SuperDIRTcar tour win at Lebanon Valley, one of the richest prizes on the tour. And since big blocks seem to make a little less per date than the sprints or the late models, we can translate that win into what would be about a $30,000 crown jewel win for those two divisions. He'd been having his typical home track season to this point, but in 2014, his SDS tour campaign hadn't been going all that great by his standards, a bar that's set pretty high as evidenced by his career total and SDS tour championships. But, this win may have just pointed him back in the thick of the hunt for another title. Congrats Mr. Hearn!
 |
| ZSK Photography |
The sandman, Mr. Sanders has been beating USMTS regulars like a rented mule this week! (gotta love Mike Lange references)
Rodney went three for four this week with wins at Amsoil (Aug 13), Red Cedar Speedway (Aug 14), Mississippi Thunder Speedway, WI (Aug 15) and second at Ogilvie, MN (Aug 16). So far, he's won 29 feature events in this season alone, and also gets behind the wheel of a super late model from time to time. He's one to keep a watch out for, so if you've never heard of him, get to know him, you'll only be hearing his more and more in the future!
.png)
Yes, that's a late model, and "Damn you Donny" drives it pretty damn well too! Let's face it, when it comes to sprints, it's Schatz's world and everyone else is just in it at this point of the season.
He won his series leading 15th feature event with the World of Outlaws Sprints on August 17 at Noday Speedway. And the night before, he won a NLMRA series race at River Cities Speedway, ND. He has his own Rocket piece powered by a pro power bullet, and we'd love to see him use it more, maybe at a SLM crown jewel event one year, if the racing gods and the outlaws would only allow it just once, we'd be happy!
Mr. Owens went topless this weekend. And still kept his shirt on at the same time which most of us are very thankful for.
The "Newport Nightmare" put away a stout field of Lucas Late Models at the Topless 100 this weekend at Batesville, AK. It was his second victory in event history, and his second win of a major race in the month. Owens also took checkers at this months USA Nationals at Cedar Lake WI and shows no signs of slowing down. He and fellow Club 29 stable mate Darrell Lanigan have been tearing the competition a new one for the bulk of the season and both are well on their way to clinching their respective tour championships well before the season ends.
This honorable mention goes to a driver that has demonstrated the meaning of the word perseverance. Cap Henry has been one of the most talented drivers in sprint cars that unfortunately had been unable to land full time funding.
How something like that happens, we don't know, but it's a great bet he has a complete full time ride for some lucky owner in the coming days. Cap won his second straight feature at Attica Raceway Park on Saturday night, parking the Genzman team ride in victory lane, besting the likes of Greg Wilson, Danny Holtgraver, Chad Kenemah, Dean Jacobs and many more of Ohio's heavy hitters. He never quit, kept his head up, and is getting rewarded for his patience, while showcasing his immense talent at the same time. Congrats Mr. Henry!
.png)
John Mollick:
We had to give one driver from our neck of the woods a mention here, because it's a great story.
"Jammin" Johnny Mollick had more than his share of ups and downs in recent years. In 2009-10 he managed two wins on the UFO Race Championship tour and was near the top of the point standings, and not just by showing up at all the races, but by being extremely competitive.
And then, the Toronto, OH native hit some dry spells. Those came to an end Saturday night when Mollick dominated the $5,053 to win Red Miley Rumble at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania's Motor Speedway. Mollick drove away from a field consisting of heavyweights such as Davey Johnson, Mason Zeigler, Keith Barbara and many more to collect his biggest win in quite some time. Mollick took the high road, riding the top side on a very fast, tacky surface which takes quite a bit of testosterone and drew comparisons to days gone by in the process. Congrats Mr. Mollick
Shoutouts:
- To the "low rider" Dale Blaney for going two for two in ASCoC action in Butler, MI
- To "super" Joe Kelley on his return to victory lane at Lernerville Speedway on Friday night.
- To Billy Pauch Jr on winning his first championship at Action Track USA, Kutztown, PA
- To Alex Bright who went two for two in ARDC midget action at Lincoln and Williams Grove, PA
You can check out our whole archive of Driver of the Week Issues here: The Dirt Network- Driver of the Week Archive
Highlighted Races this Week:
- Wednesday August 20: Race of Champions Modifieds at Utica Rome, NY (twin 50's)
- World of Outlaw Late Models Friday (I-96 Speedway) and Saturday (Merritt Speedway, MI)
- World of Outlaw Sprints at Castrol Speedway, Edmonton, AB (Friday and Saturday)
- ASCoC Sprints at Mercer Raceway Park; Saturday ($3,000) and Sunday ($5,000)
- Renegades Sprints make their season debut at Atomic (OH) Saturday ($5,000)
No comments:
Post a Comment