Jimmy Wilson glanced up at the sky, eyes scanning the horizon. A cloud would sure be nice right about now…any sort of cloud that could cover up the sun.
Jimmy Wilson glanced up at the sky, eyes scanning the horizon. A cloud would sure be nice right about now … any sort of cloud that could cover up the sun, if only for a few minutes.
He spotted a small, puffy blot way off in the distance, and studied it for a moment. Nope, it was going the wrong direction.
It was a typical August day at the Lincoln Fairgrounds, with the State Fair in full swing all around the dirt mile. The heat was stifling, with temperatures flirting with the 100-degree mark. Almost 30 Champ Dirt machines were parked in the pit area, their sweltering crews scurrying around, poised for a 100-miler under the afternoon sun.
Jimmy stood next to the Premier Tires of Allentown Special, a good-looking blue No. 27. The car owner, Gregg Richards, and his mechanic, Mike Stapleton, flitted around the car, nervously checking and double-checking their stuff.
Renee Johnson, Jimmy‘s companion, had tagged along with Jimmy to make the trip from Central City.
A couple of missing faces, alas, were Jack Harvey and Slim MacDonald. After helping the Premier Tires team win the Champ Dirt opener at the Empire State Fairgrounds six weeks ago, they were no-shows today.
With an important USAC sprint car date tomorrow at New Carlyle, Ohio — four hours the other direction from Central City — Harvey insisted they couldn‘t make the trip to Lincoln.
Recruiting Harvey to help with the Champ Dirt effort was a bit of a coup earlier this year, and Jimmy hoped it would lead them to winning the Champ Dirt title. Although Jimmy understood Harvey‘s decision to skip today‘s race — the Ellison Special sprinter was his priority, he said from the beginning — it was tough to accept.
With only a handful of events on the Champ Dirt schedule — five in all — every race was crucial.
Gregg Richards was not a mechanic, nor did he profess to be. Mike Stapleton was eager and he liked to portray himself as a sharp wrench, but the fact is he didn‘t have a lot of experience. They had come a long way as a team since Jimmy joined them last season, but they were in a different league when Harvey and Slim came on board.
Jimmy opened the cooler, reaching for the jug to refill his water cup. He nodded at Renee, and she leaned over so that he could fill her glass as well.
She was wearing a big floppy hat to protect herself from the sun, and Jimmy wore a wide-brimmed straw hat. Renee had purchased the hats yesterday, and Jimmy laughed when she picked him up this morning. She looked cute in her hat, but he immediately nixed the idea of putting that straw monstrosity on his head.
Five minutes into the brutal heat made him rethink his position, and he reluctantly put on the hat.
A photographer paused as he passed by their pit, and he called out.
“Let‘s get a picture,” he said.
Jimmy nodded, and he stepped over to the car, tossing the hat in the seat.
“No, the two of you,” the photographer insisted. “With your hats!”
Renee laughed, and she stood next to Jimmy. He put his straw hat back on, and the photographer snapped a couple of shots.
“Very fashionable,” the man teased.
“Fashion, hell,” Jimmy grinned. “I‘m just tryin‘ to keep from getting cooked!”
Winning the opener at Empire had planted in Jimmy‘s mind the idea of winning the series title, and the idea fired him up. The Champ Dirt title would be a great accomplishment, and he wanted to do everything possible to make it happen. His connection with Gregg Richards was his first chance to run all the races and chase the points.
But one major hurdle remained: Duke Moran and his four-cam Ford. Duke dominated last year‘s schedule, easily winning the title. But this season might be different; Duke missed the Empire race because of a rain-delayed scheduling conflict.
After missing the opener Duke would have to run the table and win the remaining four races to have a shot at repeating as champion.
That, based on popular opinion, was almost a foregone conclusion. Thus far nobody had been able to outrun Duke. In fact, he led every lap in three straight races during one stretch the previous year, making shambles of the competition.
To continue reading, advance to the next page.