BARBERVILLE, Fla. — There may be other tracks with a similar problem in the Deep South but the Yankees in the pits at Volusia Speedway Park all marveled at Wednesday night’s PA announcement that anyone caught harassing the alligator in the lower pit area would be arrested and removed from the premises.
Alligators, at least one, have lived in the pond in the Volusia pits for many years and are very popular with visitors during the annual DIRTcar Nationals. Partially, the trophies that the more than 100 modified competitors and 35 sprint car racers who signed in this week feature mini alligators and are known as “Gators.”
The Gator trophy was introduced in 2012.
• It’s interesting to see a variety of powerplants in the sprint cars on hand for two nights of All Star Circuit of Champions competition at the half-mile dirt track.
Besides the usually Chevrolet-based engines, there are also Fords and Toyotas. Most notable is Donny Schatz’s Ford, which after a few years of tweaking is now a rocketship when he stands on the gas.
• How much does it cost to outfit a team? A shiny black Toterhome is on display in the pit area for just under $400,000. Add in a trailer and the race cars, tires, tools and parts to fill it and you’ll have a sizeable investment going down the road.
• After riding out a vicious series of flips Tuesday night, Cory Eliason and the Indy Race Parts team spent Wednesday putting a new car together, drawing a steady stream of onlookers eager to look at the stripped down chassis and engine sitting alongside.
• Longtime TV personality and magazine editor Dick Berggren was on hand Tuesday night shooting photos of Kenny Schrader for an upcoming book by Joyce Standridge. Schrader was among the nearly 100 competitors in action in the DIRTcar modified division.
• The presence of a Ford pickup sponsored by Eddie Gilstrap Motors of Indiana in the tech area reminded us of longtime SPEED SPORT scribe Keith Waltz’s story telling at the Eastern Motorsport Press Ass’n convention years ago.
Listeners were riveted by his recollections of Calvin Gilstrap, an Indiana star who came out of retirement to run a sprint car whose driver didn’t show up. After turning a track record lap on his first lap back in the saddle, the unfortunate Gilstrap went over the wall on his second lap and perished.
• As usual, Michigan’s Brent Seelman and Pennsylvania’s Karen Mansfield were heading up the push-truck operators. An air of sadness hung over the group, as longtime pusher Jimmy Knapp passed away over the winter. He and his little yellow Jeep had pushed at some 130 speedways over the years but we first knew him as a gate guard at the New York State Fairgrounds.
He’ll be remembered at a ceremony Sunday, with his Jeep, bequeathed to a fellow pusher, on hand as a reminder of the affable Hoosier.
• Full moons and sprint car crashes usually go hand in hand but Wednesday night’s show saw a seemingly endless string of UMP modified crashes and spins while the sprinters ran their A-main green to checkers at a pace so fast it was difficult to take notes on what was happening.
• Grandstand crowds for the All Stars were noticeably skimpy, though the pit area was very crowded. Traditionally, that changes when the World of Outlaws start their three-night run, which begins tonight (Thursday).
It’s difficult to say whether it’s the cachet of the Outlaws or more visitors getting to town for Daytona but either way, parking is traditionally a problem, with many coming early and sitting in the parking lot catching up with old friends over a brew or two prior to race cars hitting the track.
The schedule for Friday and Saturday has been adjusted because of pending inclement weather.