Before the running of this year’s USA Nationals, Cedar Lake Speedway track officials promised drivers a racy track. The surface would not lock down, they said, and it would be a competitive race and a good show for the fans.
Cedar Lake Speedway track officials told the truth.
At its worst point, the race was still damn interesting and downright amazing. Of the five leaders — Billy Moyer, Shannon Babb, Brian Birkhofer, Tim McCreadie and eventual winner Scott Bloomquist — no driver ever pulled away by more than several car lengths.
Racing at times was almost four-wide, and often was three-wide on the multi-groove surface.
After Saturday’s 30-lap NASCAR late-model feature, an already racy track was graded top to bottom in the corners, then watered and rolled back in for the 100-lapper.
It did nothing but help.
It was that way all weekend, from Thursday to Saturday. Track crews spent ample time preparing the surface. And it was always racy.
With all that said, I’m sitting here some 18 hours after the flag fell wondering why the hell I’ve stayed away from the north-central Wisconsin facility for 14 years.
If my memory’s working, my last trip to Cedar Lake was in 1994 when the late Jack Boggs won his first of two USA Nationals.
Still, don’t know why I quit going. I think I missed it.
In all of its greatness, Cedar Lake and the USA Nationals does have a few problems. There were more than 80 late-model drivers signed in for the weekend to participate in a total of five feature races. Fifty of those drivers were registered to compete in the USA Nationals qualifying events.
For a race paying $50,000 for first place and $2,000 just to make the field, 50 drivers isn’t a lot.
There could be several reasons for a car-count lower than some other national events, one being that the Lucas Oil Late Model series was racing a full weekend in another part of the country.
It’s likely several of those drivers would’ve made the haul to Wisconsin if not committed to their series and the run for the point title.
Cedar Lake owners and management cannot help the track’s location, but the facility is situated hundreds of miles from the late-model hotbeds of the Ohio Valley and the Southeast. Gas prices are high and there are more options now for drivers than at any point in history.
Track management recognized the fuel costs and offered extra tow money to the first 30 entrants. Good for them. What else could they do?
In a weekend conversation with fellow racing journalist and historian Todd Turner, he reminded me that the race has undergone several changes in sanctioning over the years. That could be an issue. Or maybe not.
The USA Nationals doesn’t need any more cars to make it a successful event. It already is. And it only takes 24 to make a race.
I’m a strong supporter of local and regional racing. It’s the backbone of the sport. But it’s bothersome to me to attend a marquee event that has as much of a regional feel as it does a national feel.
Of the 50 registered drivers, there were only 11 that could be considered national touring competitors. But the field also included some of the region’s biggest names and even a legend or two.
So, what can track management do to help the situation? Or is there even a situation to help? I’m not sure there is.
For now, the race is unsanctioned and tightly governed under Cedar Lake rules, which are different than most (or all) major events. I like it. Stick to it. Build on it.
With consistency and a scheduling change or two in other parts of the country, who knows, the USA Nationals might just return to its glory days and the high car counts of the early and mid-1990s.
Or maybe it’s just fine the way it is. It’s not likely too many people who were part of this year’s large, enthusiastic crowd left the track unhappy with what they’d seen.
I know I didn’t.
I’m still sitting here wondering why I’ve stayed away.