Kyle Ealy's Pit Pass: Vermilion County Speedway (June 27)

Jon Stanbrough muscled the Fox Brothers sprinter to victory in the Midwest Sprint Car Series "Legends of Danville" on Saturday night at Vermilion County Speedway. - Dennis Krieger Imagery

Danville, Ill. - While a couple thousand people were watching the World of Outlaws at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday night, I was privileged to watch the true outlaws of sprint car racing at Vermilion County Speedway.

"Wings are for Fairies"

The Midwest Sprint Car Series rolled into Danville on Saturday night for the $2,000 to win "Legends of Danville". Thirty-five sprint cars checked in with some of the best drivers in non-wing racing present.

VCS is a somewhat unique 1/4-mile track. Like a lot of old county fairgrounds, it looks like it may of been a big 1/2-mile before being converted to it's present configuration. You can still see remnants where the old track once laid. With a short front straightaway, it's very circular in shape. For the sprint cars at least, once you hit turn one you start turning the wheel and keep turning it until you come out of turn four. It made for some great racing this evening.

A.J. Anderson (34) and Chad Boat (30) do battle during heat action at VCS on Saturday evening. - Dennis Krieger Imagery

The first heat alone was worth the four hour trip for me. The night before in Bloomington, Ind., a young man by the name of Kenny Niflis wowed the crowd by not only getting to the main by qualifying through the "B" but coming from the back of the pack to take the win in the "A". We were told that this was his first career win.

Apparently, Mr. Niflis might of shown up at VCS with a little too much confidence. I'm sure after his great win at Bloomington on Friday he was thinking to himself, "Hell, this is easy". In the first heat, Niflis either over steered or dug a little too hard going though three and four and went end over end coming out of turn four. He was uninjured but pretty much done for the night. It's not as easy as it looks.

Michael Severs cranks it hard through the turns at Vermilion County Speedway on Saturday evening. - Gordon O'Field Photography

Bryan Clauson found some traction on the top side and proceeded to make his way to the front. Once he got to the front he continued on the top side but with a couple of laps to go, found himself in the man marbles, tagged the wall and went from hero to zero in a hurry. Clauson was visibly upset at himself for stepping on his own tally-wacker. Kyle Cummins slipped by and took the win and Clauson found himself having to qualify through the "B" main.

Bryan Clauson takes to the highside during sprint car action at Vermilion County Speedway on Saturday night. - Gordon O'Field Photography

In the fourth heat, Jonathan Memmer was penalized for rough driving and was told to drop back two spots for his tactics. Instead of obeying the rules and moving back like a good little boy, he pulled a bonehead move, dodging towards a MSCS track official and nearly running him over in the process. He then parked his car in front of the grandstand, got out of his car and proceeded to do his best impersonation of Michael Jackson (grabbing his groin region) and flipping off the flagman. Unfortunately for Mr. (and I use that term loosely) Memmer, this was all caught on video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARAbjCF_n3U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eindianaopenwheel%2Ecom%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D19408&feature=player_embedded).

Jonathan Memmer glides through the turns before turning into a complete asshole at VCS on Saturday night. - Dennis Krieger Imagery

The first thought that ran across my mind upon seeing this was the young race fans sitting in the stands witnessing this act. A lot of these young race fans look up to these drivers and had to see some asshole acting more child-like then the kids themselves. It was a sad display of sportsmanship and Memmer should be reprimanded by the track and the series and just maybe his parents need to bend him over a knee.

"Nuts and Guts"

Getting back to my statement in the first paragraph of this column. Tonight I saw two drivers who I gained a whole new respect for. Outside of Indiana and surrounding areas, Jon Stanbrough and Dave Darland aren't household names like the Donny Schatz's, Joey Saldana's and Terry McCarl's of the sprint car racing world. With a lot of the World of Outlaw drivers, no matter where they finish, they know they'll have a paycheck waiting for them at the end of the night, so why bust your ass racing for that extra spot in the feature?

For Darland and Stanbrough, where they finish that night is what puts food on the table for their family or makes that mortgage payment so they have a roof over their head. Every position they move up means an extra $50 to $75 in their pocket. Darland had a terrible heat race and had to qualify through the "B". Meanwhile, Stanbrough started sixth on the redraw. The track was pretty much locked down come feature time so they both had their work cut out for them.

Brad Loyet gets on the gas at VCS on Saturday night during the Midwest Sprint Car Series event. - Dennis Kreiger Imagery

With the track conditions the way they were, passing was tough but both pilots methodically made their way to the front with Stanbrough eventually getting to the front and staying there to take the win. Darland had even more cars to pass and in a couple of instances, literally ran over a couple of drivers in making his way up the money ladder. I'm pretty sure that "The Deputy" didn't make any friends going about it this way but Darland knows it's "killed or be killed" and that style is what makes him a favorite with not only me but quite a few fans in the non-wing world. Darland would finish a respectable sixth.

Jake Croxton brought up a good point after the race. On surface such as this where the passing was limited, the so-called "big boys" of winged sprint cars or even late models would of been content to stay in line and freight train it to the finish. Stanbrough and Darland aren't content to just finish a race and have their slice of pie, they want the whole damn thing, crust and all, and one fork.

That's racing at it's finest and it was an honor to be there to see how it was and should be done every night that a driver suits up and gets behind the wheel.

In closing, I have to mention the concessions at VCS. It's always seemed that once your in the race facility and you're hungry or thirsty, they have you my the nuts. A soda is $2.50 or a cheeseburger is $4.00. I realize, they're in the business of making money but in these hard economic times, a dollar is a dollar to drivers, race fans, even us poor media clowns.

I walked up to the concessions in the pits and ordered a can of soda. "That'll be 75 cents," she said. I damn near dropped right there. You can't even go to a machine and buy a can for that price anymore. Two of the guys I was traveling with purchased cheeseburgers (hot off the grill) for $2.50 and mentioned that it was one of the best burgers they've had at a track. All I can say, is kudos to VCS for not sticking it to the customers that come in weekly and spend their hard-earned money.

Thanks to Spiker Promotions, Vermilion County Speedway and the Midwest Sprint Car Series for their hospitality and a good night of racing.

I would also like to give a big thanks out to Dennis Krieger and Gordy O'Field for the great photography that you see. Dennis and Gordy are two of the best shooters in the business and I'm honored to have the opportunity to display their work on my blog.

Thanks for reading. See you at the races...