New Egypt Speedway, June 16, 2007 2007 June 24
On June 16, I decided to risk going to New Egypt Speedway again. I say risk because the track hasn’t been in too good of shape this year under the new owners. They are trying, but there is a need for more then effort, they need expert help with preparing the surface.. The track wasn’t really all that good, even though one of the owners told some of the early fan arrivals that the track wouldn’t get dusty. Despite that reassurance, the track was as dusty as ever. They tried to fix the track with a long delay while digging the the track up. They didn’t accomplish anything besides wasting time and maybe letting the wind die down some. Things got just as dusty once the cars got back on the track. I wouldn’t have minded the dust in the features so much if it wasn’t for the useless delay. Luckily the modified race was a great one which made the night of sitting in the dust and waiting out delays not so bad. I really hope the track crew figures out the surface soon because fans are starting to look elsewhere and it will be hard to get them back. For example, one person I know that has been to almost every race at the track during the last few years says she is not coming back. If they don’t figure it out, they’ll be moere fans that fell that way. Again, I believe the track crew and owners are trying, so I will give then an “A for effort” but they need to start showing some results. I’m not at the point where I’m not going to say I’m not coming back until they fix it, but it probably won’t be my default track any more until they get the track conditions in order.
Back to the modified race. Pat Wall lead most of the modified race but he was battling with Matt Shepard side-by-side over the last few laps. When they crossed the finish line, form my angle I though Pat Wall had the win. The scoreboard also thought he had the win. However, the officials went to the video tape and other evidence and gave the win to MAtt Shepard. I can’t really tell from where I sit, and I have no reason to believe the track made the wrong call, but I sure wish the win went to Wall because he is an underdog compared to the likes of Sheppard, Jimmy Horton, and Frank Cozze
My 2007 race stats after going to New Egypt Speedway on June 16 are:
Races: 19
Tracks: 14 (10 new) (160 lifetime)
States: 12 (6 new) (41 lifetime)