December 26 in Germany, Poland and Sweden is St. Stephen’s Day. December 26 in Australia, New Zealand and Canada is Boxing Day. The post-Christmas tradition of boxing gifts to the needy began in the Middle Ages and became a British proxy around 1830. It has evolved into celebration of discounted merchandise not unlike “Black Friday”
Ted Johnson joked that it would be a cold day in hell before his World of Outlaws ever laid rubber on asphalt. Yet on November 9, 1991 a decade of dismissals proved prophetic at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS. Thermometers never crested 40 degrees and winds were stiff. Outlaws were late to the 1988-92
He was the most fearless driver in World of Outlaws history. Holmes County, Ohio’s Jac Haudenschild hammered that fact from the Eldora Nationals of 1978 to the World Finals of 2021. He was “The Wild Child” who married his wild West Coast counterpart and fathered wild children, one of whom just might exceed dad’s 72
Nowhere to go but up. Quarantined by a world virus in 2020, the World of Outlaws of 2021 was an automatic improvement. Race dates grew by 25 percent. New York and New Jersey were back in play along with Washington, Illinois and southern splits of Louisiana, Mississippi and famous banks of Bristol, Tennessee. California did
Kasey Kahne Racing is a steamroller. For a third straight season, this battalion from Mooresville, North Carolina, has flattened all title opposition. In its 18-year existence, KKR has collected 206 World of Outlaws Feature victories with reigning king Brad Sweet (74), Joey Saldana (67), first champ Daryn Pittman (47), Cody Darrah (6), Paul McMahan (5)
Never get caught staring at the standings. You hear it after two months of a six-month baseball campaign or Week Five of a 17-game football season. The message is clear: just do your job, play hard, and let the chips fall wherever they may. Do not waste concern on rival teams. Strengthen your own program.
Super DIRT Week is here. True, the World of Outlaws are a Tuscarora Mountain range away. Yes, the Moody Mile at Syracuse went six feet under six years ago. But the spirit remains. Venues change, but campgrounds and entry lists stay fat. In the modified stock car universe, Super DIRT Week is still the harvest
Northern California and Central Pennsylvania have always been where the World of Outlaws might be defeated. Last week’s Gold Cup Race of Champions by Colby Copeland nearly furthered a tradition that started in the very first Outlaw race won by Jimmy Boyd and Kenny Woodruff’s Sacramento Special right up to its 2019-20 champion Brad Sweet
Skagit River rages from Cascade Mountain snowmelt to spill into Skagit Bay and mother ocean. Just north of the river is the town of Alger, WA — population 403. Saturdays at Skagit Speedway, however, Alger swells with Sprint Car pride and presence. Jim Raper carved an oval among the evergreen trees in 1954. He created
“All he does is catch touchdowns.” That was coach Buddy Ryan’s sarcastic dismissal of Cris Carter before Carter starred for someone else. Well, all that Kyle Larson does is catch checkered flags. Whether his demoralized pursuers are scattered across asphalt or dirt, oval or road course pressing eight cylinders or four does not matter one
