First Article - By: A.J. Payne

Posted Jody Shannon on December 14th, 2007 | Filed under Articles, The DRC

Written by: AJ Payne   

   The first thing I would like to say would like to say in this article that it is an honor to have my articles noticed, and be asked to write articles for this web site. I do plan to keep it real though, so this means that I will be open about what I think, and at the same time not coming across as ragging on the people and places that I will write about in future articles, even though I would have a lot more fun. As many of you, I truly love dirt track racing, and the people that are involved with the sport. Nevertheless, there are times that someone needs to speak up and say something about a given topic. In addition, bring to light some of the good things, which I feel someone needs to talk about, and for whatever reason have not.

  

Now with that being said I will say that this is not something that I could ever say I would have seen myself doing five years ago nor would I thought anyone would have noticed my writing. Which was many done in treads on whowon.com or almost anywhere else that there is a racing forum. Therefore, with that said lets move on to my topic for this article, which is the season that was 2007.  In the season that was the 2007 race season, I feel most of you will agree, that we seen a lot of first time events that happen through out the country in many of the different series that are out there. In addition, I am sure that you the reader have seen a few first as well this season.

This has to be at least one of the craziest race-season, I have ever seen and on the same hand one of the best, I have ever seen in my whole life being around dirt track racing. Although I was able to confirm through others that I know and respect, this has been one of those years in which one sees very little in their auto-racing career, and I think it begun at the beginning of the year in Florida and just went right on going to the very last race of the year. I do believe that we seen people win races for the first time or first time in a while. This would be true for Scott Bloomquist, when he ended a 17-year drought that dated back to February 2, 1990 since he had last won at East Bay . As a side note I do plan and hope on doing another article just on Scott, which I am sure will be a very open and honest account of his racing, as well as whatever else he would like to talk about in that article. Because as I have heard it stated before he is Scott Bloomquist and we are not. 

Another first for me personally was the fact that I have to see what it was like to be a product and marketing sponsor for a racing series. I was so pleased on how the season went for the AMPSeries in its first year. It was life to my bones to be a part of that series and I do plan to be apart of this series again as a product and marketing sponsor. The plus was the great people I was able to meet, like Christy Hudson. What more can I say other than in my mind she is opening many eyes across the country on promotion and how to do it correctly. I have to say how so promotes the drivers like the ‘Cat Man’ Jon Mitchell the first in a line of great champions that will no doubt come out off this late model series. Another driver that I am personally feel will be that next great super star in the Late Models or for that fact in any division he choose to go race with is Kyle Beard, this has to be a huge first for me to see a super star in the making. For his first full season in Late Models this guy had me going WOW!!! is this guy for real or what, and for those that do not know me I really do not get impressed that much by new talent the first time I see them. But after I picked up my jaw off the ground I was really for more, and you know I think he is going to be better than most of the top guys out there now. I think for no more time than he has had in the late models he has shown super car control, as well as some of the best race management I have seen. Oh, by the way, yes I will be doing an article on his in the future for those that like more.

Oh and yea by the way, we did see a new OReilly Auto Parts/Usmts national champion in Jason Krohn this year. This brought Kelly Shryock’s hold on the national title for the OReilly Auto Parts/Usmts to an end sadly for me, since of course, I count Kelly as a good friend, and one never likes to see his friends lose. Although I was very happy to see that, the driver who won this year title was in a Skyrocket, which is still a good thing in my eyes even though it is a big first for me to see. Although Kelly was able as far as I see it to have the final word with the first OReilly Auto Parts/Usmts Southern Series Championship, as well as winning the final race of the season for OReilly Auto Parts/Usmts. Therefore, the cream always does rise to the top, and it sure did in this case.

Therefore, as I close what is just part of many first like me writing an article for a dirt-racing website?  How COOL!!!