CAROLINIANS SHOW SOME SPEED IN INDY
Stories From The Two-Day Show In July At The Speedrome
By Bob Dillner
LegendsNation.com
Sparkplug Ignites Bandits at the Speedrome
Dillon Bassett’s nickname is simply “Sparkplug” and his charisma fits that tag to a tee. In victory lane at the Indianapolis Speedrome on Saturday he told the crowd that they had the best car at the track so they deserved to win. Then the announcer asked him, “Who is your favorite driver?” Sparkplug’s response… “Myself.”
Dillon Bassett paid tribute to his favorite driver, himself, by winning the race. (51 Sports Photo)
The modest 11-year-old Bandolero pilot was simply in a class by himself at the Speedrome this past weekend. He dusted the competition on Friday night by pulling into victory lane as the overall winner when the track combined the older kids with the younger ones. On Saturday, the age groups were separated, but that didn’t derail Bassett one bit as he drove to victory lane for the second time in as many days.
“It feels good to win two in a row,” stated Bassett with his trademark smirkish smile. “We’ve raced here a couple times before and I’ve won here before, but this is pretty cool. We’re getting ready for the Nationals and it looks like it paid off for us.”
Bassett was one of several teams from out of state to roll into Indianapolis during the “Brickyard 400.” But, the young chauffeurs were not here to see their favorite Sprint Cup stars. Instead, these kids were in Indy to do a little test and tune at the Speedrome for the upcoming Bandolero Nationals at the track during the weekend of August 28th – 31st.
“It’s pretty nice. It’s a rough track; you can’t just go out there the first time and win a race,” admitted Sparkplug. “You gotta know what you are doing to be able to be good here.”
Blake Jones "discusses" the incident on the track with Chad Finchum. (51 Sports Photo)
Bassett will undoubtedly be good come late August for the Nationals, but the two guys on his heels late in the race on Saturday, former Speedrome winner Mason Massey and Kyle Benjamin, will be tough to beat as well and Bassett knows it.
“We weren’t looking forward to seeing that caution with four laps to go, but we held on. They were good; we were just a little bit better.”
Incident Sparks Emotion Between Finchum and Jones in Young Guns
Chad Finchum has been the dominator in the Bandolero Young Guns division this year. He’s won 26-times in 36 races going into this past weekend. Astonishing!
Because of that, he is the hunted when it comes to his competitors trying to shoot him down. On Friday at the Speedrome he was clearly off his game. On Saturday, his team got the car dialed in and it came down to a shootout between him and rival Blake Jones.
The two pulled away from the field before “The Incident” happened. Jones led the first half of the race until Finchum made a move to the inside in turns three and four. Neither wanted to give an inch. There was contact. The end result… both drivers were scored as DNFs.
“There was not enough room for Finchum’s nose to go in there, but he stuck it in there,” said Jones. “He hit the yellow bump down there in three-and-four, got loose and just shot both of us up into the wall. We had that race won until it happened.”
Jones showed his displeasure by pulling up next to Finchum, who had lost a left front wheel in the incident. The Young Guns National point leader had a different view of what had happened.
“The 80 (Jones) and I were hooked up. We were pulling away from the field like we had talked about for the race,” explained Finchum. “He came off of two and he got a little loose and I found an opening. I got in the gas a little earlier than him and I pulled it down to the bottom. We drag raced down the backstretch; we went into three, he leaned on me a little bit; I did not lean back. We hit the turtle thing in the middle and my car hopped up on two wheels and when it did, it tore the whole front tire off of it.”
Jones Finds Solace in Friday Night Young Guns Win
Friday was Blake Jones' day in the Young Guns division at the Speedrome. (51 Sports Photo)
Although Blake Jones was second across the line in Friday night’s feature, he was scored as the winner of the Young Guns division (12 – 15 year-olds) since victor Dillon Bassett is a Bandit (8 – 11 year-olds). While Jones’ father admitted they did not push the overall win because points are awarded merely for in-division races, Jones was pleased with his weekend performance.
“It’s been a pretty good weekend. We won one race and led half the race of the second one,” added Jones. “It ended up as a pretty good weekend for it only being the second time we’ve been here.”
Like many, Jones was doing a bit of R&D work for the upcoming Bandolero Nationals in Indy.
“I think we have a really good chance at winning the National down here. Our car was great all weekend; we didn’t even have to adjust it that much. This track is really hard to pass on. You have to start up front to have a chance and those bumps are not too healthy.”
Finchum Favorite for Nationals?
Chad Finchum has to be the odds on favorite for the win in the Young Guns portion of the Nationals, despite the fact that he did not win this past weekend. While others had competed at the Speedrome prior to the weekend, it was Finchum’s first visit to the facility, just eight miles from the Brickyard.
Chad Finchum (left), Tyler Lester (middle) and Blake Jones (right). (51 Sports Photo)
“This track is a whole lot different,” admitted Finchum. “It reminds me more of go-karts than anything else. I love this track and I want to come back and get me a win here. We came here to get some practice for the Nationals. We are actually going to come again too. I’m looking forward to racing the Nationals because I know it’s going to be some good competition.”
Lester Wins in Wake of Finchum-Jones Storm
Laying the wake of Blake Jones and Chad Finchum during Saturday’s Young Guns feature was Tyler Lester. The North Carolina resident finished one spot ahead of Finchum on Friday night (fifth) and ended up with the lead after the accident that took out the leaders the next day. Lester then held off Ty Rose and Tyler Poe for the win.
“I am just happy to get the win here today,” said Lester. “We had a good car and I would have liked to race against my friends Blake and Chad Finchum, but this set us up for the Nationals. We have a win here now and we’re going to national point’s too so it all helps.”
Rock & Roll Weekend for “The Rock”
Ronnie Bassett Jr. is certainly one of the rising young stars of this sport. “The Rock,” as he is called, was fast all weekend, but the results were mixed.
Ronnie "The Rock" Bassett rolling around the Speedrome. (51 Sports Photo)
Friday night, Bassett was challenging Zach Zimmerly for the victory when he spun on the frontstretch late in the race. Saturday, Bassett rebounded for an overall finish of third in the 35-lap race and second in the Semi-Pro division.
“Today was a whole lot better than last night,” said “The Rock” with a smile. “We were running second last night and come up on a lapped car and he come down on me. When he did, I jerked to the left and spun it out. It also pinched the oil line as well; we were lucky not to blow the engine because it was brand new."
Bassett too was practicing for a portion of the Nationals to be held at the Speedrome for the younger kids in Legends Car racing and the knowledge he acquired will be a help for him in August.
“I just wished I could have started on the inside row because I think I would have had more for (Dylan) Ames (Saturday’s winner),” said Bassett of the double-file start during Saturday’s feature. “This was basically a test session for the Young Lions Nationals. I think we’ll be good when we come back.”
LN asked Bassett what was the biggest thing he learned?
“You can’t pass here,” was his simple response.
Team RE Enjoys Trip to Indy
Bruce Silver and step-son Gregory Lang made the haul to Indianapolis. After working by day at the big track with Silver’s Racing Electronics business, both played at night at “The Drome.”
Racing Electronics owner Bruce Silver raced at Indy this past weekend. (51 Sports Photo)
Silver finished 15th in Friday night’s Legends feature after finishing second in his heat race earlier in the day. He improved by leaps and bounds on Saturday night and was running within the top-10 late in the 35-lap race when contact with another driver sent him around. In the incident, a spark plug wire came off his 53-machine and he was forced to run the remainder of the event down a cylinder. He still wound up 14th.
“It was fun. It took me a while to understand this place, but I was able to run with a bunch of the guys today (Saturday),” said Silver. “Another competitor came over and thanked me for showing up and invited me to Anderson (Speedway) to race sometime and I might take him up on it at some point.”
Gregory Lang just celebrated his one-year anniversary as a racecar driver. He began at the Summer Shootout at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 2007 in Bandoleros. One year later, the Speedrome became the sixth different track Lang has raced at. An incident on Friday night spelled trouble to the 15-year-old, but a nice run on Saturday netted a fourth place finish.
“I caught the bump in the middle on turns one and two on the first lap of Friday night’s race,” admitted Lang. “I’ve never run here before so it took me a while to get used to it, but it was a lot of fun. The car was really good today. We made some changes and it wasn’t too loose or too tight. I’d like to come back for the Nationals if I’m allowed to.”
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