The Williams Grove National Open has come and gone. This week we’ll take a look at some thoughts from the biggest weekend of sprint car racing at the track.

 It’s apparent that by the overflow crowd on Saturday night, Williams Grove needs the World of Outlaws.

 With that being said, I really wonder what the crowd would be if the race was a non-sanctioned race that didn’t attract the Outlaw travelers and paid let’s say maybe $20,000 at most?

 With that being said, I sure hope the powers to be at the Grove continue to follow suit with the Outlaws and their rules . It’s in the best interest of 410 Sprint car racing and the Pennsylvania Posse as well.

 Is Donny Schatz amazing or what! I am certain he can race the Grove blindfolded and probably win. He was awesome Saturday night but his run Friday night from 21st into the fourth and final automatic transfer was a win in itself for the Outlaw champ. What a season for Schatz to be the leading feature winner at the track he only raced at seven times all season.

 Todd Shaffer turned in a great run for second place Saturday night which was more than enough to clinch his second career Cindy Rowe Auto Glass track title for the man know as “Mr. Excitement.” Shaffer also broke the stranglehold by Lance Dewease and Fred Rahmer on the Grove title. Change is good. And to think Shaffer retired from sprint car racing less than three years ago!

 It’s nice to see Gary and Patty Beam enjoying racing and enjoying their second career Grove title. The Beam’s are good people and have been so supportive of Todd Shaffer and sprint car racing for many seasons.  Gary has battled health issues throughout some of the recent racing seasons but they have continued to field a top notch car on the circuit. So a big congratulations to Gary and Patty and the entire Beam Team on a job well done in 2007!

 Shaffer also gave Carlisle based JEI Chassis its first Williams Grove Speedway track championship as the car builder. Shaffer had 13 top 5 finishes and a win at the track in the Barry Jackson-built car.

 How big was Chad Layton’s preliminary Open feature win on Friday night. It was his first ever WoO win and also the first for car owner Pete Postupack. Layton has won at Williams Grove every year since he began his sprint car racing career.

 The Posse fared quite well over the weekend with three out of the top five finishers both nights.

 TJ Stutts turned in a great run for second on Friday with Jeff Shepard fifth and on Saturday night, Lance Dewease was the fastest he’s been since late August in a 13th to third run while Greg Hodnett had a fifth place finish.

 Hodnett and Lucas Wolfe had top 10 finishes on Friday night while Doug Esh and Stutts were top 10 finishes in the Open.

 It appears Donny Schatz is headed to his second straight WoO title. Joey Saldana had closed up but now the gap is much larger with just seven races remaining.

 Saturday night was a destructive night for race cars.

 Chad Hillier had some serious air time in his blast through a second turn billboard during his heat race.

 Fred Rahmer left the speedway in turn four on the start of the feature event after a failed slide job on “the MadMan” Kerry Madsen. Madsen, who had a good finish in third on Friday was also eliminated from the race.

 Steve Kinser took quite a ride down the front stretch that completely destroyed the Q-Oil sprinter. Others involved in the Kinser crash were Keith Kauffman, Brian Montieth, Mark Smith and Tim Shaffer, all who were out for the might.

 Doug Esh finished second in Grove points this season, up a spot from last season and Greg Hodnett ended up third overall in points. Hodnett had an amazing season considering he missed a handful of point races at the beginning of the season with a shoulder injury.

 A big kudos goes out to all involved in making the Chili Cookoff and the silent auction and raffle a major success again. I didn’t hear a final tally for the day but I see where seven Posse drivers and several other organizations benefited from the proceeds raised during the day. I’m sure plans are already underway for 2008!

 Kevin Nouse was the recipient of the $1,000 award for his 47th place time trial in honor and memory of Billy Kimmel.

 Lucas Wolfe didn’t have the weekend he would have liked after being so fast all season. Tire woes plagued the team all weekend.

 Brian Leppo’s weekend was a good one either as he was extremely sick on Friday night as the team battled motor trouble and more motor trouble followed the team on Saturday. He beat the Outlaws back in July and I’m sure would have liked to have had a better showing.

 Congratulations to retired car owners Bob Stewart and Al Hamilton on their Warren Johnson Sprint Car Owners of the Year awards they received at Williams Grove last week from Knoxville’s Craig Agan. Was it just me, or does it really sound like Al Hamilton is ready for his return to the track? We can only hope so! There are a lot of good “outlaw” drivers available to bring into Pennsylvania next season!

 Finally, a big hand goes to Kyle Pruitt and those who made it happen to have Billy Kimmel’s No. 47 on hand for his final lap as well. It was certainly a goosebump moment as we remember Kimmel who was killed at the track on September 2. He would have been real proud!


PIT STOPS 
 It will be “wingless” night Friday at Path Valley Speedway. The 305 Sprints, 600, 270 and 1000 Micro Sprints will all go topless at the Valley tomorrow night…

 The third annual Pumpkin 200 for Xtreme Stocks will be the featured attraction at Susquehanna Speedway Park. The Great American School Buses will also be on the card. Mike Goodwin has a $1,000 to win bounty on his head. He has won three out of four enduro races held at the track. Goodwin must still be on the track for a driver to take the bounty…

 Lincoln Speedway will host the 11th annual Kenny Weld Memorial for 410 Sprints on Saturday night. The event pays $5,000 to win and will also feature the thundercars…

 The 358 late models are in action Friday night at Trail-Way Speedway where $1,000 will be up for grabs. The thundercars and street stocks are also on the card…

 Shippensburg’s Jerry Bard won the 358 late model race Sunday at Big Diamond Raceway…

 Brady Smith was the big $35,000 winner in the Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals last Saturday night. He defeated Billy Moyer, Steve Francis, Darren Miller and Billy Drake. York’s Rick Eckert finished 15th…

 Sprint car fans can look forward to Central PA Open Wheel Review that will be out again in time for the holiday season. Keep checking for updates on the release date…

 Congratulations to Daulton Bigler who wrapped up the points titlein the .500 Cage Kart division at Shippensburg Speedway. He had a great season with 13 wins and seven finishes in either second or third place. Look for Bigler to make a move into another division next season…