2013 Mudsummer Classic

2013 Mudsummer Classic

Race details
Race 10 of 22 in the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season
Date	July 24, 2013 (2013-07-24)
Location	Eldora Speedway, New Weston, Ohio
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.5 mi (0.804 km)
Distance	Qualifying Races (5): 8 laps Last Chance Race: 15 laps Feature (Main Event): 150 laps (in segments of 60, 50, and 40 laps) laps, 75 mi (121 km)
Weather	Mostly clear skies with temperatures hovering around 68.3 °F (20.2 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)[1]
Average speed	67.401 mph (108.471 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Ken Schrader	Ken Schrader Racing
Time	19.709 sec
Most laps led
Driver	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing
Laps	64
Winner
No. 39	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Speed
Announcers	Rick Allen, Phil Parsons, Michael Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings	1.20 (1.4 million viewers)[2]

The 2013 Mudsummer Classic was the inaugural running of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway in New Weston, Ohio. The race was the first dirt track race held in NASCAR since 1970. Contested over 150 laps, the race was the tenth of the 2013 season. Ken Schrader of self-owned Ken Schrader Racing won the pole position, becoming the oldest pole sitter in NASCAR history at 58 years. Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing won the race. Kyle Larson finished second and Ryan Newman finished third.

The qualifying procedure was unique for the race, as drivers had to run heat races to make the main event, while the top five of a last chance qualifier advance to the feature. Schrader, Jared Landers, Timothy Peters, Kenny Wallace and Jeb Burton won the heat races, while Brennan Newberry won the LCQ.

In the feature, Larson took the lead from Timothy Peters on lap 39, and later battled with Austin Dillon for the win, and Dillon eventually claimed the victory after holding the lead on the green–white–checker finish.

Background

The last previous race run on dirt in a NASCAR national touring series occurred on September 30, 1970 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh in a Grand National race, which was won by Richard Petty. In the season, only three dirt races were held including North Carolina, the other two being run at Columbia Speedway, and the victories were split by Petty and Bobby Isaac.^[3] Afterwards, NASCAR sanctioned the Busch All-Star Tour, a dirt late model series, which lasted from 1985 to 2002.^[4]

Eldora Speedway is one of 14 intermediate tracks on the Truck Series schedule, the others being Charlotte, Chicagoland, Dover, Homestead-Miami, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Michigan, Phoenix, Pocono, Rockingham and Texas.^[5] The track is a 0.5 mile (0.80 km) oval with turns at a 24 degree banking, while straightaways are 8 degrees. The track's grandstands can fit 17,782 spectators, while the hillside seating can fit an unlimited number.^[6]

On November 28, 2012, NASCAR announced that Eldora Speedway will be on the schedule as the first of two Wednesday Truck races, along with the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway for 2013.^[7] Although the track doesn't have any SAFER barriers, Tom Gideon, NASCAR Director of Safety, stated that the track meets NASCAR regulations.^[8] On October 15, track owner Tony Stewart and Austin Dillon held a private test at the track.^[9][10] By January 29, 2013, the 17,782 grandstand seats had been sold out.^[11]

"We've been looking at getting the trucks back to short tracks – to the roots of racing including the dirt – and we’re excited to announce our 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will race at Eldora Speedway in July. The door-to-door racing that our truck series is known for plus Eldora's popularity and Tony's dedication to putting on great shows for the fans is a perfect fit. We'll have a maximum starting field of 30 trucks at Eldora. More details on the race format are still being developed."

—Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations^[7]

Various non-Truck regulars entered the race, such as dirt track ringers Scott Bloomquist, Tracy Hines, Jared Landers, J. R. Heffner, Jeff Babcock and Joe Cobb (father of Jennifer Jo Cobb).^[12] Cup Series drivers Dave Blaney, Ken Schrader, and Ryan Newman, along with Nationwide Series drivers Austin Dillon, Kenny Wallace and Kyle Larson also ran in the event.^[13] Babcock, Dave Blaney, Bloomquist, Hines, Schrader and Wallace have all won races at Eldora in various disciplines.^[14] Jason Bowles and Chris Jones also entered the race, but Jones eventually withdrew.^[15]

In preparation for the race, tire provider Goodyear created new tires based on a previous dirt tire that the company made. To give the trucks more grip, the tires were widened by one inch to eleven. The bias-ply tires (instead of radial tires)^[15] also had treads to remove dirt quicker, along with being softer. The left-side tires were also three inches shorter than the right to assist in handling.^[16] Meanwhile, the trucks had mesh shields and hood deflector screens attached to prevent debris from the dirt from damaging the vehicles.^[17] The trucks also had splitters removed and the grille closed, while the rear spoilers were raised.^[18]

Entering the race, Matt Crafton led the points standings with 357 points, followed by Jeb Burton and James Buescher, both with 319 and 317 points, respectively. Ty Dillon and Johnny Sauter finished the top five with 309 and 305 points, respectively. Ryan Blaney had 290 points, and behind him were Miguel Paludo (285), Timothy Peters (281), Brendan Gaughan (280) and Darrell Wallace, Jr. (272).^[19]

Qualifying

The field for the main event consisted only of 30 trucks instead of the usual 36. To determine the field, two-lap qualifying runs are held, which determine the starting grids for five heat races of eight laps each. The top five fastest qualifiers will start on the pole for the heats, and the highest non-locked-in truck will transfer in until there are 25 trucks in the field. For drivers that did not qualify via the heats, the top four in a last-chance qualifier advance, while the final spot is reserved for the most recent series champion, and if that spot is vacant, the fifth-place finisher in the LCQ will qualify for the main event.^[20]

Two-hour practice sessions were held on July 23 from 4:30 to 6:30 P.M. EST, followed by another from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M, the latter being televised on Speed. Another practice was held the following day from 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M., while qualifying was held at 5:05.^[15] Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a speed of 91.626 mph (147.458 km/h), while Austin Dillon was the fastest on the final day at 83.164 mph (133.839 km/h).^[21] The heat races began at 7:00 P.M., with each heat race occurring after 15 minutes of the previous heat's start. The last chance qualifier was held at 8:45 P.M.^[22]

In qualifying, Ken Schrader won the pole with a lap time of 19.709 seconds^[15] and a speed of 91.329 mph (146.980 km/h) to become the oldest pole-sitter in NASCAR history at 58 years of age, passing Dick Trickle, who won the pole at Dover International Speedway in a Busch Series event in 1999.^[23] Schrader eventually won his heat race after leading all 8 laps.^[24] In Heat 2, the first caution flag of the day was flown for Darrell Wallace, Jr.'s spin with three laps remaining, and Jared Landers prevented a comeback by Matt Crafton to win. The next heat was dominated by Timothy Peters, who led all eight laps; Heats 4 and 5 were won by Kenny Wallace and Jeb Burton, respectively.^[25] In the last chance qualifier, Brennan Newberry, Jeff Babcock, Jason Bowles and Justin Jennings were the top four in the race, while Norm Benning clinched the final transfer spot after holding off Clay Greenfield, who nearly wrecked him three times.^[24] As a result, Greenfield, Jimmy Weller, Bryan Silas, Joe Cobb and J. R. Heffner did not qualify for the event.^[26] When asked about the duel with Greenfield, Benning stated that Tony Stewart told him that he "singlehandedly made the show a success".^[27]

Qualifying race results

Heat races

Heat Race #1

Heat Race #2

Heat Race #3

Heat Race #4

Heat Race #5

Last Chance Qualifier

Race

The race started at 9:35 P.M. EST and televised live on Speed, while being broadcast on radio by Motor Racing Network.^[21] 1.4 million people viewed the race on television, the tenth-most viewed Truck race in series history, and the highest viewed event of the day; the race also had a Nielsen rating of 1.20.^[2] The weather for the race was mostly clear with a temperature of 68 °F (20 °C).^[35] A local high school band performed the national anthem.^[36] The parade lap featured a four-wide salute by the trucks to the fans.^[37]

The race was split into three segments of 60, 50 and 40 laps, while teams can make pit stops and adjustments between each segment.^[20] In segment 1, Timothy Peters took the lead from pole-sitter Ken Schrader on lap 15, and led for 23 laps until Kyle Larson took the lead on lap 39, who led for the remainder of the segment. In the final five laps of the segment, the first caution of the race flew for debris, and the beneficiary was Max Gresham.^[38] In the second segment, Larson continued to lead for a total of 50 laps until Austin Dillon passed him on lap 89.^[39] One lap later, another caution was flown for debris, and Gresham was again the beneficiary.^[38] On lap 116, Jared Landers' truck became loose in turn 2, and collected Ty Dillon and made contact with Johnny Sauter.^[40] Germán Quiroga was the beneficiary on the resulting caution.^[38] Larson and Dillon dueled for the remainder of the race, with Dillon allowing Larson to pass on lap 122, but Dillon managed to get past Larson on the following lap. Two more cautions for debris (first on the frontstretch, the second in turn 4) were eventually flown,^[38] and a green–white–checker finish was initiated due to debris in turn 4 on lap 149, and Dillon retained the lead to win, beating Larson by 1.197 seconds.^[41][42] Behind Dillon and Larson, Ryan Newman finished third, followed by Joey Coulter, Brendan Gaughan, Timothy Peters, Darrell Wallace, Jr., Matt Crafton, Dave Blaney and Max Gresham.^[38]

In August, Dillon's truck, his winner's trophy and a jar of dirt he shoveled was placed on display in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.^[43]

Results

Standings after the race

After the race, Matt Crafton remained in the points lead with 393.

Source:^[38]

References