And... he gets the bird too!

[hook]

See who gets 'the bird'...

THIS *FRIDAY* March 17th at the Land-of-3-Wide, Ark-La-Tex Speedway!!!

[pink floyd]

it's a shame bub McCool won't be there.

[KBM18fan]

And its a shame the race got cut 50 laps and $5000.00 too.....

[hook]

Wasn't aware that Bub wouldn't be there but I've never focused on the who so much as the event itself. We will miss the 2013 champion for sure. He's been a huge part of The Pelican and had a great battle with Ray Moore at a COMP Cams SDS race here before too.

But whatever 30+ cars we get, it'll be an event well worth attending Friday night! *NEVER* been a bad Late Model race at Ark-La-Tex Speedway. Well worth a drive and $20 or $35.

And what's really a shame is...

The horrible weather this show has been getting year after year. The odds have got to turn around eventually.

2011 & 2013 were the only two years the race ran as scheduled on the original dates and pretty sure at least a practice night was rained out one of those years. A good practice night at a show like can bring in the first $3000 of the purse.

2012 ran on a rescheduled weekend. 27 Lates due to conflicts. Other three years? Average 46!

2014 actually became a one-night, 50-lap, $5000-to-win race on Friday night due to an impending rainout on Saturday after a successful practice night on Thursday.

We have the same schedule & purse this week as what we ended up doing in 2014 -- practice Thursday, race Friday -- although it as another reschedule. *sigh*

Lucas is in Ohio Friday then Brownstown Saturday. SAS is in Milton, FL Fri & Sat. So... nothing Late Model-wise Friday night within 9 hours of ALT. No other tracks racing this Friday period this side of Devil's Bowl (ASCS Sprints) some 3 hours away. Different crowd. There will be some other Friday night tracks open in a couple weeks.

Saturday there is a $2500-to-win MSCCS race at Jackson Motor Speedway, 3 and half hours away and a $3000-to-win MARS (West?) race 7 hours away in Springfield, MO (may actually have one or two run Vivian then Springfield). There are of course, other tracks racing locally on Saturday without Late Models but still racing. Friday was the only thing to try.

2015 - SNOWED out back-to-back weekends, original and make-up

2016 - rained out, then flooded out back-to-back weekends. Like roads to the track covered in water.

2017 - already on our make-up date and if we can't get it in this week... ???

I'm sure if we could have gotten 3 or more in as scheduled and at least one of the last two years, we'd still have the 2-day larger purse format and the boss would probably be adding more seats by now. The bleachers we have in turn one now are a direct result of Pelicans and Doug Murphrey Memorials having SRO crowds. 1200 and we'll be SRO again.... A man's gotta know is limitations... A smart one anyway...

$20,000 no entry fee purse for a one-day show ain't bad though -- especially at a track where nearly all the Late Models go back in the hauler like they came out even after racing three-wide all weekend. Just need our luck to change... Good weather & a big crowd Friday would sure help. Not worried one bit about the show they're going to see!

[pink floyd]

And its a shame the race got cut 50 laps and $5000.00 too.....

I agree, but will still be a great show, guaranteed.

[Clayton_Wetter]

I agree, but will still be a great show, guaranteed.

Don't you live in Ohio???? hahahaa

[pink floyd]

Don't you live in Ohio???? hahahaa

close, Kentucky, but go to ark-la-tex every chance I get, and watch all their races on dod. great racing always.

[KBM18fan]

There have been a couple that have been less than stellar. Every track misses it once in a while. Even the good ones. Ark-La-Tex is no different. I'm sure they will have it primed and ready for Friday night. Hopefully it will be a great show.

[hook]

... and 95% of them go back in the hauler looking the same way they came out of the hauler! Practice is just a couple nights away, THIS THURSDAY, 7 to 10pm.

Then on Friday...


photo by Heath Lawson


photo by Best Photography


photo by Heath Lawson

[hook]

Here we are 2 days away from another scheduled Pelican and it's time for the dreaded weather talk...

Short version: Be here Thursday AND FRIDAY nights! There will NOT be enough 'showers' to rain it out this time. You may hear or read some forecasts or comments that make it sound worse than it is but it ain't at all so don't buy what they're selling this time. 99% chance of getting practice in tomorrow and 90% of getting The Pelican IN Friday night as scheduled!

That translates into... YOU GOTTA BE HERE FOR THIS ONE!.

Very slight chances of showers after midnight Thursday and before noon Friday. Total expected is less than a tenth of an inch. Grounds are dusty right now. Track is in great shape and of course watered and will be fine for Thursday's practice.

Friday afternoon will be partly sunny with southerly breezes and high temp of 75! Regardless of what falls in the morning, the water truck will be busy and we'll have another AWESOME TRACK SURFACE for THE PELICAN FRIDAY NIGHT!!!

Next chances of rain sit at 40% and happen well after midnight Friday and really closer to sunrise Saturday than anything else. Even then only 1/4 inch max.

The record here to date has been if we get everybody down here and start a big show, WE FINISH IT. Drivers get paid & the fans see A RACE!

There is no reason weather-wise that I can see today for anyone who would come otherwise to change their mind and not to be here THURSDAY AND FRIDAY!!!

[IZZOJR16]

didnt this race draw 50 plus cars last year?

[hook]

didnt this race draw 50 plus cars last year?

I want to say the LOLMDS race in 2014 had 51. One day, $10G to win.

Last time the weather let a Pelican happen was also 2014 and the count was around 46-47. Around same in 2011 and 2013. Had a reschedule weekend snafu in 2012 that lowered the count that year.

Get this though... at least twice at $2000-to-win COMP Cams SDS Late Model shows, we drew 44!

The track really is that good and that much fun to race on though. By the way...

All systems still *GO* for tonight's practice and tomorrow night's race!

[KBM18fan]

Anyone have any updates? I did see on DoD the car count is way down.

[KBM18fan]

Wow! I just watched a video of the race. Track looked pretty decent. Had a restart with a couple to go. The restart is good. Leader gets passed going into 1 but comes back off 2 and leads thru 3 and 4. He takes the white flag as the 2nd place car get a run on the outside entering turn 1. They are door to door off 2 and the outside car gets the advantage into 3 and appears to be leading off 4 coming to the checkered. But NO, the flagman turns on the caution light. It happens so quick he can't even wave the flag at the leaders. That was 1 of the craziest things I have ever seen. Needless to say, the car that should have won didn't. On the next restart the leader was playing games and caused a pileup. The 1st row of the double file restart cars were better on the starts than the leader was the reason for the games. Because those 2 cars were better, on the last restart, the leader sped up pretty good off 2 and kinda strung them out. Then when he got to turn 3 he jumped the start. They let the d*mn start go and was able to win the race. Absolutely ridicules.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

Fine job by Culp in the race. And fine job in his choice of women. She is very pretty. Of course, he's in one of them crappy XR1's like a sheep, and will get no help with it.(sarcasm)

[Kwd1253]

Another good pelican. Sucks that Tyler ripped off his nose, then that last bottle up restart finished him off. Bj kind screwed garrett jumping the leader. Wish Jesse could had finish the race. Good to see him make the trip down here for the pelican race. Congratulations to timothy on the win