The Hut One Hundred

Cuzzin Ricky and I went to Terrible Haute for the Hut One Hundred midget race this past weekend. It was the first time in quite a few years and there have been some changes but the racing was as good as ever. It used to be we went to the Hoosier in Indy at the fairgrounds on Saturday and then the Hut in Terre Haute on Sunday. This year in addition to the USAC midgets on Sat., they also ran a modified show.

First of all, we had one heck of a time figuring out how to get a couple of tickets and pit passes reserved. Fortunately, my people were able to stay on it and get things squared away. When we got there to pick up the tickets the ticket office wasn't open yet, so we had to waste a little time talking to other race fans doing the same thing. No big deal, we had no place else to go and plenty of time to do it. Plus, it was a beautiful day for a little bench racing. After getting our tickets we wandered the pits and checked out the midgets, the modifieds and some of the drivers. We met a real nice young man, Justin Grosz. The kids a junior in high school and moving up from karts to midgets. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of telling him I'll be rooting for him. It's always the kiss of death when I pick someone to root for. The poor kid couldn't get the car to light off even though he got pushed all the way around the track twice for hot laps, once for time trials and once more trying to make the main. I'm always ragging on these young guys about doing something with themselves and this kid is, even if he didn't make the show.

I also ran into a former student at the races. He just graduated this past year and he's all about race cars. A real nice young man who is already working in a good construction job. He was there to cheer on another local kid who was running in the modified show. He said there were several more of my former students there as well, all rooting for their buddy. Just an entry in the small world department and a shameless plug for the tech students.

We also saw Pancho Carter, one great racer from the past. I think he's a team owner now. He should know something about midget racing. He was a USAC midget champ and he won the Hut One Hundred twice. He also had a long career in the champ cars. You can always tell a former Indy car driver by the way they limp.

The actual racing got under way a little after seven and the modifieds couldn't make more than about three or four laps without bringing out the yellow. By the time they got finished with the heat races and the main, it was about ten. The midget show started about 10:30 and, of course, had a red flag about the time they got into the second corner. They got everyone pushed off again and just about the time they took the green, Shane Cottle, who was involved in the red flag accident, took his place at the back of the pack. When the green flag dropped, it was Katie bar the door.

Midgets on a half mile dirt track are always worth the price of admission but this was one tremendous race. Cottle moved up through the pack like a man possessed. He had a couple of yellows work in his favor and was leading the race by a half lap when they red flagged it for a fuel stop. The midgets aren't really setup for running fifty miles at a time so everyone topped of their tanks and it was a twenty five lap shoot out to the finish. He wasn't near as dominate after the stop and slid as far back as fourth at one time but did finish the race in second place.

Things finished up at just about midnight, which is about the latest I've ever been out at a race track, with the exception of the old days at Broadway Speedway in Crown Point. They used to run damn near 'til the sun came up. Even though it was a late finish, it was well worth it. Midgets on the dirt - you just can't beat it.