Mack at the Track: Season 2, Race 2 9/21/24

by Mack Speed

We had a great night at The Track Saturday night, and we had a big raucous crowd. I think it might’ve been the biggest crowd we’ve ever had. I noticed car tags from Warren, Attala, George counties and more, so there were some people that drove quite a ways to watch the SRVMRL.

We only had a couple small parking issues, and I think it was some out-of-towners that’ve never been to The Track. So, my parking guys are getting better, and all those Powerpoint presentations are paying off. Also, some people that didn’t make it to the first race of the season a couple weeks ago were very complimentary of the new bathrooms.

We had a ton of fans tailgating outside The Track. I noticed that most people are tailgating in groups according to their college football teams. So, we had the Ole Miss crew with their fancy chandelier and their catered food. Of course, they were dressed to the nine. Then, we had a lot of MSU fans tailgating together, but they all seemed to be a little down. Maybe it has something to do with their football team this year. You’d hear the occasional cowbell ringing, and then you’d hear a Hotty Toddy chant break out afterwards. We also had a gathering of USM fans. One group that really surprised me was some LSU fans; I guess most of them drove up from South MS. They were a small rowdy bunch. We even had one LSU fan dress up like Coach O, and he kept yelling “Geaux Tigahs.”

Rusty Moore and his sportsbook was popping! The sportsbook is setup in an old deer hunting shooting house. We just cut off the 4x4s on the corners so it rests on the ground. Maybe we’ll be able to get a little nicer one in the future. But, Rusty had his hands full, and that dude was busy. I’ve had multiple people complaining about his money lines; I’m sure he’ll get better with time. I think we’re going to have to ban racers and their family members from betting on the races. I think we might have some questionable wagers on the race Saturday night, and I have reason to believe one was the family member of a racer. I’ll conduct an investigation to find out.

The races were great this week. My boy, Dale Earnhardt Speed, won yet again. But, he did have some competition in this race. Juan Pablo Logano pushed him pretty hard and finished a close 2nd. Ricky Harvick was pushing Juan and Dale pretty hard until he had an engine issue. I’m hoping these boys will continue to push Dale, because it’s been a breeze for him since day one.

Now, to the main race. We had some controversy this week. Tony Johnson ended up winning the race; he stayed clean and ran a good hard race. But, Jimmie Stewart and Jeff Petty were going at it big time. Jimmie started bumping him on lap 1, and he really didn’t let up all night. It was almost like Jimmie didn’t care about winning the race; it looked like he just didn’t want Jeff to win. I guess Jimmie was trying to send a message that he didn’t like an upstart like Jeff winning the previous race. Luckily, Stewart and Petty didn’t get into a physical altercation after the race, but they did have words that couldn’t be used in Sunday school.

Also, Jimmie Stewart’s brother placed a big bet on Tony Johnson. That seems fishy, so we’re going to look into that. We’re probably going to have to ban racers and their family members placing bets on the races.

I appreciate everyone coming out to The Valley Motor Speedway Saturday night! We’ll see you again on Oct. 5th. Let’s have the biggest crowd yet.