SALEM, Ind. – Story by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman – Chris Seelman photo –
It’s been a long time off for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
After a nearly-three month wait period, the stars and cars of MSR return to the track on Saturday for the 56th annual Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial at the legendary 5/9-mile Salem Speedway.
Begun in 1953 to honor the memories of now-National Sprint Car Hall of Famers Joe James and Pat O’Connor and sanctioned by MSR since 2010, the James/O’Connor Memorial remains one of the longest-running memorial races in America and is one of the most prestigious asphalt sprint car races of the year for a driver to win. To ink your name as a winner of the 30-lap classic means joining a list of legends that has defined the sport of sprint car racing all across America.
Names that have tasted victory in the crown jewel event include inaugural winner Larry Crockett; four-time winner Pancho Carter; O’Connor, who was a two-time winner himself before his untimely death during the 1958 Indianapolis 500; fellow two-time winners Eddie Sachs, Parnelli Jones, Rollie Beale and legendary IndyCar stars A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti; the late Rich Vogler; USAC stars Dave Darland, Bryan Clauson and Tracy Hines; three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart; former Indianapolis 500 polesitter Ed Carpenter; and most recently, Must See Racing Sprint Car Series champions JoJo Helberg (2011) and Brian Gerster, who won the event last year en route to his second-consecutive series crown.
The James/O’Connor event is also the first in a stretch of three straight Must See Racing sprint car events, with races at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway on Aug. 15 and Berlin (Mich.) Raceway on Aug. 22 on tap following the Salem stop.
For the field, Saturday is a chance at making a historical mark in their careers but for two drivers, Saturday is another step closer to a potential series championship after rain and outside factors have thwarted MSR’s attempts to race since May 20 at Anderson.
While two-time Little 500 champion and current series points leader Jacob Wilson comes into the event looking for his first series win of the season, his consistency has kept him ahead of title rival Jimmy McCune by 21 points. The Crawfordsville, Ind. native relishes any chance to compete in his home state, but knows that the James/O’Connor Memorial means far more – and is far tougher – than a regular series race.
“It’s definitely a special one if you can win it, for sure,” Wilson said of the annual Salem classic. “Salem’s a tough little joint to master. It’s bad fast and it can jump up and bite you if you’re not careful. Even though the race is only 30 laps, it feels a lot longer than that – so you’ve got to stay in the game the entire time if you want to be in contention at the end.”
For Toledo, Ohio’s McCune, the quest to catch Wilson and bank his first MSR title is one that the series veteran is putting his all into. McCune finished a career-best second to Gerster in the championship standings last season, but has never captured the top step of the points podium in his Must See career. Coming off the series’ most recent race at Anderson as a winner has McCune confident he can get on a hot streak in the latter stages of the season.
“This title fight isn’t over, by any stretch,” McCune said. “I’m not ready to give in and neither is this team. We’re confident we can go in and win at least one of these next three races and put ourselves in position to chalenge the 07 (of Wilson).”
“Salem would be a big one for me – we won at Rockford last year but we just can’t seem to quite make it happen here. I’m not sure what it is, but I know we’ll put everything we’ve got into making this car go fast on Saturday and then see what happens.”
Cody Gallogly, Aaron Pierce and Hickory winner Jeff Bloom round out the current top five in points, however none of the three are expected to be in attendence this weekend.
Pit gates at Salem open at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, with grandstands opening at 3 p.m. Hot laps kick off at 3:30, with qualifying to follow at 5:45. Racing action begins at 7 p.m.
For more information on the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series, visit www.mustseeracing.com.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s. He is studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the United Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
