WEDNESDAY Night Febuary 6 2008 East Bay Winternationals

Speedy Dohm shakes off elbow injury

When Tim Dohm first realized his right elbow was bleeding Tuesday night, he feared that his broken driveshaft had come up through the car and struck his arm. Soon enough, though, the Cross Lanes, W.Va., driver realized the driveshaft didn't puncture the car's interior and he must've simply banged his elbow during his race-ending crash with Donnie Moran on the front
stretch at East Bay Raceway Park.

Dohm was more upset that the broken driveshaft robbed him of a golden chance to catch leader Don O'Neal in Tuesday's 30-lap feature at the third-mile oval where Dohm won last year. "I was so mad I couldn't feel anything anyway," the 47-year-old Dohm said.

Despite bandages on the elbow, Dohm's still bleeding the afternoon before the third round of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Dart Winternationals event. "Every time I move it keeps popping back open."

But an injury that might've taken a couple of stitches isn't going to keep Dohm from racing on the one-year anniversary of his 2007 victory at East Bay. "They said, 'Will it be too sore?' I said no, I'm going to be ready." Besides, he broke the elbow more than 20 years ago during his motorcycle racing career.

Dohm is traditionally fast at East Bay, and he's been right in the groove this year. He was the fastest overall qualifier in Monday's action and was stalking O'Neal on the 18th lap of the feature when his lost his driveshaft. "I was waiting for him to mess up or for us to catch some traffic," Dohm said.

Newcomers join Wednesday's action

Four-time UMP weekly champion Rodney Melvin of Logan, Ill., is among several newcoming drivers for Wednesday's Dart Winternationals action at East Bay. Melvin will pilot a No. 27 team car to Marion, Ill., driver Lee Thomason, who's also slated to be in action.

Other drivers expected to make their first 2008 starts at East Bay: Darren Miller of Chadwick, Ill.; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.; Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio; Chris Hackett of Erie, Pa.; Kurt Owens of Newport, Tenn. (the older brother of Jimmy Owens, driving the Warrior Race Cars house car); and three-time Lucas Oil Series champion Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla.

Long time away from home

Several teams traveled to East Bay after competing in an 11-day event at Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, Ga., meaning they're on their third week of action. Some have another week to go at Volusia Speedway Park near Daytona.

"This is too much," said Jeff Gullett, crew chief for Campbellsville, Ky., driver Justin Rattliff, who has a pair of top-five finishes at East Bay. The triop has been even longer and more exhausting for Rattliff's team, most of whom are good friends with another Kentucky driver, Michael England, whose father died of an apparent heart attack on Sunday night. The emotional roller coaster of racing and mourning has been difficult.

"It's been hard, I tell you," Gullett said. "Monday I didn't feel like doing nothing. I don't handle death well."

The younger England called Gullett and asked him to be a pallbearer at Friday's funeral, but Gullett doesn't have a way back to Kentucky. "I feel guilty about not going," the crew chief said. "If it wasn't for the Lucas Oil (series) points, we'd probably have gone on home."

On Wednesday afternoon, Gullett sat quietly on the back of Rattliff's hauler, quietly talking about his friend.

Gullett met David England, who was 48, four years ago, and the two became close friends who talked everyday about racing or anything else, "more than I talk to some of my family."

Gullett laughed when remember that England reufsed to call Gullett by by his first or last name. Instead, England tabbed him "Gullup." England's specialty at the track was doing the cooking for his son's and other teams, like the ribeye sandwich he brought to Gullett last week at Golden Isles. "He was always bringing something," Gullett said.

Barber's vision quest

Bryan Barber of Buffalo, Ky., qualified for his first-ever feature at East Bay on Tuesday night, but his chances at a good run quickly went awry. When Barber reached up to his helmet to pull off his first plastic tear-off, he accidentally grabbed all seven of the helmet shields.

"When I went to tear the next one off, there was nothing there," said the 29-year-old driver, who drives the No 10 for Scott Clippinger Racing. "From about lap three, I was guessing where I was going."

Barber ended up 23rd in the 25-car feature, but he's still getting comfortable at a track where drivers hang out the rear end of the car going through the turns. He's more accustomed to tracks where drivers keep the cars as straight as possible in maneuvering the corners.

"Here, you better not stay straight," said Barber, who made his first career start at East Bay on Monday night. "It's not really my cup of tea, but I'm getting adjusted to it."

Odds and ends

Highland, Ill., driver Randy Korte, who sprained his back in a wreck in Monday's feature, will continue to sit out Wednesday, car owner Gary Gerstner said. Korte was treated by a chiropractor earlier Wednesday. ...

Kentucky driver D.J. Wells, who broke motors in Sunday's practice as well as Monday's action, got a motor from Steve Francis and plans to compete Wednesday.

Miller atop point standings

Tuesday night winner Matt Miller of Whitehouse, Ohio, leads the Dart Winternationals point standings at East Bay. The miniseries carries $30,000 in cash and awards with $7,500 and a C.J. Rayburn Race Car going to the overall champion.
Miller has 605 points to lead Don O'Neal (565), Steve Francis (540) and Justin Rattliff (535). The points are tabulated from the six nights of racing at East Bay, along with carryover points from Golden Isles Speedway's Super Bowl of Racing IV (the final standings from Golden Isles, won by Jimmy Owens, count as an additional race in the Winternationals points).
Each of the top 10 drivers competed at Golden Isles. Through Tuesday, 127 drivers total competed at both tracks.

Dart Winternationals point standings

(Through Feb. 5)
Driver - points
1. Matt Miller - 605
2. Don O'Neal - 565
3. Steve Francis - 540
4. Justin Rattliff - 535
5. Tim McCreadie - 515
6. Dennis Erb Jr. - 505
7. Shannon Babb - 500
8. Donnie Moran - 495
9. Billy Moyer - 440
10. Josh Richards - 435