8/7/2020
Eric Blumer
Blumer Scores At WLRDS Gravity Park Go
A couple of weeks ago we talked about how nice it would be to see Eric get a simple win. One where we could just write, “Eric went fast, turned left and won the race!” Well, that was Chilton Friday night. Of course, now that we could allow ourselves the luxury of a short report, you know we won’t leave it there…
There wasn’t a dry eye to be had when the vehicle pulled into the EBR pit Friday night at Gravity Park Speedway in Chilton, WI. It was a long week already, this being the third race in seven days and all. The normal team of Eric, Justin Hoium, Greg Leatherberry, Cody Weisensel and even our secret weapon, BDG spent many hours wrenching on the 6E.
As it was a work day for most, the Chilton go would offer some challenges. Justin was slated to work too late to make the race and was turning the reigns of the operation over to his longtime friend and first mate, Greg.
The Blumer family was milling around, having already unloaded the car, when it happened. Just like Santa Clause in his big, red sleigh, bringing a puppy to a lonely boy, Greg pulled his crimson colored Ford F350 onto the grounds with Justin riding shotgun. Taking nothing away from Greg’s abilities, considering the last time at Chilton, he led the team to a runner up finish, Eric lit up like the aforementioned kid on Christmas day.
Covid be damned, Eric ran to Justin and gave him a hug as if his number-one wrench was a new pet with a bow. Mary Jo, Stephanie, Bill and Greg were all overcome with emotion at the site.
“Enough of that,” Justin said in his normal gruff voice, looking a little misty himself, “It’s time to get to work.” And work the team did.
One of the biggest moves of the day started without an engine being cranked or a wrench being turned. Wisconsin Legends Dirt Racing Series principal, Dave Eberle, called Eric over from the neighboring pit stall. He wanted Eric to draw for him, so there could be no cries of foul play. Eric drew a couple of numbers in the twenties for the driver who edge him out the last time the group raced at GPS. Knowing he was a poor pill picker, Eric called his sister Stephanie over to draw his pills. The 20 (something) that she drew first, would be a mystery until all pills were drawn. The number two she got for the A-Main, meant a coveted front-row starting position. As it turned out, the number one was never grabbed and Eric would start on the pole if he ran in the top three in his heat.
The heat was uneventful for EBR and Eric ran second and retained his desired starting spot. We were excited to learn that Faith Zellmer who we often pit next to, won her first Legend heat. “I haven’t seen her smile like that since I offered her a chocolate chip cookie a couple of weeks ago,” Bill noted. Her dad, Tim Zellmer would have lost all the buttons on his shirt had he been wearing a button-down. Meanwhile, their seasoned crew chief, Wayne Hutchinson’s trademark subtle grin even went up a degree or two.
The EBR crew watched the track and it ended up being just like the previous romp there, where Eric held off the field for about 18 of the 20 laps before lapped traffic held him up and Eberle took the checkers. The team knew they had a shot at the win.
Eberle approached Eric and gave him some words of wisdom before they buckled up.
Once in staging, Justin and Greg checked the track while Eric sat strapped in the car. Waiting, Eric’s thoughts turned to something his dad has said earlier in the night, “I’m feeling lucky,” Bill declared. “I bought six 50/50 tickets and that bucket is full. I think I’m going to win it. I gave my ticket to Faith (Eric’s girlfriend who happens to be from Chilton and was in the stands with her family) so she can claim my prize. I told her, to be clear, I get the money,” the elder Blumer finished.
These words ran through Eric’s mind leading him to the notion, “I’d rather win this race than have Dad win the raffle.” Truth be told, Dad would too.
Soon thereafter, Eric’s concentration was broken as Justin came back and knelt by one of the front wheels on the 6E. “What are you doing!?” Eric yelled. Now, there are several different kinds of yelling. For instance, you can yell for volume sake, which is a must when you have a racing helmet on. Or, you can holler because you are irked. Eric’s tone was a bit of the former and a lot of the latter.
Justin, at best, pretended not to hear his driver and just went about his business, now moving to the other front tire.
“Oh, never mind! I don’t even want to know!” Eric shouted in an exasperated voice, apparently to nobody in particular, as Justin again did not engage.
The green finally dropped and Eric jumped to the lead, ahead of 23 other Legends cars. After the first few circuits he was able to gain a pretty good advantage, probably four lengths. But, then the yellow came out. After that, he had Tristan Furseth on his tail for about the next three-quarters of the 20 lap race. The rest of the field was pretty much bumper to bumper on the same low groove too. Ethan Ross tried the high side from his third place running spot and got even with Eric a couple of times, but couldn’t complete the pass.
Furseth could just get a bumper under Eric, in the first turn, but had to back off, knowing Eric would close the door and if Furseth pushed the issue, both of their cars and a lot of the field could be taken out.
Eric survived roughly seven restarts. He has had several great runs this season that he could not be completed due to cautions that bunched the field, but finally one was to his advantage.
Just past the half-way point, Paul Markhardt spun, but kept the car running and avoided causing a caution. As the laps wound down, Eric was reeling in Markhardt. Markhardt was running his line, as one should when the leaders are coming upon them for a lapping. But, that line was the favored line that Eric and most of the field was on. Eric was calculating what he might do. The crew was having flashbacks to the last go at Chilton.
But, another caution came out, allowing Markhardt to tag the back of the field. Eric continued to lead, surviving two green, white, checker situations for the win.
Eric ran the right race and thanks to the hard work of the crew during the week and their set up of the 6E, they were rewarded with a nice GPS trophy.
Ross finished second and Ryan Sullivan who also tried the high side some, finished third. Furseth suffered bumper damage and had to bring his car in for inspection and finished 18th.
The team will be back in action at Beaver Dam Raceway on August 15 for a “5 Division Night,” of dirt track racing excitement!
(Editor’s note: This is one of our famed “Mostly true,” stories. It’s actually all true, but for a bit of slight exaggeration in the description of Justin’s unexpected arrival. And if you read this far, you should know, Bill didn’t win the 50/50.)
(Photo credit, Diane Mech Photography)
Article Credit: Bill Blumer Jr.
Submitted By: William Blumer
