To err is human, as promoter Wayne Tidwell experienced first-hand this past Saturday at Diamond Park Speedway in Nashville, Arkansas. While mistakes happen, how one responds to the mistakes provides an indication of who they are.
John Middleton had just won his first-ever feature at the track. It was a big one, a $1,000-to-win Arkansas factory stock/pure stock/IMCA-like stock car special. However, he did not pass tech. The track eventually awarded Justin Kilcrease the victory.
“Middleton was respectful [and] accepted my call,” Tidwell, of Centerville, Arkansas, said. “Kilcrease said he hated to be awarded the win this way.”
Tidwell kept running the disqualification through his head.
“Middleton had failed the deck height rule by 3/4″,” said Tidwell. “I went down [to tech] to verify the disqualification. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized Middleton was not sitting in the car, which would have brought the deck height down to where it was legal.”
The next morning, Tidwell looked to see if they had made a mistake.
“I drove an hour and a half to Middleton’s home to remeasure the deck height,” Tidwell said. “He was legal. I screwed up. So, I paid both drivers [Middleton and Kilcrease] equally, but Middleton got the points for the win.”
Both drivers accepted the reinstatement of Middleton’s win, according to Tidwell.
The uncertainty surrounding the factory stock race didn’t end there.
Taylor Carver thought he won the race over Middleton and Kilcrease.
“The nose of Middleton’s car was a half fender ahead of Carver’s at the finish.” Tidwell said. “The Arkansas factory stocks have the transponders near the left-front A-frame. The IMCA stock cars have the transponder near the axle on the right rear. The loop saw Carver cross the line first.”
The track declared Carver second. Tidwell said Carver rushed to the pit shack to take his second-place money and went home.
“[Carver] drove off without taking his car to post-race inspection, so he was disqualified,” said Tidwell. “Kilcrease was declared winner, so I paid the next car $400 for second. I decided not to chase anyone for the money after the finish was clarified. Once the money is in a driver’s hands, it’s theirs.”
The October 1 program cost the Wayne Tidwell $1,400 in additional purse. He has owned and promoted tracks for 35 years. In addition to Diamond Park Speedway, he also runs Centerville Super Speedway in Arkansas. Tidwell knows he’ll have nights like this once in a while. However, his quest to right mistakes show why he’s stayed in business for more than three decades.
The next race he starts anew. This Saturday at Diamond Park Speedway they’ll hold a $1,094-to-win IMCA mod lite race called the RCM 94: Caleb McCollett Memorial. It’ll raise funds for three-year-old Penelope Kate McCollett, who lost both her parents, Caleb and Andrea, in a motor vehicle accident nearly a year ago from the race date.
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Corrected that Tyler Carver’s nose crossed the finish line first (2022-10-06).
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
