Sportsman Race at Wall Stadium a Horrible Event with a Shining Moment

  I have to admit I have not gotten to Wall Stadium as much as I would of hoped in 2011, however, on the few nights I have been able to attend the Sportsman division provided some of the best racing on those nights. So when a crewman on a street stock team, that I have known for many years, said to me prior to the scheduled 50-lap feature, " Here comes the wreckfest", I was surprised.
  When he inquired of me," How many laps are they going tonight?"
  And I responded with "50"
  He immediately responded with, "We'll be here all night"
  While he wasn't far off on his last comment, even he did not expect the carnage that ensued from the time the Sportsman field took the green. He may have been correct in his all night comment, as well, if track officials hadn't decided to eventually reduce the 50-lap distance to 25 laps.
  Shawna Ingraham, who has improved dramatically since opening night, started on the pole, which turned out to be the safest spot on the track. By lap nine she had already faced more restarts while leading a feature than most drivers in the division had all year.
  The early laps of the feature, in no particular order, saw a car which was forced to the infield on the front straight never lift as it tried to rejoin the field in turn one, resulting in the bodyslamming of another competitor, During the resulting yellow, the damaged car chased the offender down, ran into him, and caused even more damage to his own machine.
  Another on-track incident saw a wrecked competitor throw a safety cone at a fellow driver, which resulted in his escort by security back to his trailer.
  The breaking point for track officials, however, came when a car crashed hard head-on into the frontstretch guardrail, with a majority of the remaining cars piling in, resulting in a red flag.
  An announcement was made that the feature would be reduced to 30 laps, and then eventually to only 25 laps.
  When the checkered flag finally fell, it was Shawna Ingraham, the teenage schoolgirl driving for the legendary Barney Racing team in the red number 14, who crossed the line first. It was not only her first career victory, but the first open-wheel division win ever for a female at this historic track. A truly shining moment in an otherwise terrible race caused by inexperienced drivers, racing on skinny tires, on a cold track.
  Ironically, perhaps the most inexperienced driver, on one of the season's most difficult nights, managed to pick up her first win.
  Congrats Shawna, and the entire Barney Racing team. Obviously, not only do nice guys not finish last, but they can also help a nice girl finish first as well.