After his crash involving head trauma in April of 2007 at Selinsgrove Speedway, 358 sprint driver Steve Cannon, of Tewksbury Township, N.J., got his first career sprint win Saturday at Selinsgrove.
But the 27-year-old Cannon said Sunday that the effects of the crash made him doubt himself and his prospects for being successful at the game.
"After laying on the couch for four months, I got to thinking about a lot of different things and once we got back in it, it seemed like it was taking a little longer to get comfortable in the car," Cannon said of his return to racing post-injury this year.
"Last year we had decent runs right out of the box, and this year it seemed like it was more me, trying to get comfortable. You always have in the back of your mind, you wonder, Is it ever going to happen?'"
But it did happen Saturday, and Cannon said the win was just what the doctor ordered for his complete recovery.
"I felt like we could have a good run if we got some breaks. But after the wreck, you struggle and you're always doubting yourself and you need something to pick you back up," he said. "Especially when you're not doing so well, and there were times this year when I knew the car was a lot better than I was and we could have had a decent run if I'd been myself. This year I've been harder on myself than I have been in the past."
Steve says his brother, Pat, the current track points leader and three-time winner in '08, has really been trying to help him overcome the setbacks caused by the accident, along with his parents, who own his car.
"They were trying to help me. On the track you can't see your strong points and weak points, and they've been trying to help me improve," he said. "My brother's been a real big help this year, giving me pointers because obviously he has things figured out. It's nice to be able to give something back to my parents after as much as they've put into it."
So, what's next?
"The party's over, now it's time to wash the thing," Cannon quipped. "We'll just see if we can get some more decent runs, and that will be good for me."
CROOP BACK ON TOP: After declaring Bobby Croop the winner of the washed-out, shortened late model main on June 28, then taking the win away, Selinsgrove has given the win back to Croop.
A statement Thursday said, "A review of the events leading up to the decision to strip the win from Croop due to a restarting position error prompted the reversal. Prior to the race's restart, Croop was not identified as being involved in a crash when two-way radio communications between officials in the tower and the second turn failed. Officials inadvertently placed Croop in his original starting position when he should have been restarted at the rear. A post-race decision was made to award the win to Jeff Rine. That decision has been reversed and Rine will be credited with finishing second."
USAC IS BACK: USAC announced Friday that it will be returning to Central Pa. for the third year in a row in 2009. No word on what tracks will be involved aside from Grandview, but the statement praised promoters from Williams Grove, Big Diamond and Hagerstown for their commitment in 2008.
ESS COMPETES: The Empire Super Sprints will make their only Pa. appearance of the season this Friday at Clinton County Speedway to challenge area 358 sprints. ESS has 63 drivers on its roster, with Canadian Steve Poirier leading the series points over Lance Yonge. The main will pay $2,000 to win.
SPEEDWEEK RESULTS: The 18th annual Pa. Speedweek series was to wrap up last night at Selinsgrove Speedway. Doug Esh won the series opener last Saturday at Lincoln Speedway before Fred Rahmer won Tuesday at Grandview and Jeff Shepard won at Hagerstown, Md., on Wednesday. Cody Darrah won Saturday at Port Royal. Rain ruined other shows at Bedford, Williams Grove and Port Royal.
OTHER WINNERS: Cory Haas won his first 358 sprint main of the year Saturday at Lincoln. Bob Howard won sprints Friday at Clinton County. Selinsgrove's Late Model Open went to Jeff Rine on Saturday for the third time in his career, while Peanut Heintzelman won his second pro stock main of the year and Keith Bissinger won his seventh and eighth roadrunner mains of 2008.
WRITER SWITCH: Jere Reigle, a sportswriter for The Patriot-News of Harrisburg for 17 years, has taken a full-time position as assistant editor with Area Auto Racing News. Todd Heintzelman will take over Reigle's motorsports chores at The Patriot-News.
n Shawn Brouse writes a weekly motorsports column for The Daily Item. Email comments to sports@dailyitem.com
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Shawn Brouse's View from the Pits column: Cannon gains confidence with Selinsgrove win
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