Heats vs time trials  

When I moved to the south I too was disappointed to see no heat races but with a field of 15 cars, heats are a waste of wear and tear on the cars and I don't want to sit and watch 6 cars run a heat. Now some tracks do hot lap/qualifying to help speed up the show (when you run 7, 8, or 9 divisions you have to keep things moving.)

I don't remember a lot of lapping during a 30-lap feature at Flemington and East Windsor with the front runners in the rear. So now in my mind, I tell myself it is like watching two races. In race number one the front cars take off. Once they reach the back of the field, race number two starts as they try to get through lapped traffic. If the race stays caution free the leaders end up passing as many cars as if they had started last. 

I've seen some great late-model races recently where the leader took off but once he got to lapped traffic he stalled out, couldn't pass the slower cars, and lost the lead.  (Kyle Larson is king of passing lapped cars).

- David