Thursday, April 24, 2008

GEORGIA STOCK CAR RACING.com April 24-May 1

---- Schedule ---- April 24 (Thurs.) Green Valley “Road to ‘Dega” $3000 to win LM show, plus Kenny Wallace running an open-wheel modified. $15/25 per couple. April 25 (Fri.) Sugar Creek Regular program, double pts. night http://sugarcreekracing.com April 25-26 Dixie Monster Truck Natls. 8:00 April 25-26 Talladega Short Track Sprint Cup Weekend Specials, incl. Sat. Southern All Stars $5000 to win www.talladegashorttrack.com April 25 (Fri.) Lavonia Weekly Show www.lavoniaspeedway.com April 25 (Fri.) North Georgia phone 423-400-9956 April 26 Toccoa Regular show www.toccoaspeedway.info April 26 Green Valley no racing April 26 Birmingham Davey Allison Memorial 100, part of the Super Series LM Challenge. April 26 South Georgia “Southern Slam” 100 laps for LMs $2500 to win www.racesgmp.com April 26 Watermelon Capital PASS South Super LM Series April 26 Cochran Reg. Race - First Points Race May 2 (Fri.) Penton Southern Regional Racing Series $3000 to win May 2 (Fri.) Sugar Creek Regular program + USCS winger sprint cars http://sugarcreekracing.com May 2 (Fri.) North Georgia phone 423-400-9956 May 2 (Fri.) Lavonia Weekly Show www.lavoniaspeedway.com May 3 Green Valley Southern Regional Racing Series $5000 to win May 3 Cochran NLMS Race - Double Points in other classes May 3 Toccoa Southeastern Late Model Special $1200 to Win www.toccoaspeedway.info May 3 Dixie Season Opener 7:30 May 3 Golden Isles. Monster Truck Show. www.goldenislesspeedway.com May 3 Talladega Short Track Full race program + United mini-sprints www.talladegashorttrack.com May 3 Peach State GA Asphalt Series May 9 (Fri.) Lavonia Weekly Show www.lavoniaspeedway.com May 9 (Fri.) Sugar Creek Regular program, modified championships http://sugarcreekracing.com May 9 (Fri.) North Georgia phone 423-400-9956 May 10 Gordon Park Speedway Natl. Late Model Series. www.gordonparkspeedway.net ---- TV ---- Mondays (between 3:00 and 7:00) on Versus Network. Hooters Pro Cup. Versus, owned by Comcast, is on the Comcast Cable System in the Atlanta area, although not listed in the AJC TV guide. Wed., May 7, 8 p.m. Sports South ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour “Watermelon 100” from Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele. www.asasoutheast.com June 4 HBO Pay-Per-View $24.95 Prelude to the Dream, from Eldora. ---- ---- ---- ---- 1st Annual "ROAD TO DEGA 50" - NASCAR’S KENNY WALLACE TO RACE IN GREEN VALLEY OPEN WHEEL RACE! Green Valley (near Gadsden, AL) has anounced the 1st ANNUAL "ROAD TO DEGA 50" on Thursday, April 24. They have interest & commitments from drivers such as Nascar's Kenny Wallace, Nascars 93 Grand National champ Steve Grissom along w/his son Kyle. Dale McDowell, Ray Cook, Ronnie Johnson, 2007 GVS champ Robert Gant, Tony Morris, Don Farmer, Virgil Taylor, Daniel Miller, and Tony Knowles, just to name a few. The NASCAR show at Talladega’s big track, and the Southern All Stars at Talladega Short Track on Sat., will attract drivers and fans to Green Valley, as will the $3000 . Support Classes will include Limited late Models, NeSmith late Models, & Open Wheels. Grandstands $15/25 per couple, children 10 & under FREE. Dixie has it’s spring Monster Truck Show Friday and Sat. - usually the biggest crowd of the year. Kids admission is $10. The Albany Motor Speedway wants approval from the Dougherty County Commissioners to run several bigger types of race cars. They're now just licensed for Legends Cars. Neighbors say the noise is already too bad. They presented commissioners with petitions against the track. Commissioners said they will vote on the rezoning at their next meeting on April 30th. (from Albany TV) www.thefuntrack.com The track is operating, and last week the Florida Sprint Car Assn. ran, with Lee Scrape winning and Tommy Deaton second. 15 cars were on hand. This Sat., the pure stock div. will have a $500 to win race, and late models, using NLMS rules, will run, according to posts at www.southernracefans.com Renting the 1/4 mile track at Atlanta Motor Speedway? Cost is $900 for 4 hours. Lights are an additional $200 per hour. 4 cars are allowed on the track at a time for these rentals. Bandoleros cannot be mixed on the track with Legends or Roadsters. New Gordon Park Speedway Sat. has the Regular Weekly Features, Including Crate Late Models, Super Street, Stock V8, 4 Cylinders, and Road Warriors. ---- ---- ---- ---- Welcome Back, Old Friend: New Senoia Raceway By Lee Coleman April 16, 2008 Spring is here and before we know it, school will be out and the summer will begin in earnest. Spring and summer, as we know, present so many opportunities for folks to do so many different things. Baseball is in full swing and the fish are biting down at the “crick.” To many, this time of the year means it is time to go racing. NASCAR style or local short track style. It doesn’t matter which one. Racing is racing, and this is what we do this time of the year. Without having to travel more than an hour or so away to watch racing action, there are two viable alternatives. One option is certainly Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Thursday Night Thunder Series and the Friday Night Drags. The other option is a little ol’ short track known as the New Senoia Raceway. Senoia originally started out as a dirt track years ago when the Pollard family decided to build a race track on their property. Now, the 3/8 mile asphalt oval, nestled in the outskirts of Senoia, in east Coweta County, is known as the “fastest 3/8 mile asphalt oval in the South.” Pretty tall order considering the number of short tracks in the South. Be that as it may, 2008 is a renaissance of sorts for the fabled track. In 2006, track owner Charlie Edwards stepped back in after a five-year lease expired and went sour. After a rough 2006 season with only four shows, 2007 picked up considerably, and 2008 is shaping up to return NSR to it’s previous days of glory. There are about 10 shows scheduled so far for 2008, and the racing action will kick off this Saturday, April 19, when the ASA Late Model Southern Division will make an appearance at the track. Even though ASA will be in town, Edwards is not wandering away from the very foundation of the track - the local racing divisions. Many past and current NASCAR stars have cut their teeth on grassroots racing at Senoia. Reed Sorenson of Peachtree City made Senoia a regular stop as he made his way through the ranks heading to Sprint Cup racing. David Ragan, who took over the No. 6 AAA car previously piloted by Mark Martin, got his very first win ever at Senoia in a Legends car. Back in the early 90’s, Edwards put on a show that attracted future NASCAR drivers Jody Ridley and “Front Row” Joe Nemechek. When the race started, Nemechek jumped out front with Ridley on his back bumper the entire night. After the white flag was waved for one lap to go, Ridley apparently had seen enough. Coming out of turn one, Ridley ran into the back of Nemechek and spun him in turn two, passing him for the win. As the story goes, they settled it the old fashioned way. That was then, and today at the track, if you listen closely enough, the warm Georgia breezes carry the sounds of years past and the hope for a bright future based on a foundation of tradition and heritage. After all, racing is racing, and this is what we do this time of the year. For more information, call the track at 770-599-6161 or log on to www.newsenoiaraceway.com ---- ---- ---- ---- Montgomery Motor Speedway (AL) will be sold at auction on May 22. The track has sat idle since 2006 when its promoters shut down the track abruptly and leased the land to Hyundai to use for automobile storage. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan headlines a star studded field of Super Late Model drivers heading to the Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele Saturday for the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South’s first visit to the speedway. The race at The ‘Melon marks a homecoming for Ragan who grew up in nearby Unadilla. Ragan will race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega, AL, early in the day, fly to Cordele for the Watermelon 125, and then back to Talladega for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event. “It feels good to come back and race for fun,” said Ragan. “Logistically, Talladega and Watermelon Capital Speedway are pretty close and it works out in the schedule for that weekend. Anytime you can race in front of family and friends it’s always special.” At just 22 years of age David Ragan decided to follow his father Ken, a veteran of 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, into the racing business. He has already had a fair share of success. In 2007 Ragan finished in the top five in the Daytona 500, had a best finish of third at the Richmond (VA) International Raceway, and won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie-of-the-Year award. Despite Ragan’s meteoric rise to the top level of stock car racing, he has spent little time behind the wheel of a Super Late Model. Ragan moved fairly quickly from Legends and Thunder Roadsters to ARCA, largely bypassing the fastest full fendered short track race cars. “I spent some time racing Super Late Models in the summer of 2003 but I turned 18 shortly after that and started racing ARCA,” said Ragan. With his busy schedule of Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races driving for car owner Jack Roush, David has had little time to race with PASS or any other touring divisions. Thanks to help from some of his old short track racing friends, David doesn’t have to worry about what he will be driving in the PASS South Series Watermelon 125. “I’m driving Casey Roderick’s Super Late Model,” said Ragan. He’s 16 years old and a friend of ours. I actually flew home Sunday after [the Sprint Cup race at] Phoenix and practiced, so at least I got some time in the car prior to the race.” In addition to Ragan, some of Georgia and the nation’s best have committed to the PASS South Watermelon 125. Bubba Pollard, coming off a Super Late Model win in Alabama, Michael Pope, Justin Wakefield, and Bill Elliott development driver Mitch Cobb are just a few of the drivers with Georgia connections hoping for a win in the Peach State. Those drivers plus PASS South points leader Corey Williams, teen standouts Zach Stroupe and John Stancill, Kyle Busch development driver Alex Haase, and many more are all expected for the inaugural Watermelon 125. PASS South is the only traveling series running asphalt Super Late Models with big engines in Georgia in 2008. Super Late Model practice gets underway ay 2:00 PM and qualifying gets the green flag at 4:30 PM. Qualifying rounds and feature racing starts at 6:30 PM and the green flag is set to drop on the Watermelon 125 at approximately 8:30 PM. Watermelon Capital Speedway is located in Cordele, GA at exit 104 just off Interstate 75. www.racewithpass.com Steve Francis couldn’t wait for Saturday night’s third annual Colossal 100 to end at The Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. “I just wanted to get it over with,” Francis said. “We were running out of fuel.” That wouldn’t have figured to be a problem in a 100-lap race around a fourth-tenths mile track, but with all the laps run under the 16 caution flags the reigning World of Outlaws late model series champion was legitimately worried. “My fuel light was coming on the last five to seven laps going down the straightaway,” Francis said. “I was watching the fuel pressure gauge instead of what I needed to be watching on the track. It had to be close to 200 laps.” However many it was, Francis led every last one of them to collect the $50,000 winner’s prize. He had started on the pole, drawing the spot as the top 24 were mixed up. Billy Moyer, continuing his great season, set a new track qualifying record. It was not a good show for Georgians, except for Dale McDowell who was fifth. Shane Clanton broke during his heat race, and missed the show. Clint Smith got the final provisional, but finished 31st. Circle K Colossal 100 (100 laps): 1. Steve Francis; 2. Chris Madden; 3. Josh Richards; 4. Jimmy Owens; 5. Dale McDowell; 6. Shannon Babb; 7. Tim McCreadie; 8. John Blankenship; 9. Eddie Carrier Jr.; 10. Ricky Weeks; 11. Jeep Van Wormer; 12. Bob Gordon; 13. Darrell Lanigan; 14. Rick Eckert; 15. Doug Horton; 16. Scott Bloomquist; 17. Earl Pearson Jr.; 18. Ray Cook; 19. Brady Smith; 20. Dennis "Rambo" Franklin; 21. Billy Moyer; 22. Vic Coffey; 23. Mike Marlar; 24. Donnie Moran; 25. Jackie Boggs; 26. Randle Chupp; 27. Jeremy Miller; 28. Chub Frank; 29. Jeff Smith; 30. Dan Schlieper; 31. Clint Smith; 32. Jimmy Mars; 33. John Gill; 34. Steve Shaver; 35. Brian Birkhofer; 36. G.R. Smith. (Thanks to DAVID POOLE and The Charlotte Observer) Rhett Butler’s pictures show that it wasn’t a sellout, probably due to the rain.. http://photos.butlerracingphotos.com/p505727668?session=7AD6355E34ED84AD&_not_a_link Chub Frank’s violent flip: http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/latemodel/Media/041908_WoOLM_Colossal/Media.aspx Roger Slack, head of the Dirt Track at Lowe’s in Charlotte, often talks to fans and critics on the www.4m.net forum, and has posted some excellent thoughts: http://www.4m.net/showthread.php?t=50232 5) Yellow flags – Do not blame WoO. This is a special event on their schedule. They tech the cars and LMS runs and scores the races - it has always been that way for the Colossal. We do everything we can to clear a car in trouble (we warn the drivers of someone slow up high or down low on the RACEceiver and try and give the driver in trouble a “clear to the infield” message as well) because we know that race fans want to see green flag racing. That is also why we do not pull fenders or have courtesy laps. The drivers have as long as it takes to get the cars re-aligned and no one is waited on in the pits. The number of intentional yellow flags was unacceptable and will be addressed for the next show. We had to tell the drivers around lap 44 that any intentional yellow flag from that point forward would result in a black flag and, after three drivers were not allowed to return, the number of yellow flags called was significantly reduced. We always want the event to be as safe as possible for both the competitors and fans alike, but it is unfortunate that some drivers will stop on the track (or pull to a place on the speedway or pass the entrance to the pits) to make it unsafe for the race to continue just to get a chance to go to the pits for adjustments. There is a 12 midnight curfew here and the stopping on the racetrack put us in jeopardy of having to stop the race short of the 100 lap distance. Georgia Mini Sprints will be racing at Hollis (AL) Dirt Track Sat. April 26. www.hollisdirttrack.com Randy Weaver Takes Dixie Speedway Spring Short Track Championship SUPER LATE MODEL: (25 cars entered) 116 - Randy Weaver 26 - Tony Knowles 00 - Jeff Smith 77 - Tim Day 19 - Wayne Echols 66 - Jake Knowles 81 - Aaron Ridley 01 - Travis Pennington 17 - Ricky Williams 22II - Michael Brewer D1 - Dion Deason 00 - Steve Endicott (full results at www.georgiastockcarracing.com) Touching moment at Dixie Speedway - from Danny Spencer, of Newnan As a long-time dirt track fan and frequent visitor to Dixie Speedway, last night I witnessed one of the most touching and memorable moments of my life. During the invocation I happened to glance up and saw Mickey Swims fall to his knees. I can't imagine the pain and anguish he felt as the pastor recalled the life of Mickey's son Mike. At that time I clutched my own 4-year old son tight and prayed that I would never have to endure what the Swims family has endured. After the races, as we were walking out the gate, my son said to me "Thanks for bringing me tonight daddy. I love you" and I once again thought about Mickey and his loss and how now matter how bad everything else may be, nothing in life is more important than your family. I would like to say...Thank you Mickey. Thank you for having the strength and courage to reopen this wonderful facility after all you have gone through. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share this great sport with my son, even though you have to do so without yours. Another comment - author unkn. One of the most memorible nights I have witnessed. Topping it off by having Mike's son driving the pace truck and Mickey riding shotgun during the LM feature. All track personnel lined up on the front strait and saluted as they went by. Brought a tear to me eye. ---- ---- ---- ---- From Sugar Creek Raceway Forum and promotor Jason Thompson: Well guys this is the sad truth of the matter we have lost money on all but one race this year. If things dont change in the next couple of weeks, we will be forced to make some drastic changes or just close the track. I cannot keep putting money in the track every week ... please let’s get our car count and fan count up. We are advertising really heavy ourselves but you guys can help spread the word. Econo hobby and modified hobby: if your car counts don’t improve we will combine the two classes and give the econos a weight break ... It would be nice to see some street stocks at the Creek - we will run them every week but we need the cars. Crate late models will go back to qualifying this week - no more heat races. Limiteds and crates - I guess i should have waited to up your purses when the fan count got strong enough to support it. I was hoping by upping the purses we would draw more cars, but i guess not, so we will be going back to the old payout this week. Crates, limiteds, and supers will each get $50.00 for the fast time each week. ... This friday night we are going to start practice earlier so we can get two rounds in and try to run in the second groove. I would like for the track to have two grooves, not just one! We are trying our best. We have lowered gate and pit admissions, done countless improvements, and serve good food. I know the economy is bad right now, but we have to get more cars and more people for the Creek to remain open. Thanks for all your help. Your promotor Jason Thompson. (minimal spelling/punctuation changes made) ---- ---- ---- ---- Swainsboro Raceway Results from Saturday Night As the moon lit the sky, 106 racecars lined the pits at Swainsboro Raceway Saturday night. After the heat races, the first feature event to roll onto the track was the R & R Electrical Late Model division. With 17 cars starting the event, the green flag waived as Henry Carter came around to lead lap one. After only four laps, Terry Lumley brought his Cabinets By Design ride to the front from the sixth position. Just after the half-way point Billy Godowns, Jr passed Carter to take over the second position. As the checkered flag fell it was Terry Lumley once again driving into Victory Lane. Billy Godowns, Jr picked up another good finish in second, Henry Carter third, Marc Collins fourth, and Robert Diekemper fifth. Other class feature winners included Timmy Thompson, Kary Alexander, Robert Diekemper, and Jared Peebles. (from 4m.net post) Results are in From The UDLMCS at East Alabama: 1. MARK WHITENER 2. DANA EILAND 3. JOHNNY COLLINS 4. KEITH NOSBISCH 5. SHAN SMITH 6. JOHNSON 7. JACKIE NOSBISCH 8. TERRANCE NOWELL 9. ADAM BEDENBAUGH 10. MONTANA DUDLEY (full results at www.georgiastockcarracing.com) Toccoa Speedway’s 5/16 Mile Clay Oval will be Racing Saturday night April 26th. Toccoa Speedway features (7) divisions of action filled racing every Saturday night! The Headliners will be the Super Latemodels competing under Southern All Stars Rules with the exception of Tires ...Tire Rule is Open. The Lightning Quick Limited Latemodels and Fastrak Crate Latemodels will also be on Saturdays Program. Limiteds will qualify to set the field for their Feature event. Toccoa Speedway rules will apply for Limiteds and the "Open Tire Rule" will be in effect for the Limiteds also. Support racing will feature the Hobby / Street Enduro / Street Stock 4Cyl / and the Bombers. Rules for the bomber division have changed!!..Changes can be viewed at www.toccoaspeedway.info/RulesBomber.htm Gates open @ 5pm / Drivers meeting @ 6:45pm / Hot Laps @ 7:30pm www.toccoaspeedway.info Brent Dixon Takes 4/19 Toccoa Win Super Latemodel 1.Brent Dixon 2.Jimmy Ivester 3.Randy Nichols 4.Ricky Harvey 5.Ethan Hunter 6.Bruce Taylor (full results at www.georgiastockcarracing.com) Talladega Short Track is back in action with a busy weekend this week. Friday Night will feature a $2,000 to win Super Late Model show plus a special Sprint Cup drivers match race. Saturday Night will feature the appearance of the O’Reilly Southern All-Star Super Late Models in a $5,000 to win show. A full program in all other divisions will also be held both nights. www.talladegashorttrack.com. KILPATRICK CHEVROLET SUPER LATE MODELS - April 19 1) Terry Smith 2) Ross Martin 3) Dingus Griffin 4) Chris Mullinax 5) James Cline 6) Tim Busha 7) Chris Jones 8) Danny Peoples 9) Tim Roszell 10) Josh Adkins 11) Cameron Cherry 12) Bubba Lackey 13) Virgil Taylor 14) Red Farmer 15) Rod Carroll 16) Skip Freeman 17) Josh Taylor 18) Chris Thomas 19) Anthony Hill 20) Dennis Hale 21) Shane Holder 22) Brandon Roberts 23) Douglas Stewart 24) Bryan Lipham 25) Ted Lackey 26) Brian Elder 27) Earl Smith 28) Dallas Cooper 29) Teddy Snow (full results at www.georgiastockcarracing.com) Super Late Models at Tri-County (NC): Shawn Chastain-Johnny Chastain-Rodney Weeks-George Mashburn-Bobby Panter] Sportsman: Danny Ledford-Doug Sneed-Jamie Lunsford-Robby Roxbury-Dustin Stephens-Kevin Bradshaw-Dwayne Cole Fastrack Crate: Brian Kinnersley-Josh Morrow-Ronald Woods-Jacob Anderson-Jonathan Cope-Terry Ledford-Michael Barnett-Kevin Sutton-Cody Gloyne-Joe Picklesimer (from 4m.net post) Bubba Russell Takes Lavonia Win Limited Latemodel 1.Bubba Russell 2.Parker Herring 3.Ethan Hunter (+ $200 fast qual.) 4.Brandon Haley 5.Wesley English 6.J.R. Headen 7.Ricky LaCount 8.Andy Lee 9.Spud Nicholson 10.Ray Dunlap 11.Mack English 12.Ben Withers 13.Chris Wilson 14.Paul Byrum 15.Stacy Whitworth Crate Latemodel 1.Ty Lowe (+ $200 fast qual.) 2.Hot Rod LaMance 3.Justin Simms 4.Parker Herring 5.Brant Carey (full results at www.georgiastockcarracing.com) The Lavonia Speedway will be racing this Friday night, April,25th. Lavonia will be featuring six divisions: Limited Latemodels / Fastrak Sanctioned Crate Latemodels / Hobby / Enduro / Stock 4Cyl / and the Up Front Stocks. The Limited Latemodels will headline Fridays Program. Limiteds will qualify to determine the line up for their Feature event. Bubba Russell, last weeks winner will be shooting for a repeat. Crate Latemodels will compete under Fastrak Rules. Gates open @ 5pm / Drivers Meeting @ 6:45pm / Hot Laps @ 8pm www.lavoniaspeedway.com Sanford Tullis’ pictures from Lavonia: www.tripletphotography.net Screven Motor Speedway SLM results 1) Chesley Dixon 2) Shawn Meeks 3) Brandon Yawn Jake Knowles was the top Georgian at North Georgia’s 40-lapper Friday for Super LMs. 1. Randy Weaver (# 116) of Crossville, TN 2. Jake Knowles (# 66) of Tyrone, GA 3. Ronnie Johnson (# 5) of Chattanooga, TN 4. Joe Armes (# 77) of Petross, TN 5. Tony Knowles (# 26) of Tyrone, GA 6. Gary McPherson (# 29M) of Dalton, GA 7. Kevin Gibson (# M45) of Ringgold, GA In Econo Bomber action, Tom Darby took the win over Tom Peters, Donnie Price, John Bingor and Bruce Lanning. Hartwell Speedway will open its gates for another Saturday night shootout. All seven classes: Street Stock, Hobby, Advanced Four Cylinders, Crate Late Model, Four Cylinder, Limited Late Model, and Up Front; will be competing. Marty and the gang have been working tirelessly to get the track into good shape for this weekend’s race, so don’t miss this opportunity to get in on some great racing action. Saturday’s results at www.hartwellspeedway.com Andrew Smith - starting from the rear after winning last week - passed 11 Legends drivers and won his 11th feature in a row at The ‘Melon Sat. Andrew and the team will take a break from Legends racing this week and go SCCA road racing in a Monte Carlo Late Model at the Roebling Road Raceway in Bloomingdale, GA. www.andrewsmithracing.com The 2008 Cochran Speedway Racing Schedule has been posted. April 26 - Reg. Race - First Points Race May 3 - NLMS Race - Double Points in other classes May 10- Reg. Race May 17- Reg. Race May 24- Reg. Race May 31- (Sportsman $1500/30 Laps) Memorial Day Blowout - Double Points in other classes June 7- Reg. Race June 14- Reg. Race June 21- Pure Stock $1000/30 Laps Double Points in other classes June 28- Reg. Race July 4/5-Mid-Season Championship (Double Points in all Classes) Heat Races on Friday Night /Feature Racing on Saturday Night July 12- Reg. Race July 19- Reg. Race July 26- Reg. Race August 2- Vintage Cars August 9-Reg. Race August 16-No Caution-25 Lap Cadet Race $1000 to win -Double Points in other classes August 23-Reg. Race August 30-Reg. Race September 6-Reg. Race September 13-Road Warrior $600 to win/20 Laps -Double Points in other classes September 20-Reg. Race September 27-Reg. Race October 4- NLMS Race October 11- Reg. Race October 18- Reg. Race October 25- Reg. Race USA Nationals Driver Incentive Announced at Cedar Lake Speedway! PROMOTERS: Cedar Lake (WI) Speedway will pay for the fuel to get touring late model drivers to this year’s installment of the USA Nationals! The first 30 drivers to call 612-363-0479 and commit to running the 21st Annual USA Nationals will receive .50 per mile from their shop to the Cedar Lake Speedway pit gate. This incentive is offered to any touring late model at least 100 miles from the track. The USA Nationals is set for July 31-August 2. The winner of Saturday’s 100 lap main event will take home $50,000 and total monies paid out over the weekend will be near one quarter of a million dollars! Danny Abold picked up his first Hooters Pro Cup Northern Division win in the Miller Lite 250 at South Boston Speedway Sat. Rain shortened the race to 161 laps. From his website: Beau Slocumb’s first Hooters Pro Cup race was not quite what he expected. Out of 161 laps, only 59 of them were run under the green flag and the race was finally called at 11:30 pm due to rain. Beau made a good qualifying run of 12th out of 31 cars. He started out holding his own, chose not to pit during the caution on lap 17 and found himself in second place behind the eventual race winner Danny Abold. When another caution came out on lap 40, Beau and his crew chief made the decision to pit and make an adjustment to the track bar. The 83 team had a few complications in the pits and Beau had to go through the pits again before getting back in line on the track so he wound up at the back of the pack. When the green flag waved again, Beau was on the move and passed quite a few cars on the outside before another caution came out on lap 99. It began to rain pretty hard during the caution and they red flagged the race at lap 102, with Beau sitting in 13th place. Three hours later, when they finally got the track somewhat dry, they allowed the cars to come back out and run 59 consecutive laps under caution before the rain started again for good. The race was called on lap 161 so Beau finished in 13th place. He finished in 2nd place among the Rookie drivers in his chase for Rookie of the Year. Beau was able to learn a lot about the car and get experience with live pit stops, so even though the race was a bit of a disaster, it was a good learning experience for the Zaxby’s/Regions Bank sponsored #83 team. Beau’s next Hooters Pro Cup race will be a combination North/South event at the Milwaukee Mile on May 31st. His next Late Model race with the 08 car is May 3rd at Peach State Speedway in Jefferson, GA. Vince Fanello, of Lavonia, returned to the series with his own team, finishing 27th. Last year he won races in both the Fastrak and StormPay.com crate dirt series. Brett Butler, of Snellville, is also racing in Pro Cup’s Northern Div., and was 17th. The Top Five: POS. CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN POINTS 1 6 Dan Abold Liverpool, NY 175 2 66 Benny Gordon DuBoise PA 150 3 65 Mikey Kile R Westlake, LA 140 4 31 Mike Hampton Fort Mill, SC 135 5 4 Jay Fogleman Durham, NC 130 Drivers for the RC Cola / MoonPie ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour are preparing for a test that will separate the men from the boys. The third stop of the season, Sat., May 3rd, has the tour visiting at the fast three-quarter mile oval of USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida. Many of the drivers on the circuit have never tested at the speeds they will reach at the track most simply referred to as “Lakeland.” “I think it’s going to be a good deal for us all,” said Jason Hogan, a veteran from Cleveland, GA. “It will give us a better place to race rather than the typical Saturday night tracks. Lakeland is an upscale racetrack and bigger than we normally run, so it should bring a good car count. We’ll put on a good show.” More info at www.georgiastockcarracing.com www.asasoutheast.com Just a little more than a year after winning his first USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series race in his first-ever start, Matt Hawkins, of Canton, accomplished the same feat. This time, Hawkins became the 20th driver in ARCA RE/MAX Series history to win in his first-career start by taking the checkers in the Prairie Meadows 250 at Iowa Speedway in his #39 Jani-King Dodge. “I guess the first time’s been the charm,” said Hawkins, who joins an ARCA list of first-win/first-attempt drivers that includes NASCAR Sprint Cup’s Kyle Busch, Scott Riggs and Ernie Irvan. “But we didn’t really go in expecting to win. We had a good test there and we knew we’d be pretty good in the race. I probably would’ve been disappointed if we didn’t at least run in the top-three. I never really thought about where I was or how we were doing until the very end when I realized I had won the race. “This just shows the dedication of the group of guys that I’ve got behind me right now,” added Hawkins. “They’ve been working their butts off. We’ve only had this thing for two weeks before we tested here. Mike (Garvey, Hawkins’ Crew Chief) completely set it up and went through it and we just got it finished the day we left. “We’re going to try to run four or five more ARCA races this year and go for the Hooters Pro Cup Southern Division Championship. Right now, this win’s probably bigger than winning the whole championship, I think.” Hawkins is currently the point leader in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Southern Division going into Saturday’s event at Concord Motorsport Park. Hawkins will be out to strengthen his point lead in the #2 Jani-King machine. (Thanks to Mike Twist at 51 Sports) www.matthawkins.net. For the second time in his two ASA Late Model South starts this year, Jimmy Lang, of Blufton, SC, drove to victory lane – this time at Senoia Speedway Saturday. “I told my crew chief after qualifying that we had a lot more racecar than fourth place,” said Lang. “I just knew the car was going to handle well.” Rolling from fourth wasn’t easy at all. The night almost ended on lap 11 when the leader was turned around in front of the entire field. The driver that incited the contact was given the black flag, handing the lead to Lang. “It stinks, but that’s the rule that ASA has. I hated it, but then I was like, ‘oh yeah!’ because we got the lead,” said Lang, and he led the remaining laps. Two Georgia Asphalt Series invaders, 57-year-old Roger Delp and Chris Dilbeck, led the 24-car field to the green flag to begin the 100-lap Feature. Rookie of the Race David Odell finished a career high third in his Body Worx Spa / Chevrolet Impala and climbed within two points (Unofficially) for the freshman points lead. The Lawrenceville, Georgia, driver was elated with his career high finish and first trip to the podium. Senoia’s own Bubba Pollard built up the hometown fans hopes of a Georgia-based driver winning the Feature by winning his first career ARP Bodies /Aluminum Racing Products Fast Qualifier Award, qualifying with a 14.279 which measures out to 94.544 MPH. He finished fifth. Next up, as Lang goes for three in a row, is the Watermelon Bowl 100 at the Watermelon Capital Speedway, located South of Macon in Cordele, Georgia on Saturday, May 10. Georgia Showdown 100 UNOFFICIAL RESULTS Pos,,Start,,Car #/Driver,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Laps,,Status 1,,,,,,6,,,,,,,86 Jimmy Lang,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 2,,,,,,8,,,,,,,15 Colt James,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 3,,,,,,5,,,,,,,75 David Odell-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 4,,,,,,7,,,,,,,88 Justin Larson-R,,,,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 5,,,,,,9,,,,,,,226 Bubba Pollard-R,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 6,,,,,,1,,,,,,,1 Roger Delp-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 7,,,,,,10,,,,,3 Blake Lehr-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 8,,,,,,3,,,,,,,59 Dustin Dunn-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 9,,,,,,14,,,,,,70 Jeremy Gerstner,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 10,,,,18,,,,,57 Chad Pierce-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 11,,,,23,,,,,93 Rob Partelo,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,100,,,Running 12,,,,19,,,,,78 John Gerstner-R,,,,,,,,,,,99,,,,,Running 13,,,,15,,,,,35 B.J. Holley-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,99,,,,,Running 14,,,,11,,,,,24 Michael Pilla-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,99,,,,,,Running 15,,,,17,,,,05 Gene Kirila-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,99,,,,,,Running 16,,,,21,,,,20 Kyle Eastham-R,,,,,,,,,,,,99,,,,,,Running 17,,,,22,,,,188 Will Hannah-R,,,,,,,,,,,,99,,,,,,Running 18,,,,2,,,,,,8 Chris Dilbeck-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,,99,,,,,,Running 19,,,,13,,,,711 Max Gresham-R,,,,,,,,,,58,,,,,,Accident 20,,,,20,,,66 Jody Knowles-R,,,,,,,,,,,,39,,,,,,Accident 21,,,,12,,,,166 Casey Neal-R,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,32,,,,,,Accident 22,,,,16,,,,133 Casey Caudill-R,,,,,,,,,,,32,,,,,,Accident 23,,,,4,,,,,,26 Travis Cope,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,31,,,,,,Handling 24,,,,24,,,,08 Jason Taghikhani,,,,,,,,,7,,,,,,,,Handling Lap Leaders: 1 Roger Delp-R Pole, 8 Chris Dilbeck-R 1-11, 86 Jimmy Lang 12-100. Time Of Race: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes, 21,863 Seconds. http://www.asalatemodelssouth.com/wp-content/uploads/watermelonsmall.JPG www.jimmylang.net (Thanks to Elgin Traylor, Speed 51) Racing writer Elgin Traylor, formerly of Augusta, has joined the full-time crew at Speed51, which provides PR for several major short track series. Trackchaser Ed Esser reports from West Georgia Saturday dawned wet and cloudy after some overnight rain in Georgia but it turned clear before noon and was a perfect day. I drove southwest and avoided Atlanta to stop at the West Georgia Speedway in Whitesburg. This is a banked 3/8-mile red clay track that sits well below the spectator viewing areas. There are only 3 concrete steps for seating on the straightaway but there is spectator parking outside all 4 turns and down the backstretch. The track is wide with Armco walls on the inside and outside and the infield is the main pit area. Some bigger rigs pitted behind the spectator parking in the second turn and didn’t try and drive down the banking into the infield. The heavy loads of water ran down the hard packed red clay and left puddles along the inside fence. The flagman must know this as he throws the yellow before a car is done spinning and most often they ended along the inside wall and needed to be pulled from the mud. A good size crowd of maybe 600 surrounded the track to see 8 crate late models, 5 sportsmen, 10 hobby stocks, 13 pure mini stocks, 7 enduros, 10 modified mini stocks and 12 full sized cars. The lights were bright but spaced quite far apart and speakers were OK but the announcer only gave the names of the top 3 finishers following each race, neither lineups nor commentary. I had my lawn chair in place by 6PM but the 8PM opening ceremonies were followed by warm-ups, and qualifying for 2 classes with racing at 9PM. The good news was that the format was for features only and although it was dusty the wind was from our back. The bad news was the many towings and the wrecker was one tractor with a draw bar. The hobby stocks had 3 quick yellows, then went about 15 laps with 4th starter Lee McElwaney the winner over Jeff Carter from 6th. The modified minis went to about the halfway point when two of the front runners locked together and tested the wall head on. (The wall was not moved!) After 3 more yellows it was Frank Long from 8th who won over Richard Bagby from 7th. The enduros had 5 yellows as Bill Young won from 6th. The crate late models went 25 laps with only one yellow and DeWayne Aldridge was the winner from the front. The sportsmen also only had one yellow as pole sitter Rucker Orr won. The pure mini stocks had 7 yellows in 15 laps and pole sitter Bo Chambers won. He did not lead the entire race as 2 others had passed him but both spun before the end. Gary Parker started 8th and was second while Lonnie Patterson started 12th and was leading when he spun but still got back to finish third. The full size cars had 4 yellows as pole sitter Pappy Powell got the checkers about 11:50PM to end the night. #1090 4/19/08 West Georgia Speedway - Whitesburg, GA - 3/8 dirt - Late Models --- Trackchaser Ed Esser reports from Sugar Creek Friday was a nice day although very windy as I pulled into the scenic city of Blue Ridge Georgia for a stop at Sugar Creek Raceway. The track is a 1/3-mile banked red clay surface surrounded by concrete walls and an inner wall of Armco that made a narrow racing groove. The facility was very clean and looked very well kept with fresh paint and mowed grass. Spectator seating was all along the straightaway on seven poured concrete steps with some reserved terrace parking outside the first and second turns. Half the racecars pitted in the infield but with only 2 semi trailer haulers there was minimal visibility problems. The rest of the pits were behind the backstretch. The lights and speakers were good but the scoreboard was not operational. About 500 people were here tonight to see 18 crate late models, 8 limited late models, 12 pony stocks, 4 pony outlaws, 6 econo hobbies, 7 modified hobbies and 4 front wheel drive cars. The drivers meeting and draw was at 7PM with warm ups about 20 minutes later and the first heat of pony stocks at 8:30. Qualifying was next for the two late model classes then they went into the feature races about 9:30PM. I observed a neat promotion by the photographer as he took pictures of many of the kids before the races started and handed out business cards with a website address to the parents. The econo hobbies went 15 laps with only one yellow and Justin Thomas won from the front. The modified hobbies needed 5 yellows in their 15-lap feature as Junior Whitener started 3rd and won. The main feature was a $1000 to win 40-lap feature for the crate late models and after 16 green flag laps for the 18 cars they went in to spin mode. There were 8 yellows before they declared a time limit and went two more laps for about a 34-lap feature with Bobby Mayse the winner from the pole. Jason Deal was second from 3rd and Josh Morrow came home third from 6th. By this time the track was dusty and the wind was whipping up dust from the infield so all the spectators were now red heads. The limited lates had 4 yellows in a 20-lap feature won by Devin Dillbeck from the front. The pony stocks had 3 yellows in a 10-lap feature won by Justin Woodard from the front. The outlaw pony cars have Plexiglas sideboards and the Beavers car was the winner of the 10-lap feature from 4th. The front wheel drive class finished the night out at about 11:50PM and number 11 won from the pole. I am not sure if the speakers went out or the announcer was just tired and left as no announcing was done during the last 2 races. #1089 4/18/08 Sugar Creek Raceway - Blue Ridge, GA - 1/3 dirt - Late Models Sugar Creek #22 Bobby Mayse won the crate race #30 Dilbeck won the limited (from 4m.net post) Herb Emory’s Bellamy-Strickland Chevrolet sponsored racing show on WSB radio in Atlanta: Sat., 2-4 p.m.

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