April 3 (Fri.) Modoc Crate LM Challenge $800 to win ($500 bonus to top driver at Modoc/Lavonia) http://www.modocspeedway.com
April 3 Anderson (SC) Racing in seven divs. www.andersonmotorspeedway.com.
April 3 (Fri.) Talladega Short Track Kart Season opener http:/www.talladegashorttrack.com/
April 3-5 Road Atlanta Superbike Showdown www.roadatlanta.com
April 3 (Fri.) Swainsboro Racing In: Driggers Concrete Road Warrior, Love's Seafood Mini Stock, Daniels Chevrolet Pure Stock, Sunoco Super Street. Racing @ 7pm http://www.swainsbororaceway.com
April 4 Watermelon Capital Twin 125s featuring Georgia Asphalt Series and CRA Super Late Models Southern Division. Qualifying 5pm, Racing 7:30
April 4 South Georgia NVRA Vintage racers, plus late models, dirt late models, super stocks, hobby stocks, pure stocks, and wildones. http://www.sgmpracing.com/
April 11 Toccoa Opening night - Super Late Models, Limiteds, Hobby, Enduro, Stock 4's, Young Guns, and Bombers http://toccoaspeedway.info/
April 11 East Alabama Kids Easter Egg Toss, Plus Late Model, Limited Sportsman, Hobby, Bomber, Modified & Pure Stock racing www.eamsdirt.com
April 17 Modoc $1000 to win Crate Late Models - Plus 3rd Annual 2009 King of Stock V-8 Challenge $1000 to win http://www.modocspeedway.com
April 18 Lanier Southern Modified Tour
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The Southern All Star Series is coming to town for back-to-back action packed Late Model features this Friday and Saturday night, April 3 and 4 at North Georgia and Cleveland Speedways. One driver could walk away with $9,000 in his pocket. Friday night at North Georgia Speedway in Chatsworth, the Southern All Stars and the area's best Late Model drivers will square off to see who takes home the $4,000 first place money in the nights 40 lap feature. Saturday night the scene shifts to Cleveland (TN) Speedway for the 14th Annual SAS Shamrock 60 that pays $5,000 to the winner. The Shamrock will be Cleveland Speedway's opening event. www.northgeorgiaspeedway.com www.clevelandspeedway.com/
After seven events on the "Sunoco Road to Wheatland" a series record of 32 different drivers have participated in every 2009 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned event and remain eligible for the bonus money offered at each event leading to the SuperClean Diamond Nationals on May 8-9th. The series is averaging 69 cars per event. This weekend they visit Georgia for shows Friday at Screven Motor Speedway ($7000 to win) and Saturday at Swainsboro Speedway ($10,000 to win). The "Sunoco Road To Wheatland" program rewards drivers that follow the series with perfect attendance to each Lucas Oil Championship Points event beginning at East Bay Raceway in Tampa, FL through the May 8th & 9th, 75 Lap "3rd Annual SuperClean Diamond Nationals event at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO. 2009 Points Standings 1 Earl Pearson, Jr. 2 Billy Moyer -10 3 Dale McDowell -45 4 Jimmy Owens -60 5 Scott Bloomquist -70 5 Josh McGuire -70 7 Brad Neat -75 8 Don O'Neal -80 9 Ray Cook -90 10 Bart Hartman -95 www.lucasdirt.com http://www.screvenmotorspeedway.com/http://www.swainsbororaceway.com
Lucas Oil is now a sponsor of the USARacing Pro Cup Series which opens at Concord (NC) Speedway Saturday. Brett Butler, from Snellville, is entered. They’ll be at South Georgia April 25. www.concordmotorsportpark.com http://www.sgmpracing.com/
The NVRA Vintage racers will highlight opening night at South Georgia Sat. Also running will be the late models, dirt late models, super stock, hobby stock, pure stock, and wildones. http://www.sgmpracing.com/
The Champion Racing Association (CRA) new South Series and the Georgia Asphalt Series (GAS) both open their seasons Saturday at the Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, with the inaugural "Watermelon Twin 125s". The successful pairing of CRA and GAS comes on the heels of the highly successful and highly visible "SpeedFest 2009" in January, at Lanier National Speedway. NASCAR Cup Star Kyle Busch won the Super Late Model portion of SpeedFest, and Greg Simpson took top honors in the Pro Late Models. "The combination of these two series has proven to be very successful," noted Watermelon Capital Speedway owner Marvin Ragan, "and we’re excited to have a show of this caliber early in the season." CRA officials previously announced a point’s fund/travel money plan for the new southern series. Since there are no current point standings, they have announced the first 25 entries for the event will be eligible for that bonus that will be paid to the top 15 finishers among those early entries. Following the first event, the point’s fund/travel money will revert back to being paid per event, based on point standings and attendance. The "Watermelon Twins" event also has special meaning for the GAS series, as it will be the first point’s event under the leadership of new series owner Donnie Clack, also owner of Lanier National Speedway, and his new General Manager, Terry Roberts. "We’re so excited about the opener in Cordele, that we’ll be closed at Lanier on April 4th so all our fans can see this great show without conflict of schedules," Roberts commented. Both series will run 125 lap features, with practice and qualifying and features all in one day. Pit gates will open at 10 am, with practice starting at 1pm, qualifying at 5pm and racing at 7:30. Also racing on April 4th will be "the melon" local divisions including Legends, Pure Stock and Claimers. Chase Elliott, who has four wins in Legends cars at The ‘Melon, is entering the GAS race. He hopes to improve on last week’s sixth place in the ASA South/SPLMS show at South Georgia last week - his first late model race. His crew chief is Ricky Turner, a legendary Late Model driver. Casey Roderick, who was fast qualifier and led the first 100 laps of the CRA race at Lanier’s Speedfest in January, is also entered, in the Bill Elliott Development Program Ford. www.BillElliott.com Speed51.com will be the "Official Website" for the "Watermelon Twins", with complete stories, up-dates, and their usual "behind the scenes" coverage, unprecedented in short track racing. This race weekend will also be the debut of the all new GAS Radio Network which will broadcast the race action live from Cordele on the World Wide Web at www.lanierspeedway.com. The broadcast will cover both the GAS and CRA races at this event. Grandstand admission is $20 for adult's, kids 6-12 is $5 and under 5 is free. The Watermelon Capital Speedway is located 1/2 mile west of I-75 at Exit 104 just North of Cordele. http://www.watermeloncapitalspeedway.comhttp://www.lanierspeedway.com
The ASA Late Model Series South Series and the new Southern Pro Late Model Series will run a united event for the 2nd time this season on Saturday, at New Senoia Raceway. The two series are coming off a co-sanctioned event this past Sunday at South Georgia Motorsports Park near Valdosta. The event was won by Hendrick Motorsports 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year driver Landon Cassill of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This will be the second visit of the season to New Senoia for the Southern Pro Late Models in 2009. Russell Fleeman of Dacula, Georgia won the event in mid-March and currently leads the SPLM Series points after two events. The 100 lap event will pay $3,000 to the winner and $600 to start. The fans will get to experience The Georgia Showdown 100 at Senoia at a price they can afford. Tickets are only $10 for adults and $5 for kids (6-11), five and under get in for free. Front gates open at 5pm starting with qualifying, autograph session ,and pre-race ceremonies. Racing begins at 7pm. New Senoia Raceway is located on Georgia Highway 16 between I-75 & I-85, three miles west of the City of Senoia. www.splmseries.com www.asalatemodelssouth.com
Earl Pearson Jr. couldn’t have picked a better place to score the richest victory of his career. Surviving a leaking right-front tire and Darrell Lanigan’s relentless charge from the rear of the field, the 37-year-old from Jacksonville, Fla., held on to capture Sunday’s postponed Circle K Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “This is a dream come true,” said Pearson, who pocketed $50,100 for becoming the third driver to win the four-year-old World of Outlaws Late Model Series event. “Lowe’s Motor Speedway is a special track for me because I’ve spent a long time running for teams from North Carolina, so it feels good to finally win one here.” A week earlier, he won won a Lucas Oil LM Series $10,000 to win show in Indiana. Pearson grabbed the lead from Jonathan Davenport, of Blairsville, Ga., on lap nine and was never headed. Results (partial) ‘Circle K Colossal 100’ 1. (1) Earl Pearson Jr./100 $50,100 2. (6) Darrell Lanigan/100 $20,000 3. (8) Josh Richards/100 $10,000 4. (3) Steve Francis/100 $7,000 5. (2) Jonathan Davenport/100 $6,050 6. (11) Chris Madden/100 $5,000 7. (22) Scott Bloomquist/100 $4,050 8. (10) Steve Shaver/100 $3,800 9. (9) Kelly Boen/100 $3,600 10. (7) Jeep VanWormer/100 $3,500 13. (19) Dale McDowell/100 $2,800 14. (29) Jimmy Owens/100 $2,600 16. (4) Ray Cook/99 $2,375 17. (14) Rambo Franklin/99 $2,350 18. (23) Michael England/99 $2,300 20. (34) Ken Schrader/96 $2,250 29. (26) Dan Schlieper/48 $2,070 30. (5) Shane Clanton/39 $2,060 32. (20) Casey Roberts/35 $2,040 34. (33) Clint Smith/11 $2,020 The WoO LMS is scheduled to close out its ‘Month of Money’ on April 3-4 with the second annual $20,000-to-win ‘Illini 100’ at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway. What would a victory in this weekend's second annual ‘Illini 100' at Farmer City Raceway mean to rising central Illinois star Jason Feger, who won 13 times at seven tracks in 2008? “There probably wouldn't be enough beer in Farmer City for the party we'd have,” Feger said with a laugh. “I think we might just stay in the pits for a few days.” In WoO points, Shane Clanton is 4th with 619 and Clint Smith is 10th with 568. Josh Richards leads with 643 pts. http://www.worldofoutlaws.com
Ivedent Lloyd made it two out of three wins in the United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series at Golden Isles Speedway Sunday. Johnny Collins was able to hold off Dillon Wood for second. Mark Whitener was able to hold onto his points lead over Collins with a fourth place run. Jeff Henry ran a solid fifth on the day. In qualifying, Lloyd, driving the 07 car of David Clegg, was fastest at 16.472, a new track record for the UDLMCS at the newly shaped G.I.S. Photos and more info at: www.uniteddirtlatemodels.com All UDLMCS race are broadcast LIVE over the Internet: www.RealRacinUSA.com 60-lap A-Main (Partial) Results: Ivedent Lloyd Johnny Collins Dillon Wood Mark Whitener Jeff Henry Tyler Ivey Russell Brown Jr. Chuck Chitty Joe Kump Wayne Shugart 23rd: Travis Pennington http://www.goldenislesspeedway.com
NASCAR NOTES: After finishing 13th in points last season – tops among non-Chase drivers – and opening the 2009 season with a sixth-place finish at Daytona, David Ragan has hit a rough patch. He’s finished no better than 17th in his last five races and has slipped to 29th in points. Next up is Texas, where Ragan’s average finish in four career starts is 25th. On the other hand, he’s improved every time out at Texas Motor Speedway, from 39th to 37th to 13th to 11th, and Roush Fenway is traditionally strong at TMS, so maybe this will be his breakout week. (speedway Illustrated) Atlanta Motor Speedway is working with approximately 30 Atlanta-area hotels who have agreed to offer fair rates (no more than $129 and some rates are as low as $60) and no multi-night minimums for fans traveling to Atlanta for the Sept. 5-6 Pep Boys Auto 500 weekend. Use the promotion code, “AMS Discount.” www.atlantamotorspeedway.com under the “Visitor’s Guide” tab. Billy Ballew, of Blairsville, entered two trucks at Martinsville, including the #51 sponsored by Miccosukee Resorts and driven by Kyle Busch, which led many laps until a driver error caused a mediocre finish. Ballew’s second truck, driver by Shane Sieg, of Tucker, with Ritchie Wauters as crew chief, started on the outside pole, but finished 32nd. Brett Butler, of Snellville, started 36th and finished 26th. Ryan Sieg, younger brother of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Shane Sieg, made his first NCWTS start at Martinsville Speedway driving the #21 GunBroker.com Dodge Ram. He started 16th, but fell out after 121 laps, placing 34th. Rookie Brent Raymer’s truck, which finished 33rd, had “Buy Georgia Cabins.com” on the side, but that web link is broken. Photos at http://www.brentraymer.com/ In the truck series, Ford is winless since Erik Darnell’s Michigan victory in June 2008. Dodge last went to Victory Lane one year ago in Martinsville. http://truckseriestoday.com
Montgomery (AL) Motor Speedway is alive and kicking: According to the new General Manager, James Jones, "The grand stands were the biggest eyesore at the track and presented the greatest hazard to our fans, they simply had to be replaced." There are several projects going on including the installation of offset track entry gates, containment wall repairs, the installation of new scoring technology, the installation of a sound barrier wall, bill board signage, and the many beautification projects. They’ll have a practice April 14, and the Southern Super Late Model Series with a 100 lap feature race April 21. Montgomery is a half-mile, with concrete turns and asphalt straights. www.MontgomeryMotorSpeedway.com
Austin Hill feels like he got a hundred dollar bill and he’s been turned loose in the candy isle at the local supermarket. The Winston, GA, driver is about to make his first-ever start in a Late Model with the RC Cola / MoonPie ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour at Lanier National Speedway on April 11th. “I have been waiting to do this forever,” said Hill. “I have just been counting the days until I get to run this asphalt Late Model for the first time. I have been working out to stay in shape, trying to get ready for 100 laps of racing. I am just really excited about it.” Hill won the Semi-Pro Legends Car Track Championship at Lanier last year. “Running for Legends championships has been tough,” said Hill. “My dad and I have gotten pretty worn out running for points when I was in the legends car. Our goal is to be comfortable with the Late Model and work at it each time we race. We won’t be running every week. This will give us a chance to learn the ins and outs of the bigger car.” Asphalt Late Models are not the only plans for Hill. A limited dirt schedule has also been put together. Recently, Hill tested a Ray Cook Dirt Late Model at Boyd’s Speedway. For Hill, it was one of his first-ever experiences on dirt. www.Hillbrothersracing.com
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Sports South Southeast Asphalt Tour Five Flags Show (3-27) April 21 @ 4pm April 23 @ 3pm April 26 @ 1:30am May 5 @ 4pm May 26 @ 4pm (Also on Cox, America One, DISH, DIRECTV, AT&T, and TWCS at various times) http://www.asasoutheast.com/09_stories/TV_Times.html
The ASA Late Model South Series paired up with the Southern Pro Late Models last weekend at South Georgia Motorsports Park for the 'Short Track Nationals Georgia 100'. Landon Cassill, the Nascar Nationwide Series 2008 Rookie of the year won the event. Landon was the only driver in the ASALMS history to have won an event in all three divisions of the series. Back in July of 2006, Landon took the win at SGMP and his return proved to be rewarding. Drew Brannon did a great job of fielding his car to the front of the pack battling with Brandon Johnson, Russell Fleeman and Bubba Pollard before he could reach his final position of the day in 2nd place. Chase Elliott came out for his first event in a late model and ended up with a sixth place finish, he did a remarkable job competing against some very talented drivers. John Wes Townley, a Raybestos rookie of the year contender in the Nationwide Series, had some tough luck and ended up out of the race at lap 94. The event has 7 cautions and two different lap leaders, the 98 of Russell Fleeman and the 61 of Landon Cassill. SGMP Short Track National Georgia 100 -Unofficial Results 1. 61 - Landon Cassill 100 laps 2. 08 - Drew Brannon 100 laps 3. 98 - Russell Fleeman 100 laps 4. 18 - Bubba Pollard 100 laps 5. 93 - Brandon Johnson 100 laps 6. 9 - Chase Elliott 100 laps 7. 51 - Stephen Nasse 100 laps 8. 59 Dustin Dunn 100 laps 9. 83 - Scotty Ellis 100 laps 10. 7 - Darryl Shelnut 100 laps 11. 88 - Justin Larson 100 laps 12. 11 - Austin Kirkpatrick 100 laps 13. 127 - Kyle Maynard 100 laps 14. 33 - Casey Caudill 100 laps 15.31 - Brian Blum 100 laps 16. 09 - John Wes Townley 94 laps 17. 70 - Jeremy Gerstner 93 laps 18. 78 - Ross Chastain 80 laps 19. 26 - Kyle Mitchell 74 laps 20. 17 - AJ Fulgenzi 73 laps 21. 57 - Jason Garver 21 laps 22. 32 - Stuart Dutton 20 laps 23. 75 - David Odell 14 laps 24. 24 -Stuart Wilkerson 11 laps 25. 25 - Scott Ruechenberg 11 laps 26 - 2 - Ralph Carnes 11 laps Fast time was set by Stephen Nasse with an 18.452, followed by Drew Brannon with an 18.464, and Landon Cassill with an 18.471. All three broke the old track record.
Max Gresham opened the 2009 American Speed Association Southeast Asphalt Tour season just the way he wanted to – with a trip to Victory Lane - when he captured the Ride-On Tire Protection System 100 event at Mobile International Speedway Saturday, after starting 16th. The 15-year-old Griffin, GA, driver then backed up the win with a 10th-place effort in Sunday’s rescheduled ASA Estrol Oil 100 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL making it a big weekend for the Gresham Motorsports team. "We couldn’t be happier about how the season started," stated Gresham, who became the youngest driver ever to win an ASA Southeast Tour main event with the Mobile victory. "To win at Mobile right away was phenomenal. I was so happy for my race team. They have put so much time into getting this right. It was awesome to win. We kept saying all week long that we were going to win. We knew we could do it. It was great that we could go out and prove it." Jeff Choquette, John Bolen, Joel Anderson, and Taylor Satterfield completed the Top-5 finishers while Jerrod Foley, Johanna Long, Ryan Crane, Terry Horak and Tyler Millwood rounded out the Top-10. "Sunday’s race at Pensacola was a lot more difficult than Saturday’s event at Mobile," Gresham stated. "Because the race was in the heat of the day, the track was much harder to race. We were sliding around a lot, but I still learned quite a bit and that’s what we’re trying to do at each event." He qualified 13th in the 30-car field and then drove to the front, taking the lead by Lap 55. Gresham held the top spot for 10 circuits before losing the lead on a restart. "I had burned the tires off the car by about Lap 75," stated Gresham. "From there, I was just holding on trying to get the best finish I could. We still got the good finish – a top-10 – that we were looking for, but it could have been a lot more." Paul Kelley wound up winning the 100-lap Pensacola ASA clash with Bolen second. T.J. Reaid, Crane, Jason Hogan, Brandon Carlson, Patrick Long, Foley, Josh Hamner and Gresham completed the Top-10 finishers Sunday at Pensacola. “We have had good runs here, like seconds and thirds, but it’s been a while since we got a victory here,” said Kelley, the Pendergrass, GA, Late Model ace. “I love racing here, and the Hedman Hedders car was awesome today. We have been working on this thing for weeks, and this victory is a great token for all of us.” Kelley was one of the few drivers who did not race both nights. His team felt they needed to concentrate on one track, with the tough competition that ASA SAT has been attracting early on this season. “This ASA SAT series is the best thing going now in the nation,” said Kelley. “This series has a lot with the TV package and the big sponsors like RC Cola / MoonPie and Hedman Hedders. A lot of people have turned their heads and they are supporting this series.” Next: ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour Saturday, April 11 at Lanier, 100-laps. 7:30 p.m. http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=105482&newlang=&topic=11&catid=14 < Five Flags Speedway - Pensacola, FL Sunday, March 29, 2009 (Top 11) Paul Kelley John Bolen T J Reaid Ryan Crane Jason Hogan Brandon Carlson Patrick Long Jerrod Foley Josh Hamner Max Gresham Taylor Satterfield < Mobile International Speedway, Mobile, AL Saturday, March 28, 2009 Max Gresham Jeff Choquette John Bolen Joel Anderson Taylor Satterfield Jerrod Foley Johanna Long Ryan Crane Terry Horak Tyler Millwood www.asasoutheast.com
John Henegar, of Scottsboro, AL, won the first-ever race of the Southern Super Stars series at Huntsville Sun. He was two laps ahead of second place, in the $1200 to win show. Lee Hansard, of Tyrone, GA, finished fifth, and Bobby Castleberry, of Rossville, was 14th. Fifteen super LMs entered. The series will make up the rained out Sayre Speedway show this Sat. - qual. at 7:00, races at 8:00. http://www.superstarsracing.com
Five auto racing journalists who feel "discarded" by the ailing newspaper industry are writing the next chapter of their careers themselves. Racin' Today, a website that launched Friday, aims to cover major U.S. motor racing series with Jim Pedley, John Sturbin, Rick Minter, Larry Woody and Bill Fleischman — all of whom either had their beats downsized or eliminated during cutbacks at newspapers in Kansas City, Mo., Fort Worth, Atlanta, Nashville and Philadelphia. Pedley, the managing editor, wrote "your newspapers have let you down" in an opening salvo to his former industry. "It seems to be thumbing their noses at auto racing fans," says Pedley, 57, who started Racin' Today after being laid off at The Kansas City Star. Pedley says Racin' Today is an online magazine of features, analysis and opinion that "hopefully will break a little news once in a while" by staffing at least one major event each week. The site has no financial backing but hopes to build an advertising base. www.racintoday.com
Andrew Smith continued his winning ways by taking the trophy at the 2009 Fiesta SpeedFest at the Houston Motorsports Park on March 28, for his third in as many tries for the 2009 points season. The Pooler, GA, driver had a dominating performance for the weekend during his first visit to the Texas track as he took the pole position in qualifying, won his heat race and led the field to the checkers in the feature event.
World of Outlaws Late Model star Clint Smith, of Senoia, joined Dirt Cast to talk about his 2008 season, his start to 2009, what it will take to win the championship this year, what they have done to turn around the new car, how chassis’ can be so different, Battleground Speedway, how he passes the time while on the road and his plans for 2009. Smith drives the #44 Cliburn Tank Lines sponsored GRT. http://dirtcast.com/2009/03/30/clint-smith-woo-late-models-033009/ Visit his website at www.clintsmith.com
The USARacing Pro Cup Series fourteen-race schedule will be carried on a tape-delayed basis on Sunday mornings on Fox Sports Net stations. Masters TV of Bristol, TN will produce the programs which will feature action covered by four on-track cameras, five in-car cameras and one in-pit camera. www.StockCarGazette.com
The hour-long Lanier Racing Live!, which kicks off Tuesdays at 7:30 pm, will broadcast live every week from Sonny’s BBQ on Hwy 53 (Munday Mill Rd) in Flowery Branch, Ga. Sonny’s BBQ, also the presenting sponsor of Lanier Racing Live!, encourages fans to head out for dinner and to catch the live broadcast. Fans can listen live to the program from home by visiting the LNS website at www.lanierspeedway.com and clicking on the “GAS Radio Network Listen Live” link.
Doug Turnbull’s column on Who’s Hot, Warm, and Cold at NASCAR’s Martinsville show: http://www.frontstretch.com/dturnbull/23291/ Turnbull, an Atlanta WSB Radio traffic reporter, is joining the Lanier/GAS radio/internet broadcasts, and is closer to starting the TV show covering NE GA racing.
NASCAR Martinsville - the Georgia Boys: Reed Sorenson - 17th (started 29th) 30th in Pts. David Ragan - 27 (26) 29th in Pts. Joey Logano - - 32 (34) 34th in Pts.
Somebody counted: Race and Commercial Breakdown for the NASCAR Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville: Total number of commercials: 127 Total number of companies or entities advertised: 68 Total number of brief promos of products/services during the race broadcast: 99 Total number of companies or entities advertised in brief promos or crawlers: 27 Total amount of time these brief promos take during broadcast: app. 10 min. 20 sec. Total race minutes: 223 Minutes of race broadcast: 166 Minutes of commercials: 57 www.cawsnjaws.com
Talladega Superspeedway has posted an electronic version of its 2009 Fan Guide on the track website for race fans attending the April 24-26 Aaron’s Dream Weekend. The Fan Guide is located at talladegasuperspeedway.com. Included in the Fan Guide are traffic maps, overnight parking maps, gate schedules, grandstand guidelines, fan policies and much more. Talladega infield seats, which normally sell for $70, have been slashed to $40 for the Aaron’s 499 on April 26. The sale of infield tickets starts at 6PM on the Saturday of race weekend, at the speedway’s ticket office and Gate V9 ticket booth. The Talladega Short Track, across from the big track, has special shows that Fri. and Sat. - with the Southern All Stars Sat.
Our favorite trackchaser, Randy Lewis, of San Clemente, CA, is going after foreign tracks in 2009, and has already visited Andorra, Argentina, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. His latest trip was to Columbia, home of Juan Pablo Montoya, where his hosts treated him to a lunch of Capybara, the biggest RODENT in the world, and gave him a Columbian flag. Hungry fans at the Autodromo de Tocancipa could choose from two roasted corn stands, a catering truck that featured hamburqesas, local food including soups, food stands with fresh vegetables and sandwiches, pre-packaged dried fruit, and pizza being made from scratch. Full report at www.ranlayracing.com
Steve Hixson’s Rankings of Southern Dirt Racers, based on wins and finishes to date in 2009: 1 - Chris Madden - 160 pts. 2 - Ray Cook - 150 3 - Randle Chupp - 115 4 - Jonathan Davenport - 105 5 - Dennis Franklin - 100
Blaze Martin, from Brandon, FL, streaked to the win in the 40-lap Parts Plus United Sprint Car Series main event on Sunday afternoon at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele. Martin passed a former Parts Plus USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, AR, for the lead on lap 5 and never looked back. It was Martin's first USCS feature win and a career-first winged sprint car victory. Martin started from the sixth position after drawing a six in the K&N Filters Pole Award drawing. His draw placed Skinner on the pole with Rookie of the Year candidate, Justin Carver, from Drummonds, TN, outside the front row. Skinner who was in his first pavement appearance in seven years, took advantage of his field position to lead the first four laps. Martin charged to the front and led lap five before pulling out to a comfortable margin until lap twenty-four when the caution flew for a spinning Ben Fritz. On the re-start, Martin pulled to a six car length led at the end. Past TBARA Champion, Shane Butler, from Bushnell, FL, chased Martin across the finishline. Seven time USCS Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, TN, followed Butler in third place. Marshall Skinner finished fourth. Ben Fritz from Ocala, FL, rounded out the top five finishers. Carver had a successful paved track debut in sixth place followed by Billy Boyd, from Tampa, who started last after changing his right rear tire. 2008 Rookie of the Year, Anthony Nicholson finshed in eighth place also in his first time on Asphalt. Parts Plus USCS Main Event 40-Laps: 1 - 5B Blaze Martin, Brandon, FL 2 - 18 Shane Butler, Bushnell, FL 3 - 10 Terry Gray , Bartlett, TN 4 - 26M Marshall Skinner, W. Memphis, AR 5 - 16F Ben Fritz, Ocala, FL 6 - 24 Justin Carver, Drummonds, TN 7 - 15 Billy Boyd, Tampa, FL 8 - 16 Anthony Nicholson, Bartlett, TN 9 - 21A Amanda Ferguson, Orlando, FL 10 - Brad Wickham, Forest City, NC 11 - Jon Stinson, Memphis, TN 12 - Lee Moore, Tuscaloosa, AL 13 - 5T David Thorman, Greenville, SC 14 - 59 Dan Statter, Deltona, FL 15 - 67 Jake McLain, Indian Trail, NC 16 - 58 Sonny O'Sullivan, Edgewater, FL 17 - 46 Jim Blenkarn, Murfreesboro, TN 18 - Nick DeFeo, Marietta, GA DNS 19- Keith Butler, Riverview, FL DNS
EDGE AND REGISTER POST WINS IN COCHRAN SEASON OPENER By: Rev. Todd Shearin After a very trying 2008 racing season Cochran Motor Speedway was back in action this weekend. Promoter Buddy Churchwell and his staff welcomed racers and fans back as the new season began. There was a good turn out and the fans were treated to some exciting racing with each class having a healthy field of cars.Many of the drivers were shaking off the rust from the off season but all in all it was a good day.Churchwell is a veteran racer and has had much experience in promoting as well.During the winter improvements were made and will continue as Churchwell leads the storied speedway into the ’09 season. The action was great, complete with side by side racing, last lap passes, and even a couple of turnovers! I’m glad to report that no one was hurt. One story of note was 12 year old Will Herrington who made his first start and delighted the crowd by storming into the lead momentarily before finishing in 4th in the Road Warrior feature.Congratulations to Lisa Casteel who took the win, Corey Dunn was 2nd.Jeff Bodine and Sam Ussery both were alright after flipping there cars on consecutive laps. Dustin Miller took his new look Camaro to victory lane after a late race pass in the Cadet feature and Kyle Conyer took the win in the Pure Stock feature leading every lap. In Sportsman action Eric Register made a charge through the field to overtake race long leader Cory Compton. Register also finished 3rd in the Late Model Feature. Veteran Late Model driver Keith Edge Started from the pole and went on to lead flag to flag in the feature. Edge bested the 11 car field by holding off a strong early race charge by Brad Comer. Keith dedicated this win to his late brother Billy. Saturday, April 4, CMS kicks off the first points race of the year. www.cochrangaspeedway.com
Flagger available: I am a flagman ,and have been a tech at the local level with some of the touring groups: USAC, SMART ,All Pro, and Dash series. Thanks for the time. Call at #919-325-6529 or EMAIL twalls6258@netzero.com TOMMY WALLS , Raleigh, NC. But I do not mind traveling at all.
Green Valley Speedway postponed the GVS CRATE NATIONALS to the July 4th weekend. Plans are to add a "Spectacular Fireworks Show" to the event.
Sugar Creek Raceway is planning on 'Opening The Season" on Friday night April,10th. All Divisions are expected to be there....Super Latemodel / Limited Latemodel (Sportsman) / NeSmith Crate Latemodels / Modified Hobby / Economy Bomber / and the Mini Stocks will all see action.
441 Speedway near Dublin Opening April 11, 2009 Admission - Grandstand $10 Pit $20 Season pit parking passes $100.00...secure your weekly pit spots, they're going http://www.441speedway.com/
Sutherlin Marlin, the 19-year-old daughter of Sterling Marlin, is launching her racing career at Fairgrounds Speedway [Nashville], the historic track where her grandfather Coo Coo won four championships in the 1960s and her dad collected three more in the 1980s. “I attended my first race there when I was two weeks old,” says Sutherlin. “I’ve been around racing all my life and I can’t wait to give it a try.” A student at Columbia State, Sutherlin is bright and vivacious, and inherited her family’s keen sense of humor. “She’s got talent,” says her dad.
Robert Johnson, the son of Junior and Lisa Johnson, is scheduled to be make his racing debut April 4th driving a Late Model car on dirt at Friendship Speedway in Elkin, NC. Johnson’s team will be lead by his father and veteran NASCAR crew member Rock Harris. Sponsor’s for Johnson’s effort in 2009 will Carolina Carports and Junior Johnson Country Ham.(Robert and Junior Johnson PR)
Charlotte-based Sonic Automotive – a Fortune 500 company and one of the nation's largest auto dealers – today reported a staggering loss for 2008 and said it may have to file for bankruptcy protection. The company, which is led by Bruton Smith and has more than 150 locations across the U.S., had about $1.9 billion in outstanding debt as of Dec. 31. Sonic posted a nearly $686 million loss last year, a huge swing from a $95.5 million profit in 2007. Shares in the company closed at $1.60, down about 90 percent from a year ago.
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