With the 26th-Annual World Crown 300 in the rearview mirror at Gresham Motorsports Park, it's time for one quick look back at the historic weekend.
Here are some interesting sidelights to the three-day event.
A pair of veteran drivers with ties to the former Peach State Speedway ran their first and only race of the season in this year's Crown. David Hole wheeled his familiar No. 0 Late Model to a 14th-place finish despite crashing midway through the event. Meanwhile, local ace Scott Sutherland stepped out of the broadcast booth to pilot the No. 22 Cantrell Forest Products Ford to a stellar seventh-place finish. The solid effort earned Sutherland and his team the Circle Racing contingency award - a set of four Circle Racing Wheels.
Chris Davidson made the trip from Pear Land, TX to compete in this year's World Crown 300. Prior to the event, Davidson gave away two new bicycles to a lucky boy and girl fan. Unfortunately for Davidson, he was the first car to exit the race crashing out on Lap 33.
Paul Kelley's win in this year's 300 was a record fourth for the Pendagrass, GA driver. No other driver has won more than two World Crown 300 classics. Darrell Waltrip, Rich Bickle and Freddy Query all have two victories each in the 26-year history of the event.
'Tiger' Tom Pistone won the first-ever race at GMP - then named Jefco Speedway - in 1967. Pistone was seen at the track Friday taking in the INEX/600 Racing Series action.
Michael Phelps was one of five different drivers to lead Sunday's 300-lapper. Phelps led one time for one lap. Jeff Choquette led the most laps in the event pacing the 38-car field four times for 192 circuits.
Speaking of the 38-car starting field, that number matched the largest number of cars to ever take the green flag in WC 300 history. Tommy Joe Martins, Bubba Pollard, Chris Davidson, Johnny Brazier, Michael Lance and Brandon Johnson all made the field in the Saturday's 30-lap Last Chance race.
Nineteen cars finished all 300 laps Sunday - 14 of them on the lead lap.
There was one red flag in this year's World Crown 300, that coming on Lap 223 when Pollard got on his lid on the main straight.
Allen Karnes has the misfortune of being the first driver out of the running for this year's World Crown 300 title. Karnes never made it out of Friday's morning practice session suffering a hard Turn 1 crash that destroyed his racer. Fortunately, the Sharpsburg, GA driver was uninjured.
An unofficial survey of the parking lot at Sunday's event revealed fans from 15 states and Canada attended this year's World Crown 300. Meanwhile, the Late Model field was populated by drivers from Georgia, Tennessee, Maine, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Minnesota.
Johnny Braizer made the trip to this year's Crown from one of the more interesting sounding hometowns - Lickskillet, Alabama.
Dylan Presnell of Sevierville, TN finished 10th in this year's World Crown 300 Late Model classic - a solid effort for the 14-year-old former Allison Legacy Series star.
In all, there were 10 teenagers entered in this year's WC 300. Teens Tanner Berryhill (15) and Stephen Naase (14) finished fifth and eighth, respectively.
Another teen - Chase Elliott - set a new track record when he won the pole for this year's World Crown 300 with a time of 16.178 seconds.
Brazier was the oldest driver in the race at 52.
Not all the interesting background to this year's World Crown 300 was in the Late Model garage area. For instance -
Alex Coffee won the first-ever race on the all-new Gresham Motorsports Park quarter-mile oval when he captured the INEX/600 Racing Series Bandolero Bandit main event Friday night.
Casey Roderick can lay claim of being the first two-time winner in the history of the new GMP facility. Roderick won the INEX/600 Racing Series Legends Pro main event Friday before returning to capture the Thunder Roadster headliner.
Saturday's WC 300 Truck Series event drew a solid field of 17 starters with Paul Antley taking the checkered flag. Seven drivers completed all 75 laps of the event.
Hoyt Stephens provided the most frightening moment of the weekend when his Iceman Late Model Stock Car pounded the Turn 4 wall and erupted into flames. Stephens was uninjured, but his No. 86 stocker was pretty crispy after the wreck.
Off the track, veteran speedway watchers agreed Sunday's World Crown 300 drew the largest crowd in recent memory to the track. The main grandstand was full and trackside parking was packed hundreds of vehicles and thousands of fans.
The Main Grandstand concession stand and restrooms were completed Friday morning while Late Model practice rolled on the GMP half-mile oval. The 11th-hour button down completed the first-phase of the track's total renovation that will continue with more improvements prior to the start of the 2010 season.
That said, Gresham Motorsports Park will host its next event - an all-day Drift spectacular - on Saturday, November 28. Fans will be admitted to the show for just $5 and can participate in a thrilling on-track ride along for just $15.
Meanwhile, GMP has already announced a trio of Stock Car racing events for the 2010 season. The USAR Pro Cup Series will open its 2010 racing campaign on Saturday, March 27 and will also stage a second event on Saturday, October 23 as part of its Championship Series.
Also on tap at GMP in 2010 will be the return of NASCAR racing to the Jefferson, GA oval with the NASCAR Camping World Series East event on Saturday, August 28.
In all, GMP will stage multiple Late Model events as well as host numerous other oval track divisions in 2010. The plan is also to host various other motorsports/automotive related shows including Drifting, Motorcycle, Custom Car and Hot Rod events at the all-new track. The facility is also available for testing to all drivers in all divisions throughout the off season.
To keep up with all the news about Gresham Motorsports Park, please log on regularly to www.GreshamMotorsportsPark.com
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