Short Track Roundup (3/18/98)
18 March 1998
Mobile, Ala - Time once again to take a look back at the short track action around the country over the past week. For those in the Southeast the cold weather that gripped the region forced the postponement of many events such as the two big Late Model races in Tennessee while in the Midwest it was the rain that caused the postponements and cancellations. One of the biggest events on this past weekends calendar was the T. Wayne Robertson Memorial 200 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway. Taking home the winners check of more than $11,000 was Phillip Morris who led the last 24 laps. Finishing in second was Rodney Sawyers and David Blankenship came home third. Another big money race was held at Myrtle Beach (SC) Speedway and the $10,000 went to Charles Powell III who got the win in the Sleep Inn 250. Jamie Skinner was second and Sean Graham third. At Nashville (Tenn) Speedway USA Andy Kirby took the win in the Late Model event with Craig Welsh second and Joe Buford third. In the SuperTruck race it was Jimmy Valentine leading David Matheny Jr and Allen Carter to the finish. At Montgomery (Ala.) Speedway USA the Coca Cola 100 was won by Chris Mullinax in a Dennis Reno owned entry. Glen Middlebrooks was second and Ronnie Sanders took third. At Columbia Motorsports Park, Lake City, Fla. the Late Model win went to Joe Lynch followed by Michael Haigh and Chris Yarbrough. More Trucking news saw Kevin Barrett win the PARTS Pro Truck Series opener at Lanier Speedway in Georgia, with David Wragg taking the win in the NWRS Late Model event. In Sprint Car news the World of Outlaws did get one race in at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss. where it was more of the same as Mark Kinser got the win. Second place went to Danny Lasoski while third was Stevie Smith. Mark continues to lead the points with Steve Kinser in second and Johnny Hererra holding on to third. Better watch out for Jac Haudenschild though as the ‘Wild Child’ is closing in rapidly on the leaders. Paul McMahan won the Mini Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Raceway in Chico, Calif., but the news from this venue was not all good as young Bud Kaeding suffered concussion, third degree burns on his hand and a broken elbow when he was involved in a crash during the race. Reports are that he is doing well and a full recovery is expected. Following Paul across the line was brother Bobby in second and Todd Bammer took third. At Lincoln (Pa.) Speedway Craig Eash was the winner in the Sprint feature with Billy Pauch second and Jeff Shepard third. Williams Grove (Pa.) Speedway fans saw Shepard go to the head of the class the next night as he garnered the win ahead of Todd Shaffer and Pauch. Boyd (Tx) Raceway held the first IMCA Sprint race of the 1998 season and the opening night winner was Jeff Day. Johnny Miller and Skip Wilson rounded out the top trio. The SCRA returned to Perris (Calif.) Speedway and it was Jay Drake who took the checkered flag for his first win. Cary Faas was second and Mike Kirby came across in third. Richard Griffin currently leads the points standings followed by Mike Kirby and Rip Williams. Good News for Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway is the return of Pennzoil as the corporate sponsor of the “Pennzoil Cup” Sprint Car Series. Lets give a call to Billy Felts Jr. who in just his fourth time behind the wheel of a midget came home the winner in the Western States Midget event at Bakersfield, Calif. Felts lead Brian Stanfill and Clay Klepper to the checkers. All Star Sprint fans will be happy to know that Scott Hall is back with the series as the PR Director, although I have no idea why the series ever thought about changing that position. Scott is one of the best in the business and does a great job of getting the All Star news out to both media and the fans...Glad you are back Scott. The Northern Sprint Tour has signed Hy-Per-Lube as their sponsor for the coming season. The dirt Late Model activities took a beating from the weather with both big races in Tennessee postponed another week due to cold. Also hit was the Sportsman race at Cordele (Ga.) Speedway. The National Late Model Sportsman Series did race at Lake City (Fla.) Speedway and Billy Godowns took the win with Gene Ross in second and Wendell Durrance taking third. Durrance held on to a slim point lead thanks to his third place finish. At Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC, Billy Scott was the winner, with Roger Hamrick and Clint Elkins the next across the finish stripe. Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway completed the postponed Winter Bash and it was Rodney Franklin who won that race. Second went to Gary Stuhler with Rick Eckert in third. There were also two more Late Model Features at Hagerstown that same evening but the winner was the same in every race as Franklin notched up a hat-trick of wins. Gary Stuhler and Steve Shaver followed Franklin across the line in both the other two races. JAX Raceways finally got its season opening race program completed, and despite the fact that the track has been remodeled and now is supposed to have two or three grooves it was still a pretty one groove track for this race. Donnie Hall was the winner with Gary Barrett second and Gary Spivey third. The money keeps rolling in for the Big Johnson National Championship. An additional $13,500 has been posted so now there will be a payout for the top five in the final standings. This could be the best thing for dirt Late Model racing since the invention of tear-offs! This coming week will be a full one, if the weather cooperates, with two big Late Model events in Tennessee as the cars will start at Cleveland and then move on to Bulls Gap. The World of Outlaws will return to make up the rain postponed date at Houston and then head up to Mesquite for the Spring Nationals. NARC will be at Tulare’s Thunderbowl and the SCRA will return to Manzanita. For asphalt fans the place to be is Mobile, Ala for the ProCup race at Mobile International Speedway where they will attempt to start 36 of these monsters on the tight half mile....ought to be very interesting. The Rattlesnake 100 will also take place in Opp, Ala this weekend. Wherever you are they should be some great racing on your local short tracks as more and more of the venues spring into action, so head out for an enjoyable evening at your local track, where the stars of tomorrow race today. Have a ball, Ya’ll! John Kaiser -- The Auto Channel