LateModelStock.com - News

Morris to Pilot BGN Car at Lowe's

Philip Morris, driver of the #01 PMI Late Model Stock Car, will be competing in this weekend's Busch Grand National race, The Little Trees 300, being held at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Morris will be piloting the #49 Little Trees Ford Taurus owned by Jeff Hensley and Jay Robinson. The race will be televised on TNT starting at 12 noon. Morris was the 2001 LMSC track champion at NRVS, Blue Ridge Regional Champion, and finished second in the national rankings done by NASCAR.

MITCHELL QUALIFIES 12TH AT LOWE'S

Concord, NC (Oct 3) ... After struggling with handling problems all afternoon, Bruceton Mills, WV driver Richard Mitchell finally qualified 12th fastest for Thursday night's running of the ARCA Easy Care 100 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte.

"We spent most of the day changing shock and spring packages," said the two-time defending NASCAR Northeast Region champion. "We finally got the car reasonably fast right at the end of practice. We'll make some changes during happy hour later and see what happens tomorrow night."

Mitchell, who ran a speed of 177.690 mph around the 1.5 mile oval in his Coach USA/Mountaineer Gaming/Forest River Motorhomes Pontiac will line up in the sixth row on the starting grid beside NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series veteran Rick Carelli.

Michigan driver Tim Steele led the 51-car field in time trials with a lap of 183.705 mph.

Nick Woodard Pleases Crowd With 19th-Place Finish

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. (September 28) - Nick Woodward was a crowd favorite in the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at South Boston Speedway and the 21-year-old hotshoe did not disappoint his fans. Woodward adeptly dealt with some unfortunate circumstances en route to a 19th-place finish.

Woodward, competing on his home track in only his second career Craftsman Truck Series event, had high hopes that his experience at the .4-mile facility would mean at least a possible top-10 finish. And his effort to accomplish that result at the track where he won the 2000 Track Championship was exemplary.

But a broken oil line on the No. 84 Long Brothers Ford at one point in the race and a flat tire later spoiled an otherwise excellent run for the resident of High Point, N.C.

"I think it was a good night," said Woodward, a native of Preston, Md. "We showed we could be competitive and go out there and get our lap back and race with the best of them. I learned a lot. I got some more radial tire experience and good seat time. We ran the whole race. I didn't get into anybody and didn't tear the truck up. The Long Brothers did a great job. I want to thank them for this opportunity and the chance they gave me. The truck was just great.

"I'm hoping the way we ran, somebody will take notice. I hope tonight helped a little bit. I went to the back, you know, and passed a ton of trucks, came through there, picked our way forward, made a lap back up and didn't mess the truck up."

With a strong 13th-place qualifying effort, Woodward was up to 12th place by lap 26 of the 250-lap event and seemed poised to soon earn a top-10 position, but on lap 33 a huge cloud of smoke erupted from his truck.

A small oil line from the valve cover had worked itself loose. The Long Brothers crew quickly made repairs in the pits, but Woodward lost two laps in the process, relegating him to 31st place for the restart after that caution period.

Determined to make up the deficit, and driving a nearly perfectly setup truck for the South Boston track, Woodward, with skill and patience and using his home-track experience, began surging forward passing other trucks almost at will. He was up to 22nd place by lap 133, when a caution came out, but he was still two laps down.

On the inside of then-leader Morgan Shepherd for the restart, Woodward got the jump and passed Shepherd to get one of those laps back, and he kept the No. 84 Ford out in front of the pack until the next caution when the race was red-flagged for a big accident.

Lining up as the third car in line for the restart, it was decision time. He could either stay on the outside and hope to eventually work his way past the leaders or drop down to the inside as the first car one lap down and perhaps spurt forward to quickly gain back the other lap.

Since the lower part of the track was questionable because of the quick-dry material there, Woodward opted to stay in the outside line for the restart.

"It was my decision not to pull down there," Woodward said. "There was a lot of junk on the bottom of the track, and I thought if I could hang with Dennis (Setzer) and Ted (Musgrave), I could get that other lap back shortly. I just made a wrong decision. I should have gotten down on the inside for the restart, but other trucks had already moved into position there."

Then, on lap 198, the spotter noticed sparks flying out from under the truck as Woodward negotiated the turns. The bottom was scraping the track. A tire was going down. Woodward had to pit under green to have the left front tire replaced and lost three laps, ending any hopes for a top-five or top-10 finish.

Still Woodward persevered and in the latter part of the race passed the trucks on his lap for position, earning the 19th-place finish.

FIRST ANNUAL THUNDER IN THE MOUNTAINS SCHEDULED

PENDERGRASS, GEORGIA - The American Racing Association (ARA) today confirmed the First Annual Thunder in the Mountains racing extravaganza to be held on October 6 and October 13 at Newport Speedway, in Newport, Tennessee. The first weekend of racing will showcase the super-fast ARA Southern Thunder cars in a 125-lap feature. The second weekend, Octrober 13, will feature the Kool Seal Challenge Series in a $5000 to-win 250 lap main event.

"Our drivers have expressed a great desire to race on the super-fast high banks at Newport Speedway," said Terry Treadwell, ARA President. "This way, fans will have a chance to see both of the ARA touring programs on back-to-back weekends in big special events."

The Thunder in the Mountains weekends will allow local Newport Speedway drivers to showcase their talents against the ARA touring professionals. The Newport Super Late Model division is comparable to the ARA Southern Thunder cars racing on October 6. The Newport Late Model division drivers can face off against the ARA Kool Seal Challenge Series on October 13.

The ARA Kool Seal Challenge Series race scheduled for October 13 at Galaxy Kingsport Speedway was cancelled to make room on the schedule for the Thunder in the Mountains events.

Gates open at 4pm each Friday for special practice sessions. On Saturdays, practice begins at 2pm. Time trials are set for 5:30pm. A special driver autograph session will precede the 7:30pm feature race starts.

Huntsville Speedway revs up for 500 laps

Long race on short track to identify 'real' All Star drivers

It's only a 125-mile race - about the same distance between Huntsville Speedway and Nashville's Opryland Hotel.

But when that 125-mile race is held at Huntsville Speedway's quarter-mile asphalt track, you're looking at 500 laps of bumper-to-bumper, fender-to-fender, side-by-side Southern All Star Asphalt Series racing.

It's easy to see why it's being billed as the "King of the Ring."

Saturday night, 28 short track drivers from all over the Southeast will try to do something that has never been accomplished at Huntsville Speedway - run 500 laps.

"A lot of people think I'm crazy holding a 500-lap race, but I'm going to prove them wrong," SAS president Ben David Atkinson said. "Someone was criticizing me the other day about running that many laps at Huntsville Speedway and I told them the reason we don't have a lot of short track drivers racing on the Winston Cup circuit from the South is that we don't hold enough long races like they do on the ASA circuit and other race tracks up north.

"When a Winston Cup owner starts looking for a driver, he's not only looking at a driver's mental ability, but his physical ability as well. Most of our guys around here are just wannabes with big egos. They go out and buy themselves a $200,000 racing rig, a $100 helmet and a pretty driving suit, wave at the crowd and call themselves a driver. Well, it takes more than that to be a real driver."

Atkinson is hoping to attract a lot of real drivers, including NASCAR All Pro Series point’s leader Wayne Anderson, along with some of the other top names in the Southeast.

"Drivers like Wayne Anderson are used to driving the long races," Atkinson said. "We've got some good drivers around here, but they're not used to running more than 200 or 250 laps. The race strategy will be completely different. When you're running 500 laps you not only have to worry about tire wear but your brakes as well. Not only does the driver have to be good, but his crew chief has to know how to do more than put gas and oil in the car and change the lug nuts."

The longest race ever held at Huntsville Speedway was on Aug. 7, 1969 when the late Tiny Lund won a 400-lapper, leading every lap and finishing five laps ahead of Buck Baker.

Most of the racing teams will be at the track Thursday for a six-hour practice session that will begin at 4 p.m. Friday's practice will begin at 4 p.m., followed by the Yellow Buzz race, which features stock four-cylinder cars that have been painted John Deere yellow, at 8. SAS qualifying will begin at 8:30 with a Hobby Stock event at 9:15. The final race will start at 9:45.

A driver's autograph session will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the start of the King of the Ring 500 at 8.

Admission will be $15 for Friday and $20 for Saturday.

Kingsport closes season with ‘Top Dawg’ championships

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (Oct. 2) – Track champions will be crowned this weekend when Galaxy Kingsport Speedway closes the 2001 racing season with the East Tennessee "Top Dawg" Championship events on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5-6, presented by Southland Windows & Siding and Automotive Collision Technology. The nine-division racing program will be double-points races, highlighted by the $2,000-to-win 150 lap Late Model Stock feature on Saturday night.

In the tightest divisional "battle" for supremacy at GKS, Wade Lopez of Abingdon, Va., leads Kingsport’s Jeff Berry by only one point in the "Shoney’s" NASCAR Late Model Stock Car standings. Lopez has 2,332 points to Berry’s 2,331.

Third through fifth are Abingdon’s Kres VanDyke (2,236), winner of the 50-lap Late Model feature the past two weeks, Adam Dean of Bristol (2,197) and Piney Flats’ Wayne Hale (2,171).

Other divisional point leaders at the 3/8-mile concrete track include: Caleb Holman of Abingdon in Sportsman; Greeneville’s Jeff Maupin in UMP Modified; Bill Coleman of Kingsport in Charger; Blountville’s Garland Worley in Pro Challenge; Ronnie McCarty of Kingsport in Legends; and Jonesborough’s Kelly Glass in Modified Lite.

The starting lineups in all divisions for Saturday night’s East Tennessee Top Dawg Championships will be determined in "King of Kings" and "Championship Shootout" qualifying races on Friday night. All cars that compete in a qualifying race will receive 50 Galaxy Kingsport Speedway bonus championship points.

The top three finishers in the Late Model Stock King of Kings event will start on the inside row of the 150-lap feature on Saturday, while the top three finishers in the Championship Shootout for non-winners at GKS this season will occupy the outside row starting berths. Feature positions seven on back through the field will be based on qualifying times.

The 12 Late Model Stock feature winners eligible for the King of Kings race include: Lopez, Berry, VanDyke, Hale, Robbie Ferguson, Michael Chaney, Wade Day, Reece Milton, Keith Stiltner, Matt Wolfe, Mark Ketron and Nate Monteith.

The format in all other divisions will place the top two finishers from the King of Kings events on the inside row of the feature, with the top two finishers lining up on the outside row. Feature starting positions five on back will be determined from qualifying times.

Grandstand gates will open Friday, Oct. 5 at 4 p.m., with qualifying at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 8 o'clock. Grandstand and tier-parking admission is $10, with children 12-and-under admitted free.

Grandstand gates will open Saturday, Oct. 6 at 4 p.m., with feature racing getting the green flag promptly at 7 o’clock. The race fans will be treated to 430-laps of exciting feature event racing on Saturday night.

LATE MODEL STOCK

1. Jeff Berry - 2332
2. Wade Lopez - 2331
3. Kres VanDyke - 2236
4. Adam Dean - 2197
5. Wayne Hale - 2171
6. Reece Milton - 2154
7. Bill Garrett - 2046
8. Rick Pannell - 1978
9. Clyde Jones - 1774
10. Mark Ketron - 1674