Bristol Motor Speedway
Notebook: Topless 100 up next for Lucas Oil
From track, series and staff reports
Scott Bloomquist (0) is a three-time Topless 100 winner. (Brian McLeod)
While it might sound X-rated, the 16th annual Comp Cams Topless 100 is for all ages this weekend at Batesville Motor Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark. The Mooney Starr-promoted event, which has run unsanctioned the first 15 years, will run under Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioning in 2008.
Some of the top Dirt Late Model drivers in the country, including regional standouts from the Ozarks, will drive cars without a roof in battling for a $40,000 winner's payday on Aug. 15-16. Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., won last year's race and hometown driver Billy Moyer is the winningest driver in event history with four Topless 100 trophies. Practice is scheduled for Thursday with time trials and heat races scheduled for Friday. Saturday's action includes consolation races and the 100-lap main event. — From series reports
FIRST WORLD 100 WINNER DIES: Bruce Gould Jr., winner of the inaugural World 100 in 1971, died Aug. 9. He was 68. Gould, of Milford, Ohio, also won the 1972 track championship at Tri-County Speedway near Cincinnati before the track, later known as Queen City Speedway, was paved. Fans are welcome to sign a online guestbook. Among survivors are wife Joyce. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the American Heart Association, 2936 Vernon Place Cincinnati OH 45219. — From various reports
BONUS AVAILABLE AGAIN AT LOWE'S: The Oct. 8 Armour Vienna Sausage Southern Showdown at the Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., features a unique format that could pay the winner as much as $30,000, provided drivers enter before Sept. 13 for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series event. The winner will receive $10,000 along with an amount equal to $1,000 multiplied by his starting position (for instance, eighth-starting Shannon Babb earned $18,000 for his victory last year). The top five finishers from each of four heats will transfer to the main event with a unique draw determining starting spots. Also, WoO Late Models will run without roofs for the first time. For ticket and other information, check out the track website. — From track reports
IRONMAN MOVED TO RICHMOND: The fourth edition of the Ironman Dirt Track Challenge has been moved to Richmond (Ky.) Raceway. The Sept. 13 event, a 34-lapper, is scheduled to pay $3,400 to the winner and at least $340 to each starter. Previously the race has been held at Mountain Motor Speedway, where Jackie Boggs won in 2004 and Chris Combs won in 2006-7. — Chris Tilley
SAS EAST GOING TOPLESS, TOO:� The O'Reilly Southern All Star East tour will run topless for the third annual Robert "Pop" Pursley Memorial on Aug. 16 at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C. The winning purse has been boosted to $5,000 (up from $4,000) and a $1,000 bonus will go to the highest-finishing Limited Late Model. In other series news, the Aug. 30 event at Lancaster (S.C.) Motor Speedway has been cancelled and Hartwell (Ga.) Speedway will move its series event to that date. — From series reports
JACKSON SCRUBS LUCAS OIL EVENT: Jackson (Miss.) Motor Speedway has cancelled what would have been the biggest race in several years at the quarter-mile oval, citing the economy. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event originally scheduled for Sept. 12-13 was slated to pay $20,000 to the winner. “I really hated to cancel the Lucas Oil race, but to be 100 percent honest, it takes a lot of things to go right to make a show like this work, and with the current state of the economy and the absence of a major sponsor for the event, I felt that it was just too much of a risk," said track owner Don Cliburn. The track plans to run a more modest, unsanctioned Late Model special on Sept. 13. — From track and series reports
BROWNSTOWN RUNS AUG. 16 UNSANCTIONED: The O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series has dropped its sanctioning of the Aug. 16 Hall of Fame Classic at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway after a disagreement over tire rules. The track had requested and received permission to experiment with an altered series tire rule for its June O'Reilly BoB event, but the series decided not to allow the change this time, resulting in the dropping sanctioning. Brownstown plans to run the event unsanctioned with $3,000 going to the winner. The next O'Reilly BoB action will be Aug. 29-30 in eastern Kentucky with events at Mountain Motor Speedway in Isom, Ky., and 201 Speedway in Sitka, Ky. — From series and track reports
ODDS AND ENDS: The O'Reilly NCRA event scheduled for Sept. 1 at Heartland Park Topeka (Kan.) has been cancelled. NCRA competitors will still have two Labor Day weekend events on Aug. 29-30 at Hutchinson (Kan.) Raceway Park and 81 Speedway near Wichita, Kan. ... Dixie Speedway in Farmerville, La., has closed. ... Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa., has added a $2,000-to-win Fastrak Northeast event to its Aug. 30-31 weekend for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. ... Mountain Raceway Park in Maryville, Tenn., has changed the tire rule for the weekly division. Super Late Model teams can now use any Hoosier Tire. ... Ed Dixon's Aug. 8 victory at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., was the 600th feature win of his career.
Correction: A subheadline in the previous version incorrectly said the Ironman Dirt Track Challenge was at Florence Speedway; the race is at Richmond Raceway.
