Bristol Motor Speedway
Notes: Mississippi, Iowa set for big-purse races
From track, series and staff reports
Iowa and Mississippi host among their richest Dirt Late Model races of the year this weekend with Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway featuring the fifth annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals and Columbus (Miss.) Speedway featuring the 19th annual Magnolia State 100.
Knoxville's event, set for Sept. 25-27, begins with a pair of $7,000 semifeatures on Thursday and Friday night with Saturday's 100-lap feature paying $40,000 out of a total purse of more than $260,000. Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., won last year's event.
Columbus is set for Sept. 26-27 with time trials and heat races on Friday night with the 100-lap feature set for Saturday night. Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., won last year's event. — From staff reports
GREEN VALLEY ANNOUNCES $25,000-TO-WIN CRATE RACE: Green Valley Speedway promoter Dennis Harker announced he's planning a $25,000-to-win Crate Late Model event for March 26-28 at the Glencoe, Ala. The race would be the richest one-race event in the history of the division. — Steve Hixson
WoO DRIVERS WILL PICK A BUCKET AT LOWE'S: The Oct. 8 Armour Foods Vienna Sausage Showdown at the Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., will feature a new twist for World of Outlaws Late Model Series competitors. The track known for unorthodox lineup procedures will start the program with time trials and heat races, but then things get interesting. The track has dubbed its redraw the Southern Fried Scramble Draw as the top 20 drivers advancing through the heat races will draw their starting spot from one of five buckets (the first bucket has positions 1-4, the second bucket positions 5-8, and so on). Drivers can play it safe by picking a starting spot up front, or try to start further back to earn bonuses. Besides the $10,000 winner's purse, pre-entered drivers will receive an extra $1,000 per starting position. For instance, a driver winning from the 12th position earns an extra $12,000. — From track reports
SPALDING LOWERS WORLD RECORD AT KALAMAZOO: Versatile dirt-asphalt racing veteran Curt Spalding of Hartford, Mich., lowered Randy Sweet's 23-year-old world record Sept. 20 at Kalamazoo (Mich.) Speedway with the fastest lap ever recorded on a 3/8-mile oval. Spalding's lap of 10.715 seconds on the asphalt track (125.999 mph) came in an outlaw-style Late Model. Andy Bozell initially broke Sweet's mark, but Spalding lowered it moments later. "It was a super-wild ride," said Spalding who won $500. "Unbelievable." — Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette
VOLUNTEER CUTS PURSE FOR FALL BRAWL: Citing economic conditions and high fuel prices, Volunteer Speedway reduced the Advance Auto Parts Thunder Series-sanctioned Fall Brawl to one day from two days and to $5,000-to-win from $10,000-to-win, the series announced. The series plans a full program of time trials, dashes and consolation races for the Sept. 27 event. Also scheduled is the Sunoco Shootout, a 12-car, 12-lap event. — Brad Byrd
KANKAKEE REOPENING IN 2009: Kankakee (Ill.) Motor Speedway, a long-time Dirt Late Model track that never opened in 2008, is scheduled to reopen next season after the Kankakee County Fair Board and Indiana-based JBD Race Promotions signed a three-year deal recently. The track plans to host Late Models, modifieds, street stocks and an undecided fourth division Fridays beginning April 10, according to JBD's Doug Judy. The track's grand reopening will feature a $5,000-to-win Late Model special, promoters said. — From track reports
RED CLAY CLASSIC HIGHLIGHTS WISSOTA WEEKEND: Three more late-season WISSOTA Late Model specials are scheduled for Sept. 26-27, led by the 33rd annual Red Clay Classic at ABC Raceway in Ashland, Wis. The racetrack received a special sponsorship for the weekend that will make entry fee and driver pit passes free Late Model drivers. Other WISSOTA specials are the $3,000-to-win Winternationals at Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, S.D., and a $4,000-to-win event at Shawano (Wis.) Speedway. — Kevin Mudrak
UMP NATIONALS PURSE REFINED: The Oct. 3-4 UMP Nationals at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, will see a $5,000-to-win feature instead of the traditional $10,000-to-win feature. The overall purse has seen a modest increase, Eldora officials said, but more money has been spread throughout the purse for a more equitable payout. The runner-up in the 40-lapper receives $3,500 with at least $300 for every starter. — From track reports
KNIGHT WINS $10,000 IN ALLTEL PROGRAM: Mike Knight of Ripley, N.Y., won the Alltel Ohio Speedweek All-Star competition, an online contest among drivers from the four-race World of Outlaws Late Model Series minitour. Knight earned $10,000 after fans voted him as the the Alltel All-Star champion. “Everywhere I went people would tell me, ‘You’ve got a five percent lead’ or ‘You’ve got a four percent lead.’ I was usually working all the time on my farm, but everybody was keeping me updated,” said the grape farmer. “I live in a small town, about 3,000 people, and everywhere I went it was the topic. ... We’ve got great fans up here.” — Kevin Kovac
FASTRAK CRATES TO RUN AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY: NASCAR fans at Atlanta Motor Speedway will get a taste of Crate Late Model action Oct. 24 when the Fastrak Racing Series sanctions an event on the quarter-mile asphalt oval in front of the main grandstand. Heat races will be run on Oct. 23 to determine the 22 starters for the 50-lap event, which follows NASCAR time trials. “We’re excited to add another exciting race to the Pep Boys Auto 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend, said Atlanta Motor Speedway president and general manager Ed Clark. “Having 22 cars on our quarter-mile short track will make for an action-packed event.” — From series reports
BUREAU COUNTY CLOSED FOR GOOD: Bureau County Speedway in Princeton, Ill., will apparently close permanently after the majority of the Bureau County Speedway Corp. voted Sept. 17 to close the track and liquidate assets to pay off a bank loan. Check out the speedway website for details on auctions and sales of items from the track, which had been in continuous operation since 1981. — From track reports
UDLMCS ANNOUNCES $12,000 PAYOUT TO 2009 CHAMPION: The first-year United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series has already announced that the 2009 champion will receive $12,000 in cash and $3,000 in prizes. Sunoco Racing Fuels and Homes of Merit are the two prime sponsors of the 2009 points fund for the series that races primarily in Florida. — From series reports
ODDS AND ENDS: Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, Ky., runs its 18th annual Fall Classic on Oct. 4, paying $5,000 to the winner of the unsanctioned Super Late Model event. An Oct. 3 tuneup pays $2,000 to the winner. ... West Liberty (Iowa) Raceway has tentatively rescheduled the postponed Liberty 100 for Oct. 4-5. The race is scheduled to pay $7,000 to the winner. ... Quincy (Ill.) Raceway has scheduled a $2,500-to-win IMCA rules Late Model event for Oct. 5. ... WDRL has condensed its two-race Oct. 3-4 weekend into a single $10,000-to-win race at Davenport (Iowa) Speedway. ... Former Dirt Late Model standout Justin Allgaier, 22, of Riverton, Ill., who has focused on ARCA racing in recent years, signed with Penske Racing to drive in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the team announced Sept. 17
