Bristol Motor Speedway
Notes: Fayetteville hosts key stretch of events
From series, track and staff reports
Ricky Weeks
The racing season is winding down, but Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway has its busiest stretch of the season over the next five days. The half-mile track is in action with three events from Oct. 3-7 with all of the races playing a role in determining points championships.
Action starts on Friday, Oct. 3, with a $2,500-to-win event that's part of the track's Crazy 8 Super Late Model miniseries. Racing continues Saturday, Oct. 4, with the third annual Carolina Clash Bash, the finale race of the season on the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series. Four-time and defending series champion Ricky Weeks of Rutherfordton, N.C., leads Dennis Franklin of Gaffney, S.C., by 45 points as he tries to sew up his fifth title. The event culminates the first-ever Countdown to the Cup playoff-style system instituted by the series in 2008.
“I want it real bad,” said Weeks, who has won five of the last eight series events. “I want this one more than ever before. We are making sure we do everything in our power to win our fifth straight title."
The richest-ever Carolina Clash event pays $9,000 to the winner. Industrial Solutions and Supply of Marion, S.C., has posted an extra $100 to the event's fast qualifier. Also on tap is a catered meal for all Carolina Clash teams at 4:30 p.m. sponsored by Performance Tee's, the official T-shirt supplier for the series.
The top six qualifiers will be locked into the starting lineup but must redraw for position. The rest of the field will be set through consolation races.
Finally, Fayetteville hosts the World of Outlaws Late Model Series on Tuesday, Oct., 7 for a makeup of the event postponed by rain on Aug. 15. Darrell Lanigan and Jonathan Davenport are scheduled to start on the front row of the 50-lap feature, but one of the race favorites will surely be Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., the 2008 World 100 winner and one of the nation's hottest drivers. He owns three victories in the last six WoO events.
“Everything has fallen into place and we’ve gotten on a real good roll. Hopefully we can keep it going at Fayetteville," Clanton said. “We had a real good car there in August and — barring anything out of the ordinary happening — we’re bringing the same car back on Tuesday. We’ll probably try to settle in there behind Lanigan at the start, see where his weak spots might be and then try to make a move.”
A winner of a career-high four WoO features this season, Clanton will attempt to become just the fourth driver since 2004 to win three consecutive events on the tour. Rick Eckert of York, Pa., holds the WoO LMS consecutive-win record of four races (2006), while former tour champions Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., both captured three in a row in 2005. — From series reports
CHAMPION TENNESSEE DRIVER DIES: Buddy Rogers, a champion Tennessee Dirt Late Model veteran who won track titles at Tazewell, Atomic and Newport, died Sept. 29 at the St. Mary's Residential Hospice in Knoxville, Tenn. He was 73. Rogers won the first-ever feature at Tazewell in 1965 and was a four-time champion at the track along with competing with the National Dirt Racing Association during a career that stretched from the 1960s to the '80s. His son, Rick Rogers, is on the verge of wrapping up the 2008 championships on the Advance Auto Parts Thunder Series, and his grandson Stephen won a Late Model feature at Tazewell last season. Besides his son Rick, Rogers is survived by his wife Sharon and three stepchildren. — Tim Lee
HARRIS EDGED FOR NASCAR'S WEEKLY TITLE: In one of the closest battles in the history of NASCAR's weekly action, asphalt driver Philip Morris of Ruckersville, Va., edged Iowa dirt racer Brian Harris by two points to win the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national title. The two points represent a single position on the track. Morris will honored Nov. 7 in Las Vegas, Nev., as the awards banquet. Other Dirt Late Model racers among the top 25 in the final points: Iowa's Andy Eckrich (sixth) at Dubuque Speedway, Iowa's Jeremiah Hurst (16th) at West Liberty Raceway and Wisconsin's Brent Larson (22nd) at Cedar Lake Speedway. — From NASCAR reports
WINCHESTER-HAGERSTOWN DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND: With the Sept. 26-27 rainout of the 45th annual Winchester 200 at Winchester (Va.) Speedway, the track has rescheduled the unsanctioned event for Oct. 24-25. Nearby Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway is running its Octoberfest weekend on Oct. 25-26 and the tracks are coordinating so drivers are able to run both events with Hagerstown's preliminaries on Saturday afternoon and Winchester's main event on Saturday evening. Both events pay $10,000 to the winner. — From track reports
TV TIMES ANNOUNCED FOR KENTUCKY EVENTS: The Outdoor Channel has announced the telecast times for taped replays of the final two O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series events. The Total Lubricants 50 from Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, Ky., will be shown at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Oct. 20, with another replay set for 3 a.m. on Oct. 21 (all times Eastern). The Best Racing Bluegrass 50 from Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, Ky., is scheduled to be telecast at 4:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Nov. 3, with another replay set for 2 a.m. on Nov. 4. — From series reports
WDRL CHAMPIONSHIP UP FOR GRABS: Heading into the Oct. 3-4 Governor's Cup at Davenport (Iowa) Speedway, John Kaanta of Elk Mound, Wis., has a one-point lead over Chad Simpson of Mount Vernon, Iowa, on the World Dirt Racing League. Both are going for their first WDRL championships. — From series reports
ELDORA'S 2009 DATES ANNOUNCED: Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, has announced its 2009 dates for its richest Dirt Late Model events. The Prelude to the Dream, a charity event featuring NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, is scheduled for June 3 to be following by the $100,000-to-win Dream XV on June 5-6. The 39th annual World 100, paying $42,000 to the winner, is scheduled for Sept. 11-12. Could a Dirt Late Model driver be included in this year's Prelude? A track press released noted that the event may include a "twist to the format that will generate additional excitement amongst the Dirt Late Model world." — From track reports
LOGUE POCKETS $3,000 FOR BIG TEN TITLE: Kyle Logue of Oreana, Ill., will collect $3,000 from a $10,000 points fund after capturing the Midwest Big 10 Series title. The 10-race miniseries was split between Macon (Ill.) Speedway and Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill. Logue won three of the 10 events and was in the top five seven times. Finishing behind Logue in the miniseries points: Jayme Zidar of Greenfield, Wis., and Roger Brickler of Springfield, Ill. — From track reports
ODDS AND ENDS: Crossville (Tenn.) Raceway is hosting the $6,000-to-win Tennessee State Championships on Oct. 11. Veteran North Carolina driver Ray Cook is co-promoting the event. ... The Oct. 4 United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series event at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga., was cancelled because of Georgia's fuel supply problems, the series announced. ... Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa, is mourning the death of track official Skyler Dickey, 24, who died Sept. 29 from injuries in an automobile accident. ... Susquehanna Speedway Park rescheduled the third annual Cumberland Truck Equipment Susquehanna Showdown for Sunday, Oct. 5 after a Sept. 27 rainout. The 50-lap Late Model feature pays $3,000 to the winner with a possible bonus of $25,000.
