Bristol Motor Speedway
Notes: Columbus offers NeSmith special events
From series reports
The NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series will celebrate its track champions Thanksgiving weekend during the Possum Town Grand Prix at Columbus (Miss.) Speedway. The Race of Champions will be one of four races held for the Crate Late Model competitors on Nov. 28-29 at Columbus.
About 150 Crate racers from across the country are eligible to compete in the 30-lap, $2,000-to-win Fall Nationals Invitational Race. The Top 10 drivers from the West and East Regions will compete in the 20-lap $500-to-win Race of Regions.
The invitational will be run on Friday along with the Race of Champions and Race of Regions heat races. The Race of Champions and the Race of Regions are scheduled for Saturday.
On Saturday night, the final points race for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be run with a 40-lap, $3,000-to-win main event that will be open to all competitors.
Seven NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series invitees will be eligible to compete in three Fall Nationals events, having won a track championship to earn a seat in the Race of Champions starting field, and placing in the Top 10 of the point standings in one of two Weekly Racing Series Regions to earn a starting spot in the Race of Regions. — Roby Helm
FASTRAK NORTHEAST ADDS TWO TRACKS: The Fastrak Racing Series Northeast Region, which produced 2008's national Fastrak points champion in Max Blair, has added a pair of tracks for the 2009 season. Arcade International Raceway in Delevan, N.Y., and Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex in Markleysburg, Pa., will run weekly Crate Late Model events under the Fastrak banner. Arcade, which ran under Fastrak rules when it was called Freedom Raceway in 2007, has been taken over by Carl Drum, whose son Kyle is a Fastrak Northeast regular. Roaring Knob, a Saturday-night track which previously ran a Crate Late Model division unsanctioned, will give several Pennsylvania drivers a chance to run Friday-Saturday events in conjunction with another Fastrak Northeast track, Dog Hollow Speedway in Strongstown, Pa. Fastrak Northeast plans to have seven weekly tracks for the 2009 season. — Mike Leone
NeSMITH CHEVROLET BANQUET SET FOR DEC. 10: The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series banquet is scheduled for Dec. 10 at the Embassy Suites Downtown Hotel in Tampa, Fla. Dinner is 7 p.m., and award ceremonies begin at 8 p.m. The series will honor the 2008 touring champion as well as the top 10 series drivers, along with the top three regional drivers in the West and East weekly divisions. Other awards will include the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year award and the Hard Charger award. The banquet precedes a non-points event at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa. The 100-lapper pays $10,000 to the winner. — Roby Helm
GRT TAKES CHASSIS CHAMPIONSHIP AGAIN: GRT Race Cars of Greenbrier, Ark., has won its third straight NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Manufacturers Championship. GRT Race Cars won 78 feature races in 2008 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competition, more than twice as many as the second-place chassis manufacturer, Trak-Star Chassis, which had 36 wins. Mark Clifton of Brewton, Ala., was the winningest GRT driver with 13 victories, all at Flomaton (Ala.) Speedway. Behind GRT and Trak-Star were Mastersbilt Race Cars of Crothersville, Ind., with 24 wins, Warrior Race Cars of Knoxville, Tenn. (17), Rayburn Race Cars of Whiteland, Ind. (10) and TNT Race Cars of Johnson City, Tenn. (four). — Roby Helm
