Bristol Motor Speedway
Notes: Pencil's Survivor takes victory at Bedford
BEDFORD, Pa. (April 17) — It wasn't difficult for Jack Pencil of Bedford, Pa., to come up with a name for his No. 14 Late Model: Survivor. After all, the car was among the equipment salvaged from a March 20 race shop fire that injured his father and put his race team in a deep hole starting the 2009 season. | Weekly racing results
In his first outing in Survivor, the cockpit still had the stench of smoke. In a later outing, it was competitors smelling the smoke of being burned by Pencil's speeding car in last Friday's season opener at Bedford Speedway.
Pencil overtook race-long leader D.J. Troutman of Hyndman, Pa., with six laps remaining in the 25-lap and won the opener at the half-mile track where he's a multitime track champion. Troutman settled for second followed by Steve Everhart of Canoe Creek, Pa., Scott Haus of Hamburg, Pa., and Bo Feathers of Winchester, Va.
Troutman led from the drop of the green while Pencil and Jeff Miller battled for second. Pencil grabbed the second spot before a caution for Dwayne Taneyhill, then took up chase of Troutman. Pencil took command on the 19th lap and pulled away the rest of the race for the victory.
Pencil and other Bedford regulars will face tough competition in the track's second race of the season on April 24 as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series rolls into town for a $10,000-to-win event. — Laura Cornman
PADUCAH'S NASCAR NIGHT APRIL 23: Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway hosts its first NASCAR Night of the season on Thursday, April 23, and former NASCAR Nextel Cup champion and track co-owner Tony Stewart is expected to compete in the UMP DIRTcar Late Model division. Fellow track co-owner Ken Schrader is expected to compete in the modified division. The Late Model feature pays $1,500 to the winner. The Thursday special replaces Friday's racing at the track which hosts a pair of May 1-2 events, a UMP special paying $3,000 to the winner Friday and a $10,000-to-win Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event on Saturday. — From track reports
OHIO'S BROWN COUNTY TO RUN PART-TIME SCHEDULE: Brown County Speedway plans to reopen in May after being closed since last August. Richard Crawford has retaken promotership of the track from Doug Seaman and plans to kick off the season with practice on a May date to be announced. Instead of running weekly events, Crawford said economic conditions have forced him to plan on running selected nights when he can draw the biggest crowds. — From track reports
WEEKS WINS AT FRIENDSHIP: Friendship Motor Speedway in Elkin, N.C., ran a $2,000-to-win event for Super Late Models on April 18, and Ricky Weeks of Rutherfordton, N.C.., took the victory. Chris Meadows of Beckley, W.Va., set fast time and started on the pole, but Weeks got the jump at the outset and led the whole way. Dan Breuer was second followed by Jeff Smith and Steve Blackburn. — From track reports
PLESSINGER DEDICATES VICTORY TO YOUNGSTER: Frankie Plessinger of Big Cove Tannery, Pa., notched his first Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway victory of 2009 on April 18 after a series of top-five finishes. Plessinger overtook Marvin Winters on the 10th lap and led the rest of the way, then dedicated the victory to a terminally ill youngster, Thaddeous. “This is for a special fan up there that really wanted to come to the races, this is for him,” Plessinger said. Before the program began, Plessinger gave the young boy an autographed T-shirt. — From track reports
EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY AT VMS: Virginia Motor Speedway in Jamaica, Va., is charging just $5 for general admission on April 25 for "Everybody is Somebody" night at the half-mile track. The event marks the regular season opener at the track that hosted the World of Outlaws Late Model Series on April 18. New at VMS in 2009 is Crate Late Model cars running with the track's regular Limited Late Model division. “Over the last couple of years we have been inundated with requests to add Crate Late Models to our racing here at VMS, and with the current economy making it more difficult for our competitors to race, we felt that now was the right time to introduce Crates to our mix,” said track general manager Clarke Sawyer. The Crate competitors will run under Fastrak Racing Series engine rules. — Dave Seay
ODDS AND ENDS: Checkered Flag Speedway in Hohenwald, Tenn., which closed last season, is reopening in 2009 as Tennessee National Raceway. The track is now owned by Speedway Holdings and Investments, headed by Maryland businessman Nathan Ottensmeyer. The quarter-mile track plans Late Model events but the schedule hasn't been released. ... Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., has instituted its Hot City Nights promotion which grants free admission to fans from select communities on select events throughout the season. See the track website for dates and details. ... David Killian, a long-time driver from Murphy, N.C., died March 30. Survivors included his father Jack Killian along with a wife and five sons.
