Riverside Int'l Speedway
Dacus fights off Elam, grabs Riverside victory
By Ben Shelton
Midsouth Racing Scene
Jamie Dacus races toward victory. (Woody Hampton)
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (Sept. 12) — Track favorite Jamie Dacus of Lakeland, Tenn., blasted through the cushion for 40 laps to lead all the way in the third annual Bartlett Hardwood Floor Service Midsouth Dirt Track Championship at Riverside International Speedway. Starting outside the front row, Dacus earned $3,000 at the gumbo clay, quarter-mile oval for his first career victory on the O'Reilly Mid-South Racing Association. | Slideshow
Dacus faced his most serious challenge from polesitter Jamie Elam of Senatobia, Miss., who stayed with the leading Dacus most of the way. Elam turned up the heat amid traffic on the 25th lap and pulled even with Dacus a lap later. But during the side-by-side battle, Elam looped his mount in turn one, knocking him out of contention.
MSRA points leader Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark., the last-lap series winner in April at West Memphis, moved into second but fell three lengths behind on the white-flag lap. But when Dacus jumped the turn-four cushion, Moyer pulled even heading for the checkered flag. But Dacus won the drag race to complete the victory, denying Moyer another last-lap win.
Jeff Floyd of Walnut Ridge, who started 11th, ended up third while 17th-starting Terry Henson of North Little Rock, Ark., rebounded from a lap-four flat tire to finish fourth. Consolation race winner Jon Kirby of Russellville, Ark., rounded out the top five after starting 16th. Elam ended up eighth.
The night's race was marked by a serious heat race accident when the throttle hung on the car driven by Mike Carr of Lake Cormorant, Miss. He slammed the turn-two wall and was taken to a nearby hospital. He was later released with no serious injuries.
Notes: Dacus drives a GRT Race Car sponsored by Pro-Tec Fire Systems and O.H. Hendricks Sheet Metal. ... Dacus won on the same night his cousin Dane Dacus won the Southern Regional Racing Series event at Camden (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. ... Kyle Beard of Trumann, Ark., back in action after a scary flipping accident the previous week at North Alabama Speedway, got the Quartermaster-O.H. Hendricks Hard Luck award after a broken axle sidelined him early in the feature. ... Terry Henson received the Larry Shaw Race Cars-O.H. Hendricks Hard Charger award for his 17th-to-fourth run. ... Nathan Brown in 10th was the best-finishing car using a crate engine. ... Among drivers failing to make the feature: Dean Carpenter, Justin Asplin and Ricky Vandergriff. ... MSRA competitors wrap up the season Sept. 19-20 with a pair of events co-sanctioned by the O'Reilly MARS tour at Springfield (Mo.) Raceway and Monett (Mo.) Speedway.
Bartlett Hardwood Floor Service Midsouth Dirt Track Championship: (1) Jamie Dacus, (2) Billy Moyer Jr., (3) Jeff Floyd, (4) Terry Henson, (5) Jon Kirby, (6) Michael Murphree, (7) Clay Fisher, (8) Jamie Elam, (9) Gary Christian, (10) Nathan Brown, (11) Jon Mitchell, (12) Mike Bilbro, (13) Dewaine Hottinger, (14) Austin Rettig, (15) Ritchie Kirkman, (16) Wesley Crutchfield, (17) Ray Moore, (18) Kyle Beard, (19) Jeff Wells Jr., (20) Robert Lovette. Heat race winners (among 28 cars): Dacus, Moyer, Christian, Mitchell. Consolation winners: Murphree, Kirby. Provisional starters: Well, Rettig.
