Bristol Motor Speedway
Notebook: Top crew chief back behind the wheel
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Jason Fitzgerald (DirtonDirt.com photo)
Jason Fitzgerald of Jacksonville, Fla., will focus on turning steering wheels instead of turning wrenches in 2008. The 32-year-old Fitzgerald, who spent the past two years as crew chief for three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion Earl Pearson Jr., plans to follow the O'Reilly Southern All Star tour after landing a ride in the Florida-based No. 7 owned by Murrell Mixon.
"I think it's going to be a great opportunity for me," said Fitzgerald, the 2006 Lucas Oil Crew Chief of the Year.
Fitzgerald, a long-time friend of Pearson, has been involved in racing more than half his life, but he put his driving career on hold to join Pearson's team in 2006. He says being part of Dunn-Benson Motorsports in 2006 and Bobby Labonte Motorsports in 2007 accelerated his learning curve in the sport as Pearson and the team tackled many of the nation's biggest events.
Fitzgerald knows it was just two years, but in racing knowledge he gleaned "it feels like 10 years."
Fitzgerald has been an accomplished driver in modifieds and Late Models. A Late Model track championship earlier in his career at Putnam County Speedway near Palatka, Fla., came after he won eight of 12 events, and he has also competed in selected Late Model specials in the Southeast, including on the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series. But he hasn't climbed into the driver's seat regularly since 2005.
"I'm pretty excited about it to get back in the groove of being behind the wheel," Fitzgerald said in an interview at Talladega (Ala.) Short Track's Ice Bowl XVII on Jan 5. "I've always wanted to drive, but I've always been hands-on, too."
That's good, because Fitzgerald will help maintain the M&M Transport Refrigeration-sponsored cars, three MasterSbilts with Custom Race Engines, along with crew chief Ronnie Blair. While Fitzgerald will spend weekdays maintaining the cars, he'll be spending his weekends trying to shake off any cobwebs while racing. "I've gotta perform now," he said.
Fitzgerald knows he needs to improve his ability to adjust to different types of track surfaces while facing top-notch competition with the Southern All Stars. "If I can get that down, I'll be OK," said Fitzgerald, whose wife Jessica is due with their first child in late April. "It's going to take a little time to be as smooth as they are and get the finesse back,"
Green Valley's Bama Bash set
Three unsanctioned Late Model divisions will run for big money at the 11th annual Bama Bash on Feb. 21-24 at Green Valley Speedway in Glencoe, Ala. The Super Late Model division feature pays $10,000 to the winner with $5,000 apiece going to the Limited Late Model and crate Late Model feature winners.
Track owner Dennis Harker, unhappy with the daytime racing at last year's event, plans to run the Super Late Model and crate features after the sun goes down on Sunday evening. Sunday's consolation races will begin at 11 a.m. with the hobby, super street and Limited Late Model features being run between 1-4 p.m. After an hour break for final track prep and to allow the sun to set, the Super Late Model and crate features will be held.
Harker, who made several improvements before the 2007 season at Green Valley, says he invested another $100,000 for further improvements, including a reconfiguration of the backstretch. Drivers can check out the track's changes during a practice session scheduled for two weeks prior to the Bama Bash. Get more details at the track website.
SUPR moves TMS stop
The O'Reilly Southern United Professional Racing tour will run at Texas Motor Speedway's dirt track in September instead of its traditional March date in 2008. SUPR competitors will run a $2,000-to-win event on Sept. 26 and a $3,000-to-win event on Sept. 27 at the 4/10-mile oval, said SUPR race director Greg Holmes, adding the complete schedule would be released soon.
The tour, with just fewer than 40 races, will open at Champion Park Speedway in Haughton, La., and among new tracks on the schedule are Greenville (Miss.) Speedway and Paris (Texas) Motor Speedway, a 10-year-old track that has never previously hosted Late Models.
Holmes also announced that SUPR's new spec engine program, which calls for a SUPR aluminum block built by Brodix, will require racers to add 25 pounds in front of the motor plate.
Odds and ends
The Southern All Star East Series will have title sponsorship from O'Reilly Auto Parts for the next three seasons. ... The Advance Auto Parts Thunder Series will open the 2008 season at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn., with the $10,000-to-win Spring Thaw on Feb. 29-March 1. ... The Mississippi State Championship Challenge schedule will open March 1 at South Mississippi Speedway near Pass Christian, Miss. ... The O'Reilly Mid-South Racing Association schedule opens April 5 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., with a $2,000-to-win event.
