National notebook
Notes: Stripped Byars denies using illegal tires
Klint Byars denied using illegal tires in his Southern All Star victory. (theinfieldidiot.com)
Klint Byars of Carrollton, Miss., has been stripped of his May 28 Southern All Stars Dirt Racing Series victory at Whynot (Miss.) Motorsports Park after independent lab tests found his right-rear tire used in the race to have been chemically altered, series officials announced Wednesday.
Byars, who is a rookie on the Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series and leads the series standings with two victories, maintained his innocence when reached by phone Wednesday afternoon.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re trying to figure it out and get to the bottom of it,” said Byars, who won an MSCCS event and set a track record at Whynot earlier this season.
“The first (MSCCS) race of the year I won at Whynot and set the record, I actually had two tire samples sent off from that night and everything’s come back clean so far,” Byars added. “With the success I’ve had this year, I don’t understand why anyone would think I would start doing it now.”
Byars, who lost his first career SAS victory, has appealed the ruling and said that he is in the process of having his own sample of the tire in question tested by a separate independent lab.
Updated race results were not released and are pending the results of Byars's appeal. Tony Knowles of Tyrone, Ga., finished second to Byars at Whynot. — Joshua Joiner
SUPR RACE WILL SERVE AS FUND-RAISER: The July 2 O'Reilly Southern United Professional Racing Late Model event at Champion Park Speedway near Haughton, La., has been dubbed the Race to Erase ALS, a fund-raiser dedicated to 1998 series champion Rusty Cummings. Cummings was diagnosed in late April with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, and most of the event's proceeds will go to the ALS Foundation to help with research to fight the disease. Brown's Trucking of Hodge, La., has added money to the race's purse, boosting it to $3,000-to-win and $500-to-start. Kyle Cummings, Rusty's son, plans to drive a Brown Trucking car as a teammate to Nicholas Brown. — From series and staff reports
DIERCKS MOTORSPORTS DROPS MILLER: Former North-South 100 winner Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., is out of his ride with Diercks Motorsports, the driver announced July 19. The Davenport, Iowa-based team, which attained its biggest successes in short-track asphalt racing, recently ended its relationship with 34-year-old Dirt Late Model racer. Miller, who didn't race for nearly a year before joining the Diercks team last season, grabbing victories in the second half of the 2010 season that included an $8,000 sweep of double features at West Liberty (Iowa) Raceway. “I was under the understanding that this would be a long-time association," Miller said in the release. "We started out this season testing different setups. I am very disappointed that we never got the chance to go out and use what we had learned to put towards our winning performances of last season.” Miller plans to continue his racing business of building shocks, building race cars and consulting. — From team reports
SERIES SCHEDULE CHANGES: The Deery Brothers Summer Series event at West Liberty (Iowa) Raceway has been moved to July 7; it was originally scheduled for July 12. ... The Dart Corn Belt Clash added an Aug. 11 event at Redwood (Minn.) Speedway. ... The Southern Regional Racing Series is co-sanctioning Volunteer Racing Series and Midwest Dirt Racing League events at Wartburg (Tenn.) Speedway on July 1 and at Mountain Motor Speedway in Isom, Ky., on July 2. ... The MARS DIRTcar Series has removed the Aug. 6 event at Lake Ozark Speedway from its schedule. ... The Colorado-based Championship Late Model Association DIRTcar Series has withdrawn its sanctioning of June 24-25 events at Caney Valley (Kan.) Speedway and the Great American Dirt Track in Jetmore, Kan. ... The Nebraska-based Super Late Model Racing Series has moved to Aug. 14 an event at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., originally scheduled for Aug. 7. ... The MidwestDIRT Late Model Series has overhauled its schedule with new and reshuffled dates.
ODDS AND ENDS: Caney Valley Speedway in Caney, Kan., announced a switch to Saturday night racing from Friday nights beginning July 2. The quarter-mile oval hosts a weekly division for DIRTcar Late Models. ... Illinois transplant Sam Epling of Perry, Mich., last season’s Late Model champion at Mount Pleasant (Mich.) Speedway, plans to field his own No. 28 after a recent split with Doug Finley Motorsports. Epling and crew member J.R. Smith hope to get their SJE Motorsports car ready for Sunday’s UMP DIRTcar Summernationals event at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich. ... Black River Race Park in Poplar Bluff, Mo., has scheduled a $2,000-to-win Crate Late Model event for July 1-2.
