National notebook
Notes: Phillips ends MARS ironman streak
Terry Phillips
One of the longest-running ironman streaks in Dirt Late Model racing came to end Friday when six-time MARS DIRTcar Series champion Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., skipped the series event at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill., marking his first absence in the tour's 11-year history.
Phillips and his teammate Jeremy Payne opted to run a two-day modified event at West Plains (Mo.) Motor Speedway — winning one feature apiece — instead of competing with the Missouri-based Late Model tour.
The decision to skip the event was based in part on threatening weather, Phillips said, as well as his struggles in the Late Model division.
One of the winningest Dirt Late Model racers in Missouri history, Phillips has a single victory in the division this season in a weekly event at Monett (Mo.) Speedway. He's the winningest driver in MARS history with 76 victories, but his 13-race winless streak is his second longest of his career. And the 45-year-old son of Hall of Fame short-tracker Larry Phillips has never gone this far into the season without a victory.
"I just need a break for a minute," Phillip said of the decision, not second-guessing himself even after MARS points leader Brad Looney had problems at Tri-City, finishing seventh.
A key part of his racing business is catering to modified racers, Phillips said, and that came into play, too.
"I'm a Late Model guy at heart, but sometimes you gotta make some money, and make decisions businesswise — not necessarily just racing myself — we've gotta a lot of (modifieds) out there anymore, and I've gotta stay on top of my game in this so I can sell 'em," Phillips told RacinDirt.com. "Maybe we'll get on track with our Late Model here before long. A lot of it's just me, getting my head right and getting ready for it."
A long-time driver for Joe Garrison's GRT Race Cars, Phillips sidestepped a question about a rumored chassis switch.
"I don't know about that. I talked to Joe the other day for quite a while. He's still digging and working and concentrating on getting 'em better and stuff. It's not lack of effort is our problem," Phillips said. "We're just missing something and need to find it. You never know. That ain't what I'm trying to do right now, but you just never know."
Phillips competed in nearly 250 consecutive MARS events before ending his streak. — Trenton Berry
BELLE-CLAIR PUTS $2,500 UP FOR RAY EBY CLASSIC: Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., runs the 99-lap Ray Eby Classic on Aug. 12, a $2,500-to-win Super Late Model event� that highlights the St. Clair County Fair racing. The UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Late Models will be in action along with modifieds, sportsman, purse stocks and pro-4 stocks. No driver has repeated a fair race victory. The previous winners (from 2001 to 2010): Don Klein, Frankie Martin, Dean Hoffman, Mark Voigt, Randy Korte, Mark Gansmann, Brent Kreke, Ed Dixon, Michael Kloos and Bobby Dauderman. The event is sponsored by Bel-Air Bowl and Ray Vinson Mortgage Group. — From track reports
JUNCTION SET FOR KING OF THE HILL CLASSIC: Lucas Oil MLRA and NCRA DIRTcar drivers invade Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb., on Aug. 12-13 for the annual King of the Hill Classic. Although five-time NCRA champ Kelly Boen of Henderson, Colo., has raced only part time in 2011, he enters the event with six victories in his last nine races at the 4/10-mile oval. "The track is real symmetrical, so I can set up for both corners the same," said Boen, who credits track owner Delmar Friesen and his family for putting "heart and soul" into the racetrack. "It's a real racy place. Anymore, I don't like going to places where you follow the leader. I can always find a way to race there. It's one of my favorite places." The event includes two complete programs with racing at 7 p.m. each night. — From series reports
TOCCOA SPEEDWAY CLOSES THE GATES: Toccoa (Ga.) Speedway's weekly racing is apparently over for the season after promoter Leon Lathan announced Sunday his plans to close the track because of lack of support from competitors and spectators, according to track publicist Richard Pearson Jr. Lathan reluctantly took the reins of the Vic Christian-owned oval this spring, but the track's late start to the season with a June 4 opening meant many drivers were committed to other racetracks, Pearson said. While July 30 was the track's last weekly event, the Southeastern Latemodel Sportsman Series plans to hold its season finale at Toccoa in October or November. — From track reports
FORMER THUNDER HILL CHAMPION DIES: Steve Fuqua of Mayetta, Kan., a champion Dirt Late Model racer at his hometown Thunder Hill Speedway, died July 31 at his home. He was 55. The track planned to honor Fuqua's memory at the Aug. 6 MDLMS event with Troy Harrison of BuyRaceParts.com presenting the Steve Fuqua Memorial Award of $100 to the driver leading the most laps. "Steve has probably led more laps in Late Model competition at the Hill than any other driver," Harrison said, "so let's remember him by rewarding the driver who leads the most laps." — From track reports
SCHEDULE CHANGES AND ADDITIONS: MLRA has shifted its next Heartland Park Topeka event to Oct. 6. The Topeka, Kan., race was originally scheduled for Sept. 3. ... 311 Speedway in Madison, N.C., had added an unsanctioned $5,000-to-win Super Late Model event for Oct. 29, complementing the NASCAR weekend at nearby Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. .... Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex's next Steel Block Bandits event has been pushed back to Oct. 21-22. The purse was also increased to $4,000-to-win.
CRATE LATE MODEL NOTES: The Fastrak Racing Series has tabbed Kelley Carlton as its interim series director, the Crate Late Model series announced Monday. Carlton, owner of the media and management company KelCar Motorsports and former series director for the Southern All Stars Series, will manage the Southeast and Mideast regions for the series, which sanctions both weekly events and regional tours. ... Fastrak has a Southeast-Mideast combined doubleheader Aug. 19-20 at the new Thunder Mountain Speedway in Hanover, W.Va. The opener pays $2,000-to-win and the finale pays $3,000-to-win.
ODDS AND ENDS: Ron Owens, a long-time photographer at dirt tracks in the Carolinas, died Aug. 7 after a bout with cancer. He was 47. Fayetteville Motor Speedway, Dublin Motor Speedway and Carolina Speedway in Lake View, S.C. ... Hummingbird Speedway near Reynoldsville, Pa., is making the final details for the Mick Orsich Memorial, a Sept. 17 race for Super Late Models honoring the track's former manager and flagger. The event will include a $500-to-win King of the Hill format competition. ... Freeport (Ill.) Raceway Park is taking the next two weeks off because of local events, fairs and festivals. The track returns to action Aug. 27 with the Kids Spectacular.
