Chris Wall: Appliance Zone $70,000 2011 sponsorship candidate

Appliance Zone is offering a $70,000 sponsorship to a group of 5 drivers.  Today I am highlighting the driver of the C&M Gator Farm, Xtreme Graphics, Stuckey Enterprises, Gator Trax Boats, Wall2Wall Racing Engines Mastersbuilt #71 of "The Intimigator" Chris Wall of Springfield, Louisiana.

 Chris has made a name for himself in the world of Dirt Late Model Racing driving in the deep south.  He has numerous wins at tracks such as Columbus (MS) Speedway, Magnolia (MS) Speedway, among others.  This year Chris decided to go out on the road and pursue the 2010 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Rookie of the Year title.  He currently leads those point standings.  He has had multiple fast time awards on the tour this year, and has had some great runs, but no feature wins to his credit this year.  Chris does have 1 career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature win to his credit at Columbus (MS) Motor Speedway

 

Chris, when not racing, makes his living running C&M Gator Farm along with his wife Missy.

They work hard doing a job most wouldn't even dare think about doing.  He is also a family man.  He and wife Missy have 2 children, Ranger and Christian.  Sponsorship from Appliance Zone could really help Chris out by giving him some financial support.  You can go vote by going to http://appliancezoneracing.com/Home/DriverDevelopmentContest.aspx then registering and voting.

Jimmy Owens: Appliance Zone $70,000 2011 sponsorship candidate

Appliance Zone is offering a $70,000 sponsorship to a group of 5 drivers.  Today I am highlighting the driver of the Reece Monument Company, Gantte Apprasial, Alwee Trucking Company, Byrd's Radiator Vic Hill power Bloomquist Race Cars #20 of "The Newport Nightmare", "The O Show", Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tennessee.

Jimmy has been well known in the racing world for about the last 15 years.  He made his name first driving UMP Modifieds, wowing people wherever he went.  He won the UMP Modified national points championship 4 times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002).  Jimmy has multiple crown jewel event wins in his career.  He is a 2 time North/South 100 Champion (2007, 2010), as well as having victories in the 37th Annual World 100 (2007), Hillbilly 100 (2008), Comp Cams Topless 100 (2009), and the 15th Annual Dirt Late Model Dream (2009).  The biggest of these wins was the Dirt Late Model Dream, which payed $100,000 to win.

Owens has proven that he is absolutely one of the best in the business.  He is a threat to win wherever he goes.  He is one of the more soft spoken drivers out there as well.  He is a single father as well to a little boy, Nathan.  When not racing, Jimmy is building his Loose Gruff modified chassis.  Jimmy would be a good candidate for the Appliance Zone sponsorship.  To vote for Jimmy, go to http://appliancezoneracing.com/Home/DriverDevelopmentContest.aspx register, then vote.

Don O'Neal: Appliance Zone $70,000 2011 sponsorship candidate

Appliance Zone is offering a $70,000 sponsorship to a group of 5 drivers.  Today I am highlighting the driver of the Independence Lumber, Jones Core, Superior Cleaning Services, O'Neal Mulch, Jay Dickens powered Mastersbuilt house car  #71 of "The Real Deal" Don O'Neal from Martinsville, Indiana.

  Don has ran with the Lucas Oil Late Model Series full time the last couple of years, but he is well known to many in the Dirt Late Model world before.  He has made a name for himself in the Midwest.  Don was the 2004 UMP Summernationals champion.  He has a total of 38 career UMP Summernationals feature wins, including 3 this season.  Don has won numerous big races including events at the DART Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Florida , the Jackson 100, Hoosier Dirt Classic, Kenny Simpson Memorial, and Indiana Icebreaker, all ran at Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, Indiana.  His biggest payday came when he won the 2003 Dixie Shootout.  The win was worth $55,000 to O'Neal.

Don is a single father of 2 boys, Huston (15) and Husdon (9).  That is a hard thing for any parent to do.  How Don does it and remains a competitive Dirt Late Model driver is something is amazing.  To vote for Don, first go to http://appliancezoneracing.com/Home/DriverDevelopmentContest.aspx then register to vote.  Then be sure to vote.

Ray Cook: Appliance Zone $70,000 2011 sponsorship candidate

Appliance Zone is offering a $70,000 sponsorship to a group of 5 drivers.  Today I am highlighting the driver of the #53 D&R Motorsports, Hicks & Engel General Contractors, A+ Moving & Storage, Mastersbuilt powered by a Race Engine Design powerplant, "The Tarheel Tiger" Ray Cook of Brasstown, North Carolina.

Ray has been a force to be reckoned with in the Dirt Late Model world, and one of the drivers to beat whenever the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series takes to the track.  His 2010 season already has some big accomplishments.  Cook already has 9 Dirt Late Model feature wins, including 3 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature wins.  The biggest win this year for Ray was the $30,000 to win 18th Annual DART Show-Me 100 at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri.
After a few seasons of not being as competitive as Ray was used to, 2009 was a career season for him.  He had 12 Late Model feature wins, 5 of which came in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series competition.  His largest career win came in 2009 as he won the 41st Annual Hillbilly 100 at Tyler County (WV) Speedway.  The win was worth $41,000, and the race was Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned.

Ray is a family man and a spiritual man.  Ray and his wife Peggy have 3 daughters: Alana, Olivia, and Jenna.  When Ray isn't racing, he is a promoter as well.  He has set up the Southern Nationals, a smaller version of the UMP Summernationals, which is a staple of midwest Dirt Late Model racing in the summer months.  This sponsorship would help Ray and his car owners, and he would serve as a fine steward for the Appliance Zone company.  To vote, first go to http://appliancezoneracing.com/Home/DriverDevelopmentContest.aspx and then register, then finally vote.

Steve Casebolt: Appliance Zone $70,000 2011 sponsorship candidate

Appliance Zone is offering a $70,000 sponsorship to a group of 5 drivers.  Today I am highlighting the driver of the Dixie Choppers Rocket Chassis Late Model powered by a Cornett Racing Engine car #c9 of Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Indiana.

Steve had pooled his resources with car owner Bob Harris earlier this year, having a fantastic run at the Show Me 100.  However, they parted ways and now Steve is the driver and the owner, and I know this sponsorship could really help his program out.  He is a talented driver with some big accomplishments to his credit.  He was the 2000 Renegade STARS Rookie of the Year.  He won the Spring 50 feature at Florence, Kentucky in 2003.  In 2005, he scored his first Lucas Oil Late Model feature win at Elkins, West Virginia.  In 2006 Steve went out on the Lucas Oil series full time and was the Rookie of the Year, and finished 6th in the final point standings.  In 2007, Steve made himself well known to those who really didn't know him.  He had 2 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series wins, one at Muskigum County (OH) Speedway, and one at Florence Speedway.  His biggest career accomplishment came on the hallowed grounds of Eldora Speedway as he held off one of Dirt Late Model biggest stars, Scott Bloomquist.

Steve would go on to finish 3rd in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Points that season as well, a career best.  He would finish 3rd in points in 2008 as well.  Last year, Steve finished 8th in points.  You can go vote for Steve by going to http://appliancezoneracing.com/Home/DriverDevelopmentContest.aspx and registering, then vote.

2010 Illinois State Fair Racing recap

It has come and gone again.  Racing at the Illinois State Fair is done again.  Friday night before Saturday' scheduled USAC Silver Crown 50th Annual Tony Bettnhausen Memorial 100 and UMP Modified 1st Annual Illini Dash, heavy rains bombarded the Springfield area, including the Illinois State Fairgrounds.  It was bad enough that USAC and Track Enterprises both agreed to cancel the show. 

Sunday was a different story for the ARCA Re/Max Series Allen Crowe Memorial 100 and 17th Annual  Sportsman Nationals.  Steve Arpin was fast in practice, and won the pole for the ARCA race.  He established early he was going to be a contender.  The Sportsman Nationals race was the 1st event.  Four time champion Dennis Vandermeersch started on the pole with 5 time champion Wes O'Dell right behind him.  Three time champion Jeff Leka started deep in the field, while one time winner Timmy Dick was right behind O'Dell.  Only 4 time champion Steve Sheppard Jr. was the only previous winner not in attendance.  The green flag dropped and early on Vandermeersch made it well known he was the car to beat.  Jeff Leka  marched up through the field as well.  For over half of the race, the 4 previous winners ran 1-4, with Vandermeersch leading O'Dell, Leka, and Dick.  Trouble would strike Leka late when Dick went into 1 too hard and make contact with Leka causing him to wreck.  It was obvious Jeff was upset.  This happened at the same time that Ethan Schnapp lost a motor.  The only way I knew there was contact between the 2 was that there was right rear quarter panel damage that wasn't there before.  Vandermeersch went on to tie Wes O'Dell's record of 5 Sportsman Nationals titles.  This was his 3rd in a row.

Next was the 48th Annual Allen Crowe 100 ARCA Re/Max Series event.  It is always awesome to see NASCAR style stock cars race on the dirt.  The race took the green with Steve Arpin leading lap 1.  He would lead the first 7 laps before Soddy Daisy, Tennessee's Ron Cox, a mason and substitute high school teacher by profession and racer at heart, took the lead.  He would lead a large portion of the race.  Arpin found the backstreth wall on lap 14 and did damage to the right rear.  He had a tire rub after that.  This would come back to bite him later in the race.  The first yellow would fly on lap 27 for debris.  West Lake, Louisiana driver Mikey Kile and Venturini Motorsports teammate Steve Arpin were the only 2 to stay out and were running 1st and 2nd on the restart.  The race went back to green on lap 33.  Kile slipped coming off of 2 and Arpin blew by him to retake the lead while Frank Kimmel, 9 time ARCA Re/Max Series champion and 7 time Allen Crowe 100 winner, was in 3rd not even 7 laps into the restart.  He was showing that he was going to be there in the end, no surprise to me as he runs extremely well on the dirt.  The yellow flag would fly again on lap 37 for Tim George Jr of New York.  He backed his Richard Childress Development #31 Chevy into the turn 4 wall.  He would be able to drive away and keep racing.  The race went back to green with 40 laps in the books.  Arpin got heavy pressure from Kile as Kile while Kile felt Frank Kimmel breathing down his neck.  They ran this way until the yellow came out on lap 57 for Patrick Sheltra, who went outside a lap car and lost it and backed into the turn 3 wall, causing pretty heavy left rear damage.  Mikey Kile came in when the pits opened on lap 60 but Arpin ended up staying out.  This decision would come back to haunt Arpin not too far after this.  Robb Brent also had a brake fire during the pit stops as well.  He reported early to his Allgaier Motorsports crew that he was losing them.  You could see extinguisher material go up in the air from the stands and seen it on his wheels when he pulled back out.  The race would go back to green on lap 63 and King Kimmel as he is known to some, was all over the Fort Frances, Ontario native Arpin.  Arpin ended up losing a tire on lap 64 as Kimmel was able to blow by.  Arpin drove around for a couple laps until the yellow flew on lap 65 for him slowing.  He stayed on the lead lap.  He stopped to get fresh right side tires.  The green flag came back out with 70 of the scheduled 100 laps in the books.  Cox would pressure Frank Kimmel heavily.  Meanwhile, Arpin was slicing his way up through the field.  Disaster struck as Kimmell lost the car coming off of 2 while leading and he hit the wall causing significant front end damage to his Menards/Ansell #44 Ford Fusion.  He would pit, take 4 tires and make repairs, but not before losing a lap to the field.  The green flag came back out on lap 76.  Will Kimmel, son of Frank Kimmel's brother Bill, had problems while running in the top 5 and ended up dropping out.  With 20 to go Arpin had come back from around 23rd to 6th.  Right behind him was Patrick Sheltra, who had worked his way up from back in the field as well after his earlier accident.  Frank Kimmel lost some debris RIGHT in front of the flagstand and race control, but it sat there for 2 laps before the yellow finally waved on lap 86.  Ironically, Kimmel was the 1st car one lap down and got the Lucky Dog award, which put him back on the lead lap.  Sheltra was running 7th at this point.  Cox was leading.  The race restarted on lap 91 and Sheltra made one hell of a ballsy move by going up top and passing everyone by the time the field got to turn 1.  He was very close to jumping the start, which I honestly think after seeing what I did and seeing the video he did as he wasn't quite side by side with Cox as they passed the start/finish line.  He would feel the pressure from Cox.  The top 3 of Sheltra, Cox, and Kile ran close together.  Going into turn 1 of the last lap Mikey Kile bored it in deep and ended up making contact with Ron Cox to the point it sent Cox up the hill and into the wall.  He just was making a hard move and overdid it.  He wasn't trying to wreck Cox.  Cox would hit the turn 1 wall and his day was over after a fantastic run.  Since the leaders had taken the white flag and ARCA doesn't end races under yellow, there would be a one lap suicide shootout to the finish.  The green came back out on lap 105 with Sheltra getting a good start.  Kile stayed close, and for a second looked like he might have a run coming to the line.  Coming out of 4 he was a car length behind and that is how Sheltra and Kile took the checkers. 

  The victory lane celebration was capped off with a handicapped man in an electric wheel chair doing donuts and making the tires squeal.  It had everyone in victory lane laughing and cheering.  He even got cheers from the crowd that was left in the grandstands.  One of the funniest things I have EVER seen at a race track.  Congratulations to Patrick Sheltra and Dennis Vandermeersch on their wins on Day 2 of Illinois State Fair auto racing.

Sheltra obviously did the best of the drivers who came from the dirt. He is a veteran of UMP Late Model competition with 1 World of Outlaws Late Model feature win to his credit.  Tom Hessert, a long time east coast midget driver, was 3rd.  USAC racing veteran A.J. Fike, who won his first USAC Silver Crown feature at Iowa Speedway this year, was 5th.  Local driver and regular car chief on the Allgaier Motorsports #36 of Robb Brent, Kelly Kovski came home 6th.  Steve Arpin, the Canadian UMP Modified ace, rebounded to finish 7th in his Mike's Hard Lemonade, Venturini Motorsports #55 Toyota Camry.  Robb Brent, driving the Orchard Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Allgaier Motorsports #36 Dodge was 8th.  Dakoda Armstrong, USAC hotshoe from New Castle, Indiana, was 9th.  Four time UMP Late Model National Champion Rodney Melvin finished 16th.  UMP Sportsman veteran and one of the crowd favorites, Mark Littleton, was 17th.  Ron Cox ended up finishing 20th after his great run came to an end.  Local UMP Late Model and Modified veteran Kyle Logue came home 23rd.

There you have it folks.  That is the recap of racing during the 2010 Illinois State Fair.  When there is any info about a makeup date for the USAC Silver Crown event, I will let you know for sure. I want to send out my thanks to Track Enterprises for another exciting day of racing at the Illinois State Fair.  I am sure Saturday would have been good if it had been suitable to run.

2010 28th Annual North/South 100 recap

This is my recap of the 28th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100.  Again as it has been the last few years, this event was run under the banner of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. It all started at 4:30 CDT when I left the house with mom to make the trek to the city of Florence, Kentucky to check into the hotel and unload and hang for a bit.  I left for the track at about 2 to look around and see what all was going on.  It was most certainly a hot one.  Friday's portion consisted of Late Model qualifying, modified heats, and a full show for pure stocks.  Dale McDowell, who has had a down year for his standards, set fast time at a place even he admits isn't a place he's run too well at.  After the on track activities were finished, the party picked up at Florence Speedway.  The Kings do something not a single promoter I can think of around the country does at a big show.  They actually roast a hog and make pulled pork barbecue sandwiches which fans. drivers, and others can have, for FREE.  I would like to express my thanks to the King family for the wonderful food.  After that I kicked it with some of the fellows of the T3G and DRC.  Thanks to Teea Cook for the jello shots and to whoever made them as well, thanks!!  They were good.  Also seen Kent Robinson.  Can tell he's doing better since his accident that injured his shoulder at the Dream earlier this year.  It was good to see everyone!!  After all of this I made the drive back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep

On Saturday, after getting cleaned up and whatnot, we headed over to Bob Evans to meet up with a couple of people we are good friends with to eat breakfast.  Got my first taste of fried mush, and it reminds me a lot of waffles.  Good stuff.  After that we rolled out to Florence Mall to kill some time and do a bit of shopping.  After that it was off to the track.  I walked through the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame again this year.  Picked up a shirt since a local driver who I grew up watching, Roger Long, was inducted.  The ceremonies were supposed to start at 6, but Mother Nature was in a foul mood.  The winds picked up and lightning lit up the Union, Kentucky skies at the track.  It did rain for a bit then quit.  When the ceremonies started, things looked to start to flare up again.  There was some lightning and rain fell harder than it had all day.  Overall, considering the conditions, things went well.  Things started about an hour late for the ceremonies, and it was that way all night, which is fine.  It does happen.  The first set of events were the Late Model heats.  Heat 4 was pretty racy out of the 6, but the other 5 were typical of Florence.  Leader got out front and it was pretty much single file with a few cars trying to work off the bottom and middle.  After this the modified feature was ran.  This event saw some fantastic side-by-side racing that was a definite preview of the 28th Annual North/South 100.  When the dust settled and the checkered flag flew, 41T of  Dennis Robertson held on for a hard fought win.  The late model semis were next, and not as racy but still not bad.  They did driver introductions and then the race went green.  When the green dropped, the all out war began.  Eddie Carrier Jr. led lap 1 but he felt pressure from Don O'Neal and Steve Francis early, with Chris "Smokey" Madden in that group as well.  Carrier Jr. led about the first 22 laps then the duo of Carrier Jr. and O'Neal threw sliders on one another from turns 1 down the back stretch, and into 3 O'Neal made the final one and eventually took the lead in 4.  The last caution was on lap 63 for Wendall Wallace slowing.  On the restart, Jimmy Owens showed how strong he was as he blew by Steve Francis and Eddie Carrier Jr. respectively.  It took Owens about 12 laps to reel O'Neal in.  O'Neal eventually surrendered the lead to Owens on lap 78, and at that point it looked as if Jimmy Owens had the race well in hand.  However, around this time, Earl Pearson Jr. was just starting to mow through the competitors in his way.  He was at that point visibly the fastest car on track.  Owens led the next 9 laps before being overtaken by the hard-charging Pearson Jr on lap 88.  At that point it looked like Pearson Jr's race to lose.  Earl ended up getting caught behind Brady Smith on the bottom, where Earl had been all race long.  Owens had dabbled up top for a bit and went back down, possibly knowing it was there and not wanting to tip his hand, so to speak.  Owens started reeling him back in and coming to the white flag, Owens actually led the lap by a nose, as the duo were side by side.  I was on my feet cheering as was the rest of the crowd at Florence Speedway.  Owens got a great run off of 2 up top and got ahead by a car length.  Earl bored it in deep on the low side, and Jimmy did the same up top, and Owens got the momentum from up top and won by no more than 3 car lengths.  It was eerily similar to 1 year ago with Jimmy Mars and Don O'Neal.  Everyone who left the track that night after this one definitely got their money's worth.  I know I did.  I want to thank the Kings for putting on such a great event!!  The facilities are nice, and the racing has been awesome.  Congratulations to Jimmy Owens on winning his 2nd North/South 100 title.                                                           

His first title came in 2007.  The victory for the Newport, Tennessee driver marked a victory for a rebels.  For this year, the South HAS risen again.  Who will come out on top?  The only way we will know is when the 29th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 is ran at King's Florence Speedway in Union, Kentucky.  I highly suggest if you haven't been, to order tickets and come to this one next year.