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The Southern Automobile Racing Association put on their latest edition of premier Late Model Sportsman racing at DeSoto Speedway's 12 degree banked fast track this past Saturday. The S.A.R.A. racing series is operated by Rick Day, the president of the series, and also sports an Open Wheel Modified Series. The Series fought a scheduling problem along with the rest of Florida’s touring series in 1999. Leadership, perseverance and an ever present positive attitude, an able enthusiastic staff and good sponsorship, and putting on consistently good shows have raised it to the top of the class in Florida’s touring series. You T.B.A.R.A. fans can argue that point, and deservedly so, but this is about Late Models. We’ll get to sprints later.
Wayne Morris of Mulberry, Florida took his #56 Monte Carlo to the winner’s circle in the first race of the S.A.R.A Late Model season at Auburndale Speedway’s 1/4 mile near Lakeland, Florida in March. He did so in much the same fashion as he did at DeSoto Speedway this past Saturday, taking an early lead and never looking back. In both races Dwayne Dempsey, the current points leader came in third.
In the second race of the year, a 100 lap affair at Sunshine Speedway which just happens to be Dwayne Dempsey's home track, the Morris machine got tangle with up with the #7 of Dempsey with Morris going to the rear and Dempsey going to the checkered flag ahead of the field. In May the series moved back to Auburndale Speedway where Wayne Morris chased Dempsey the second half of the race but had to settle for second. The Morris/Dempsey show continued at the same pace into June as the Bronson "bullring" hosted the series. Rusty Baker stepped in and stole the show at Bronson. During the pre-race Dash for Cash segment of qualifying Morris and Dempsey again tangled leaving neither in a position to seriously contend. Morris finished 18 and Dempsey 10th. Rusty Baker, part of the Aircoastal Helicopters team with Dan Crowe and Dan O'Connell, started from the pole and won the $2000 first prize money.
In Florida long about mid June it starts to get hot. As the S.A.R.A. show moved it's big tent to the half-mile speedway at St. Augustine the racing warmed up as well and the fans responded. Scott Legasse, a St Augustine hometown favorite, got into it with Dempsey in turn four late in the race resulting in Legasse, Jeff Scofield, of Riverview, Fla. and Mike McCrary, Jr. of Haines City, Fla all going out of contention. You can probably guess by now who came in second in a race Dempsey won wire to wire. Wayne Morris of course.
It would be seven weeks until the next race, probably a good thing as the series was now going to test these drivers skills at their version of Daytona. USA International Speedway is fast. The 3/4 mile high banked is a track where the speeds can cause drivers and setup crews fits. A tire going down on a quarter or three-eights mile track is one thing, but at speeds of 140 and more it can be devastating. Fourty-Three cars came to the pits to give it a shot at making the 30 car field of dreams. After qualifying on Friday night Shane Sawyer would take the Fast Qualifier Award with a time of 22.048. Do the math, that fast in any language. Bobby Shelton, Mike McCrary, Jr., point leader Dwayne Dempsey, and the determined Wayne Morris were the remaining top five qualifiers.
The series had to run two qualifying heat races on Saturday to sort out the rest of the field. The main feature of 30 Late Models took to the speedway with Sonny Hughes and Joe Boyd on the front row, Dwayne Dempsey and Jeff Wogoman on row two, and Bobby Shelton and Shane Sawyer on row three. As the green flag dropped on a race that will not soon be forgotten by any fan who who was there, Hughes quickly set the pace. Then the infamous inferno erupted on the back stretch, stopping the race for over an hour.
Shane Sawyer took the accolades in the Winner's Circle only to have his machine disqualified in tech when the crew was caught trying to do some extracurricular clutch work. This gave the win to number two man Mike McCrary, Jr. of Polk City, Florida. The ever present Wayne Morris had to settle for sixth. This was the day Dwayne Dempsey was tagged the "Iron Man", coming in second behind McCrary. Demspey had run earlier in the day in the Florida Pro Series Late Model race finishing eighth, and would follow up his S.A.R.A. Late Model second place finish with a third place in the S.A.R.A. Open Wheel race. It was about 100 plus degrees early in the day on the track, but at the end Dempsey looked as if he was ready to go again.
Three weeks later the S.A.R.A. Late Models would return to USA International Speedway in a double header with the USAR Hooters ProCup. Mike McCrary, Jr stepped up and showed Florida fans he was for real by winning again at
the Lakeland track. Wayne Morris lost some ground in the points race with an overheating problem ending up in 22nd spot. Dempsey held onto the points lead with a seventh place finish he had to earn by coming from the back of the field after having tire problems early on.
With two to possibly five races on the schedule starting with the return to St Augustine Speedway on October 9th, pending dates at Orlando Speedworld, New Smyna Speedway,and the finale on November 27th at USA International, Wayne Morris has his work cut out to catch Dwayne Dempsey for the S.A.R.A. Late Model crown. Dempsey has a 200 point lead, and Morris is going to need not only his talent but Lady Luck as well. Both drivers are very popular, well except Dempsey who may not be so popular with the St Augustine fans. They'll be remembering the incident in trun four earlier this year with Legasse. Dempsey was greeted in Victory Lane in June by jeering St Augustine fans, and rejecting the T-shirt Dempsey through into the stands.
But I doubt Rick Day and the rest of the S.A.R.A. crew will mind seeing the fans pack the house to boo the probable points leader going into what may be the championship shoot-out. That is as long as they come out to see their show. The series drew the biggest crowd of the year for DeSoto Speedway, and the Series leadership knew how how to please. Thirty-three cars show up, they put 33 on the track to start the feature and the racing was tremendous. Lots of great clean hard racing up front, a wild charge to the front by Mr. Dempsey, enough roughhousing deep in the field with racing all around the track all night, a few cheap shots to satisfy the blood-thirsty, and a class act in the name of Kim Sheffler-Hays, the first lady to qualify and run in the Series, who had to dodge more than a few bullets to get a ninth place finish.
Scott Hawkins gets our nomination as the most animated and excitable announcer in the Sunshine State, the Series has a flagman who loves his job, and all around S.A.R.A. is simply Series that has grown into a professional team that knows it's job is to put on a show for the fans, and watches the details. Rick Day announced at race time the dedication of the race to fallen racer Richie Anderson, the driver who is recovering from burns received at USA International Speedway in August. It was a touch of class by a class bunch of folks who love what they do.
Our wish list has expanded to include a bigger schedule for the year 2000
S.A.R.A. Late Model Sportsman racing series. Wouldn't it be great if we had one Late Model series in Florida that raced at least once at every track? Now before you start telling me that could never happen, let me remind you we have owners running asphalt cars on dirt tracks, drivers competing over the skies of St. Augustine, a whole new generation of promoters popping up around the State who know 2000 is more than a number. Those tracks that are running good shows are getting eager and in some cases passionate fans to keep their gate receipts and concessions busy.
Good solid racing series that appear at every venue helps to bind the power of the speedways together. Case in point, DeSoto Speedway fans had quite a few drivers well known to the locals, drivers they have watched grow and improve, they connect with them. The same is true wherever the S.A.R.A. drivers show up. Sonny Hughes must have loved it. The 14 asphalt short tracks operating in Florida would find it in their best interests to support it’s racing series. It’s not the ads in Late Model Digest or the radio spots that fill the stands, it’s the drivers, and the show the track and drivers put on together that involves the fans. But in the long run without the touring series no driver would find it very easy to make his mark in the racing world. The Southern Automobile Racing Association Late Model Sportsman fills one need, the Florida Pro Series fills another. We need a touring series, necessarily perhaps more limited in scope, in other classes like the Street Stocks, Pure Stocks and Mini-stocks. Maybe something for Rick Day and his crew to think about when they have time to reflect on the excellent work they have done this year. Think Morris will catch the “Iron Man”?
-Jack Smith
If you're a fan of this great field of drivers give them your vote here. |
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