by BJ Cavin

The 2009 Ocala Speedway Championship Awards Banquet got off to a false start in January when the local company that was to host the event suddenly closed without notice, but as many racers, staff, and fans, found out, sometimes things work out for themselves.  The lack of a host banquet hall resulted in the event being held in the Budweiser Beer Garden behind the grandstands at the speedway, and it attracted a large crowd who reveled in seeing many people get to enjoy the fruits of their labors.

The top five in divisional racing points standings were awarded trophies at the event, including Jason Gamble who raced his way to more than a points championship in the Amsoil V8 Thunder Stocks.  Gamble many times fought his way though the field from the rear of the pack, and each time he did it without shoving his way forward. That exciting, clean racing and good sportsmanship also garnered the V8 Thunder Stock Driver of the Year Award for Gamble, plus the hardware for the points championship.

Paul Combast used consistency and competitiveness to become the points champion in the Mini Stock Division for 2009.  After finishing second in points for 2008, Combast was at Ocala Speedway for every Mini Stock race in 2009, and rarely faltered below a top three finish.

Another racer who consistently finished well on his way to a points championship was Bubba Christian.  After spending 2008 racing in the shadow of his uncle, Grady Christian, Bubba emerged early in 2009 as one of the top Hobby Stock racers in the state of Florida by beating his uncle and many others as well.

The Gladiator Division saw a lot of talented racers who would show up and race from time to time, but in the end Paul Hahn was the one who earned a championship trophy with strong finishes and solid competition.  Paul’s red number 78 was not always at the front of the pack, but it was always there as the others came and went.

On a typical Friday afternoon an early arrival at Ocala Speedway would normally reveal one team alone in the pit area, busily preparing for a night of racing.  J.O. Nobles’ familiar yellow late model received some hard knocks during 2009, but Nobles overcame the bumps and earned the top spot in the final points standings against a particularly strong field of late model racers.

And although he could not be there to receive his award due to a prior commitment, Jeff Mathews topped the points standings in the Open Wheel Modified Division for 2009.  Mathews raced hard and overcame some trying conditions at times to earn the top spot over many of the top modified teams in the region.

MOORESVILLE, NC, February 19, 2010 — SS Green Light Racing is pleased to announce that Erie, Colorado’s Chris Eggleston will pilot the team’s No. 21 truck in a minimum of three races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series beginning in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway on March 27th.

The 20 year-old honors student attending Colorado State University began his racing career at age five racing quarter midgets. In ten years of competition he earned over 300 event wins and six National Championships before moving into a Legends car in 2004. Chris found his way to victory lane numerous times behind the wheel of a Legend and still races one on occasion today.

Since 2007 Eggleston has been behind the wheel of a late model, having success nearly everywhere he has traveled. In 2009, everything came together for the Colorado State Business Management student; he finished fourth in the very competitive ASA Challenge Series points and after scoring seven top-fives and two victories in ten races, Chris was crowned the ASA Late Models North Division Champion.

Veteran Butch Miller will oversee Chris’ efforts in the NCWTS this season. “I watched Chris on several occasions in the ASA Challenge Series in 2009. He is a very fast and smart racer. When the time is right Chris has the ability to get up on the wheel. His light weight is a crew chiefs dream. Chris is very bright, he’s exceptionally well spoken and I think he’s got a very bright future in this sport. I’m excited to get the opportunity to work with him.”

Eggleston is looking forward to working with the three-time ASA National Champion Miller in the NCWTS. “Butch Miller is a short-track legend. Everyone I have asked talks about what a great racer he is and how smart of a racer he is. Butch and I have talked a lot on the phone and I can tell from our conversations that we are going to work well together. I’m really looking forward to spending time with Butch and the whole SS Green Light team and being able to learn from him.”

“I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to get the chance to drive in one of the NASCAR touring series. SS Green Light Racing has impressed me with their results recently and winning the pole at Daytona is proof they have the right people and equipment to help me develop my skills as a NASCAR driver. My goal for Martinsville is to run 250 laps and finish the race.”

SS Green Light Racing General Manager Bobby Dotter is excited about the driver line-up that is shaping up for his team this season. “Chris is another fine young talent that we are excited about joining the SS Green Light family. I think our veteran drivers; Jason White and Donny Lia will be a strong influence on Chris and Tony Jackson Jr. when they make their debut together next month. I can’t wait to see these young drivers on the track.”

Despite his age, Chris has raced in no less than twenty-nine states in fifteen years of competition. Through the support of his family, Eggleston has successfully balanced a promising racing career, excellent academic achievement and lifelong friendships.

Following his debut at Martinsville, plans are for Eggleston to run at the concrete mile and a quarter at Nashville and then race close to his Colorado home at Kansas Speedway pending NASCAR approvals.

For more on SS Green Light Racing visit www.SSRacingonline.com or email: pr@ssracingonline.com.

CONCORD, NC – Feb. 19, 2010 – A 2010 season that promises to be the biggest in World of Outlaws Late Model Series history has grown even larger with the announcement of a springtime doubleheader in the Midwest at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway and Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, Ky.

The nation’s premier dirt Late Model tour will visit Lincoln Speedway on Fri., May 7, and move on to Bluegrass Speedway on Sat., May 8, pushing the 2010 schedule to 49 events at 42 tracks in 20 states and two Canadian provinces.

“We’re excited to add another big weekend of racing to the 2010 World of Outlaws Late Model Series schedule,” said series director Tim Christman. “Illinois and Kentucky are hotbeds for the dirt Late Model division and we look forward to bringing the best drivers in the country to perform in front of the region’s great fans.”

The WoO LMS will stop at the quarter-mile Lincoln oval for the fourth consecutive season, but this year’s event will be unlike any held there in the past. Promoter Don Hammer has upped the ante at Lincoln, increasing the track’s WoO LMS program to a 50-lap A-Main (from 40 laps in previous years) and a $10,000 top prize (from $7,000).

With a total payoff of roughly $50,000 for the evening, this year’s Land of Lincoln 50 will boast the biggest purse for a dirt Late Model event in the history of Lincoln Speedway.

“Thats what it’s all about — making everything bigger and better for the fans and racers,” said Hammer, who also oversees the fledgling Monster Midwest Tour and plans to make the Land of Lincoln 50 a shootout between drivers from his DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned series and the stars of the WoO LMS. “We want to give everybody the kind of show they want to see.”

This year’s WoO LMS extravaganza at Lincoln will also move to a Friday-night date, a change from the traditional Sunday that the event has occupied for the last three years. The change puts the big show in line with the new weekly format at Lincoln; Hammer recently announced he is switching the track’s regular race night to Friday in 2010, taking the track off the central Illinois area’s busier Saturday-night slot and allowing the headline Pro Late Model and Modified classes to carry the sanction of DIRTcar’s UMP circuit.

Lincoln will now run head-to-head weekly with Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway, the quarter-mile oval that Hammer has also promoted for several seasons. But Hammer sees no conflict between the tracks; UMP-sanctioned Super Late Models will be featured at Farmer City and the support divisions that will run weekly at both tracks share only a handful of the same drivers. What’s more, Farmer City’s weekly programs will be organized this season by Brian Stuart, who has promoted events at Quad Cities Raceway in East Moline, Ill., and other tracks; Hammer will continue to promote Farmer City’s special events (like the third annual WoO LMS Illini 100 on April 9-10) and work closely with Stuart — in fact, Hammer said Stuart will keep Farmer City closed on May 7 in support of the WoO LMS show at Lincoln.

Three different drivers have won the previous WoO LMS events held at Lincoln Speedway: Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. (2007), Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa. (2008) and Rick Eckert of York, Pa. (2009).

Bluegrass Speedway, meanwhile, is set to host the WoO LMS for the first time in its history on May 8. The 50-lap, $10,000-to-win event will serve as the track’s eighth annual ‘My Old Kentucky Home Shootout.’

Anticipation figures to run high for the Bluegrass show, which brings the WoO LMS to the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the first time since 2007 and just the fourth time in the tour’s seven-year run under the World Racing Group banner. Building interest in the night even further, Bluegrass Speedway’s fans will be chomping at the bit to go racing on May 8 because the track will be quiet the previous week in deference to the running of the Kentucky Derby horse race less than an hour away.

“We’re hoping to have a tremendous turnout for the first-ever World of Outlaws race at Bluegrass Speedway,” said David Ferrell, a veteran track promoter who has operated the high-banked, half-mile oval with his wife Anita for 11 years. “We have somewhere around 11-12,000 seats but we’ve never filled all of them up, so maybe we can come close with this race.

“I know we’re excited to have the Outlaws coming in, and I know the fans will see a great show. We have one of the fastest tracks in the country and it’s plenty wide for three- and four-wide racing, so I’m sure there will be lots of action.”

By the time the WoO LMS reaches Bluegrass, Ferrell will have one of the tour’s biggest stars in his family. Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., the 2007 series champion and three-time runner-up, is marrying Ferrell’s daughter, Amanda, on Feb. 27.

“I told Steve, ‘I hope you’ll be there for the Outlaw show,'” Ferrell said with a smile.

With the addition of Lincoln Speedway and Bluegrass Speedway to the 2010 schedule, the WoO LMS is well positioned to reach new heights this season. The tour currently boasts single-season records of 44 A-Mains (2007) and visits to 36 different tracks (2007 and 2008).

For more information on Lincoln Speedway, visit www.lincolnspeedway.org or call 217-737-7134.

Additional info on Bluegrass Speedway is available by logging on to www.bluegrass-speedway.com or calling 859-854-6922 or 859-854-6495.

For information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser) and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors Eibach Springs, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, Pink Carburetors, Pro Power Engines, Quartermaster, Rocket Chassis and Wrisco Aluminum.

 by Dave Westerman

 Action gets under way in earnest this Saturday night at Auburndale Speedway as the track hosts seven racing divisions for the 2010 season opener. 

 Heading the list of classes getting an early start on the season are the Open Wheel Modifieds.  Over 20 Modifieds are expected for the first race of the year.  The Street Stocks, Modified Mini Stocks, Mini Stocks, V-8 Bombers and Scramblers round out the regular classes getting in their first action of the year. 

The traveling Pro Challenge Series makes its first appearance in some time at Auburndale to round out an action-packed show for the fans.

 An adhesive has been added to the outside lane of the track that will bring back “two groove” racing, something that the Modified hot-shoes have been wanting for some time.  The track has also gone through some general “sprucing up” and has survived the unusually cold and wet winter weather in good shape.

Other classes are still awaiting their first races of the new year.  The
Sportsman cars will be in action for the first time next Saturday, February 27th while the Legend Cars and Bandoleros get a two-week break after the Winternationals and will see action for the first time on March 6th. 

The Late Models and Mini Cup cars hit the track for the first time in 2010 on March 20th while the first Truck race of the year is scheduled for April 3rd.

Gates open this Saturday evening at 5PM with racing getting under way promptly at 7PM.

Feb. 18, 2010 – Dave Hess Sr. was fairly confident that his son, Dave Hess Jr., would emerge as the UMP Modified points champion of the 39^th annual DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio at Volusia Speedway Park.

The elder Hess was so confident, in fact, that when DIRTcar Racing officials went to retrieve a DIRTcar Feature Winner sign from Hess Jr.’s pit after he the opening round of UMP Modified action on Feb. 3, he said with a smile, “You might as well leave it here.”

Hess, 25, of Waterford, Pa., lived up to his fathers boasts, going on to win another feature during the week and putting together a string of strong finishes to secure his first career DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH points title. He was a model of consistency throughout the UMP Modified meet, never finishing outside the top 10 in four A-Main starts with his family-owned No. 44h.

“We had a great week,” said Hess, who lost three more opportunities for checkered flags to rainouts (Feb. 2, 5 and 9). “Weve been coming down with the Modified for the last five or six years and this was the most successful trip weve ever had. We just made a few spring changes during the week and thats it – the car just worked great.”

An up-and-coming dirt Late Model driver on the competitive circuit in and around the western Pennsylvania area, Hess has a Clinger-built UMP Modified at his disposal for selected events and decided to make the open-wheel car his focus during this year’s DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH. He won the week’s opening A-Main on Feb. 3 and the first ‘Gator Championship’ preliminary feature on Feb. 6; finished third on Feb. 4; and registered a ninth-place finish in the 30-lap ‘Gator Championship’ headliner on Feb. 8.

After the scheduled multiple-feature UMP Modified finale on Feb. 9 was washed out, Hess was declared the series champion by 11 points (299-288) over teenager Austin Dillon of Welcome, N.C., the grandson of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress and a winner of one feature during the week.

The DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH crown marks the second major triumph at Volusia for Hess, who in 2008 parlayed a single feature win into the richest prize of his career. That year’s DIRTcar Nationals featured an Alltel-sponsored fan participation contest – and after collecting the most votes among all the weeks winners, Hess was named the ‘Alltel All-Star’ and received a $12,000 check.

“Volusia has been pretty good to us with the Modified,” said Hess. “Wed like to run our Late Model (during the DIRTcar Nationals) too, but the Late Model field is so competitive its hard to even qualify (for a feature). We seem to do better with the Modified, so we decided to just concentrate on that and make the week a fun vacation for us.”

For more information on DIRTcar Racing, visit www.dirtcar.com.

39th annual DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio – DIRTcar UMP Modified Final Points Standings:

1. Dave Hess Jr. 299

2. Austin Dillon 288

3. Jared Landers 273

4. David McWilliams 241

5. Kenny Schrader 231

6. Jason Hughes 228

7. Stormy Scott 224

8. Jared Hawkins 219

9. Kenny Wallace 217

9. Tommie Seets Jr. 217

11. Peyton Taylor 202

12. Denny Schwartz 194

13. Clint Bowyer 190

13. Ty Dillon 190

15. Steve Pfeifer 188

The 39th Annual DIRTcar Nationals is brought to fans by the University of Northwestern Ohio. The University of Northwestern Ohio is the Official Education Provider of DIRTcar Racing. UNOH can deliver strong progressive academics, with flexible scheduling at an affordable price. The choice of a university at which to study is a major decision. Your future as a productive professional and a responsible citizen can be greatly enhanced by that decision. Students at UHOH will become critical thinkers, will become communicators, will have the most current technology and will experience small class sizes taught by knowledgeable faculty with real working experience. For more information, visit UNOH at http://www.unoh.edu.

The Checkered Flag Sprint Series will try again to open the 2010 season at Charlotte County Motorsports Park on Saturday, February 20^th.  Mother Nature (rain) cancelled the originally scheduled season opener. This will be a 30 lap feature event paying $1,000.00 to win and $200.00 to start.

A good field of cars and drivers are expected including 2009 Champion, Keith Butler, Mark and Gary Gimmler, Scotty Adema,  2009 Rookie of the Year, Amanda Ferguson, Brian Maddox, Ric Voisey, Jason Bradford, Geoff Styner, Frankie Hurst, Robby Hackett, Steven Bradley, Skeeter Faulconer, Mickey Kempgens, Channing Conley, Robert Parrow, Michael Tharp and Jimmy Alvis.

 Racing starts at 6:00 pm with hot laps at 2:30 pm.  Saturday morning practice starts from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm for a fee of $10.00 per person.  To reserve a slab call (941) 575-7223.