Dwayne
08-21-2005, 05:52 PM
SUMTER, S. C. - The Family Fun Day held at Sumter Speedway Saturday began in the early hours Saturday morning with a yard sale and fun afternoon for kids and grown-ups which was all for the benefit of the South Carolina Make-A-Wish Foundation, carried into the wee morning hours Sunday with the conclusion of the racing program.
With the yard sale, an auction and contributions from the fans on hand Saturday night, nearly $1,500 was raiesd for the organization that grants wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses. In two events at the 3/8-mile dirt oval, more than $3,500 was raised for the organization.
The racing action almost didn't happen as not enough water was put on the track and when the cars went out for pre-race warm-up, the place bacame a dust bowl, but the person who was in charge of watering the track had left a couple of hours before. At the drivers meeting, the condition of the track was discussed and it was decided that it would be unfair to the fans and unsafe for the drivers to hold the planned racing program. Acting general manager Wanda Duke was called to the meeting to discuss the issue and she called her husband, David, to the rescue.
Duke loaded a tanker with several thousands of gallons of water and circled the top of the track dumping water on the dried-out clay and allowed it to flow to the bottom. All drivers were instructed to get on the track and "roll" the water into the ground, which meant the first heat race was nearly three hours late getting started.
When racing got started, fans saw plenty of action and some suspense as well with this being next to the last points race of the season and a couple of championship chases still being up for grabs. By winning his eighth Pure Street main event of the season, Pete McKenzie moved into the points lead while Robert "Duck" Pack had many of the fans chewing on their finger nails awaiting the outcome of the Late Model T&L feature. Going into the race, Pack led Jody Truett by four points with a drop of five points per finishing position. If Truett were to finish ahead of Pack by one position, Pruett would finish the event leading the year-long standing by one point. Pack finished the race one position ahead of Truett, so he increased his margin to nine with a special event planned for this division next week.
Pro Stock points leader Joey Ayers increased his lead over James Stephens while Tony Rabon virtually sewed up his second straight Mini Stock 4 crown, even though he lost some ground to Cody McAllister, who finished second Saturday night. James Yost wrapped up the Pure Stock championship and Banjo Duke sewed up the Super Stock championship several weeks ago.
Pete McKenzie started things off by winning his eighth Pure Street main event after starting on the inside of the front row with Marty Horne beside him. McKenzie took the green flag and never looked back. Grant Hill, Mark Horne and Marty Horne put on a show for second place while points leader, Matt Holland and Mark Bartlette followed. McKenzie walked off from second place finisher, Mark Horne who put some distance between himself and his brother, Marty, who finished third. Bartlette came back from a spin that involved Holland to finish fourth while Holland was fifth. Hill was the sixth place finisher and Hank Hutson was seventh.
Robbie Disher was the victor in the Pure Stock race, leading from start to finish. Tim Roark was the closest to Disher for one lap, but William Disher moved up to challenge on lap two. James Yost took over second on the ninth lap as William Disher experienced mechanical problems and retired after ten laps. Yost was able to pull along-side Disher a couple of times, but was never able to hold the point for a full lap and finshed second. Roark was the third driver to finish as Len Caughman was fourth and Karen Cooper, fifth.
Johnny Welch took the checkers at the end of the action filled 30-lap Pro Stock main event, but the veteran driver had to work for his fifth win of the season. Brian Welch took advantage of his pole position start and led the first two circuits, but, one-time winner Frankie Frye shot past and grabbed the lead on lap three. Larry Waits, who started the 30-lap chase in fifth position, led the rest of the field in hopes of catching the streaking Frye. On the 11th lap, a tire blew on the Frye car and he left the track in the second turn and had to be towed into the pits.
This moved Waits to the front and he held on until his car began to slow and Johnny Welch took the lead on lap 24. In the meantime, Frye, who had installed a new tire, but was unable to fix the front end which he said following the race was out of tow by more than two inches, made his way from the rear of the field to second on lap 24. Frye was gaining on Johnny Welch, but was never able to muster enough speed from his ill-handling car to catch him, so he had to settle for second. Waits was third, with Tim Landis finishing fourth and Joey Ayers fifth. Nine-time winner James Stephens was sixth as Brian Welch was seventh and Bubba Jones was eighth.
Mini Stock driver David Hodge chalked up his fourth win of the season, leading every lap after starting from the pole position. Hodge's uncle, Tony Rabon was second to Hodge for one lap, but grazed the wall on the second lap, which forced him into the pits for a replacement tire. This put Rabon to the rear of the field, with Cody McAllister moving to second for the remainder of the event. Rabon came back to collect hird place money with Sissy Duke finishing fourth. Jack Lamber was the fifth place finsher and Banjo Duke was sixth. Rabon protested the McAllister car, but after a thorough inspection, the car was found legal.
Duke also competed in the Super Stock 4 chase and had no competition in recording his eighth win on the season. Derek McLeod was second with Ronnie Brown coming home third. Tony Coker, Jr. was the fourth place finisher with Tommy Bell finishing fifth. Chris Hinson was sixth and J. R. Brown was seventh.
For the second week in a row, the Late Model T&L main event was another fender bending battle and was called after only the ninth lap was complete, due to a time-limit rule. The most serious wreck occurred on the sixth lap as Adam Hill, who was running second to eventual winner Buddy Truett made contact with Bubba Livingston in the first turn with Hill making hard contact with the concrete retaining wall.
Livingston, wound up in second place as the race was called, and third place finisher Randy Hill protested the Livingston car, but the popular driver elected not to tear down, so this gave the second finishing position to Hill. Billy Coursey was third with Robert Pack finishing fourth. Fifth was Jody Truett as Brandon Hodge finished sixth and Troy Hodge was seventh. Eighth was Clay Sims with Robbie Disher finishing ninth and Adam Hill collecting 10th place money.
The Kid's Power Wheels competition was held with Dalton Hodge winning the 1-2-year-old heat. Davis Clemmons was the winner of the 3-4 year-old competition as Tamara Ireck won the 5-6 race and D. J. Carraway took first place in the 7-8 year-old competition.
The Late Model T&L event will carry and added purse and will consist of 30 laps of competition. This will be the final points race of 2005. On Saturday night, Spetember 3, a demolition derby will be the featured attraction along with the regular racing program. Gates open for both events at 5:30 p. m. and racing is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 p. m.
August 20, 2005 Compiled by Jessica Ayers
With the yard sale, an auction and contributions from the fans on hand Saturday night, nearly $1,500 was raiesd for the organization that grants wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses. In two events at the 3/8-mile dirt oval, more than $3,500 was raised for the organization.
The racing action almost didn't happen as not enough water was put on the track and when the cars went out for pre-race warm-up, the place bacame a dust bowl, but the person who was in charge of watering the track had left a couple of hours before. At the drivers meeting, the condition of the track was discussed and it was decided that it would be unfair to the fans and unsafe for the drivers to hold the planned racing program. Acting general manager Wanda Duke was called to the meeting to discuss the issue and she called her husband, David, to the rescue.
Duke loaded a tanker with several thousands of gallons of water and circled the top of the track dumping water on the dried-out clay and allowed it to flow to the bottom. All drivers were instructed to get on the track and "roll" the water into the ground, which meant the first heat race was nearly three hours late getting started.
When racing got started, fans saw plenty of action and some suspense as well with this being next to the last points race of the season and a couple of championship chases still being up for grabs. By winning his eighth Pure Street main event of the season, Pete McKenzie moved into the points lead while Robert "Duck" Pack had many of the fans chewing on their finger nails awaiting the outcome of the Late Model T&L feature. Going into the race, Pack led Jody Truett by four points with a drop of five points per finishing position. If Truett were to finish ahead of Pack by one position, Pruett would finish the event leading the year-long standing by one point. Pack finished the race one position ahead of Truett, so he increased his margin to nine with a special event planned for this division next week.
Pro Stock points leader Joey Ayers increased his lead over James Stephens while Tony Rabon virtually sewed up his second straight Mini Stock 4 crown, even though he lost some ground to Cody McAllister, who finished second Saturday night. James Yost wrapped up the Pure Stock championship and Banjo Duke sewed up the Super Stock championship several weeks ago.
Pete McKenzie started things off by winning his eighth Pure Street main event after starting on the inside of the front row with Marty Horne beside him. McKenzie took the green flag and never looked back. Grant Hill, Mark Horne and Marty Horne put on a show for second place while points leader, Matt Holland and Mark Bartlette followed. McKenzie walked off from second place finisher, Mark Horne who put some distance between himself and his brother, Marty, who finished third. Bartlette came back from a spin that involved Holland to finish fourth while Holland was fifth. Hill was the sixth place finisher and Hank Hutson was seventh.
Robbie Disher was the victor in the Pure Stock race, leading from start to finish. Tim Roark was the closest to Disher for one lap, but William Disher moved up to challenge on lap two. James Yost took over second on the ninth lap as William Disher experienced mechanical problems and retired after ten laps. Yost was able to pull along-side Disher a couple of times, but was never able to hold the point for a full lap and finshed second. Roark was the third driver to finish as Len Caughman was fourth and Karen Cooper, fifth.
Johnny Welch took the checkers at the end of the action filled 30-lap Pro Stock main event, but the veteran driver had to work for his fifth win of the season. Brian Welch took advantage of his pole position start and led the first two circuits, but, one-time winner Frankie Frye shot past and grabbed the lead on lap three. Larry Waits, who started the 30-lap chase in fifth position, led the rest of the field in hopes of catching the streaking Frye. On the 11th lap, a tire blew on the Frye car and he left the track in the second turn and had to be towed into the pits.
This moved Waits to the front and he held on until his car began to slow and Johnny Welch took the lead on lap 24. In the meantime, Frye, who had installed a new tire, but was unable to fix the front end which he said following the race was out of tow by more than two inches, made his way from the rear of the field to second on lap 24. Frye was gaining on Johnny Welch, but was never able to muster enough speed from his ill-handling car to catch him, so he had to settle for second. Waits was third, with Tim Landis finishing fourth and Joey Ayers fifth. Nine-time winner James Stephens was sixth as Brian Welch was seventh and Bubba Jones was eighth.
Mini Stock driver David Hodge chalked up his fourth win of the season, leading every lap after starting from the pole position. Hodge's uncle, Tony Rabon was second to Hodge for one lap, but grazed the wall on the second lap, which forced him into the pits for a replacement tire. This put Rabon to the rear of the field, with Cody McAllister moving to second for the remainder of the event. Rabon came back to collect hird place money with Sissy Duke finishing fourth. Jack Lamber was the fifth place finsher and Banjo Duke was sixth. Rabon protested the McAllister car, but after a thorough inspection, the car was found legal.
Duke also competed in the Super Stock 4 chase and had no competition in recording his eighth win on the season. Derek McLeod was second with Ronnie Brown coming home third. Tony Coker, Jr. was the fourth place finisher with Tommy Bell finishing fifth. Chris Hinson was sixth and J. R. Brown was seventh.
For the second week in a row, the Late Model T&L main event was another fender bending battle and was called after only the ninth lap was complete, due to a time-limit rule. The most serious wreck occurred on the sixth lap as Adam Hill, who was running second to eventual winner Buddy Truett made contact with Bubba Livingston in the first turn with Hill making hard contact with the concrete retaining wall.
Livingston, wound up in second place as the race was called, and third place finisher Randy Hill protested the Livingston car, but the popular driver elected not to tear down, so this gave the second finishing position to Hill. Billy Coursey was third with Robert Pack finishing fourth. Fifth was Jody Truett as Brandon Hodge finished sixth and Troy Hodge was seventh. Eighth was Clay Sims with Robbie Disher finishing ninth and Adam Hill collecting 10th place money.
The Kid's Power Wheels competition was held with Dalton Hodge winning the 1-2-year-old heat. Davis Clemmons was the winner of the 3-4 year-old competition as Tamara Ireck won the 5-6 race and D. J. Carraway took first place in the 7-8 year-old competition.
The Late Model T&L event will carry and added purse and will consist of 30 laps of competition. This will be the final points race of 2005. On Saturday night, Spetember 3, a demolition derby will be the featured attraction along with the regular racing program. Gates open for both events at 5:30 p. m. and racing is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 p. m.
August 20, 2005 Compiled by Jessica Ayers