Carolina Clash news ...

[TPope]

... in Wednesday morning's Fayetteville Observer

[jhofficial]

Would this have anything to do with the Clash race being removed from the Dublin website?

[gb81racing]

ya rekon. LOL

[gb81racing]

hey racerchaser, where is that story from i would like to read the whole thing if there is any more to it.

[Racerchaser]

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=269123



Published on Monday, August 06, 2007

Franklin roars to victory

By Thomas Pope
Motor sports editor
Jeff Smith rolled into Fayetteville Motor Speedway having won all seven Super Late Model races at the track this season. He made the haul home to Gaston County having been beaten for the first time by a driver who’s been even hotter in the short term.
Dennis “Rambo” Franklin of Gaffney, S.C., was more than Smith or any of the other Carolina Clash series drivers could handle Saturday night. He was 3/10ths of a second quicker than anybody during time trials, then led all 40 laps of the feature to earn $4,000.
It was Franklin’s fourth consecutive win on the circuit, which covers the Carolinas and parts of Georgia and Virginia. He came into Fayetteville having finished as runner-up in the 10-race O’Reilly Summer Nationals that covered five Southeastern states.
“Racing’s a lot of fun, but sometimes you get back there and get hung up second or third — that really gets you down,” said Franklin, who drives the “house car” of chassis builder and National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member Barry Wright. “But right now we’re on top.”
Even with the victory, Franklin made up only minimal ground in his bid to overhaul points leader Ricky Weeks of Rutherfordton. Weeks, the three-time reigning Clash champion, finished second and holds a 165-point lead with six races to go.
Randle Chupp of Troutman took third place, followed by Smith and the driver who was second in qualifying, Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga.
Davenport grabbed the lead on the first attempt to start the race, but a pile-up took place behind him that involved about a third of the 24-car field. Smith, who won the Clash’s prior appearance at Fayetteville this season, limped to the pits for front suspension repairs, and Chupp’s car suffered damage under its rear half.
“I was in between a couple of cars and I couldn’t go no further forward without taking Rambo out and I wasn’t going to do that,” Chupp said. “I got on brakes hard to try to stay off Rambo and whoever was behind me either didn’t check up or didn’t see it soon enough to check up.”
Smith managed to battle back to fourth despite a battered car and some very sore ribs from the crash.
“I couldn’t hardly drive it down the straightaways it was so bad after that crash,” Smith said. “We’ll just take fourth and be happy with it.”
The Clash returns to Fayetteville on Sept. 8, and is scheduled to conclude its season here Sept. 28-29.
Motor sports editor Thomas Pope can be reached at popet@fayobserver.com or 486-3520.
GOING TO PLAN B
Weeks was perhaps the most fatigued of the Clash drivers, but with good reason. Barely 24 hours before the field took the green flag, Weeks was hustling to get his race car and assorted other equipment from his team’s race shop to his garage at home. Thursday, his team owner was among nearly two dozen people charged in a video poker gambling ring that touched 15 western counties.
Instead of having the team haul the race car to the track aboard its 18-wheel hauler, Weeks had to retrieve the remainder of the equipment and bring the car to Fayetteville in his own fifth-wheel trailer.
“I had to regroup a little bit, had to move some stuff around,” he said. “I used to run my own stuff and I haven’t sold anything. I just had to get home, blow the cobwebs off (his trailer), get the spiders out, clean it up.
“We’ve got a good race car, a good engine. We’re going to race just like nothing ever happened.”
ONE OR THE OTHER
Franklin’s first Fayetteville victory didn’t leave him any more certain that he has a handle on the 4/10ths-mile track. “I’ve been down here when this place is rough and sometimes it’s smooth. You never know what hand you’re going to get dealt,” he said. “The race track was really bolted down, one groove (tonight). … This race track can really throw you a loop. You just don’t know how it’ll be.”
other results
In the track’s weekly divisions: Ronald Hammond posted his first Late Model victory; Glenn Howard triumphed in Super Street and Pure Stock; Ricky Boahn won Open Wheel Modified, and Eddie Longhany Jr. took first in U-Car.

[gb81racing]

dang i read that story monday and i dont even remember reading that last part.

[Ladyfan]

I would really enjoy seeing a clash race at DMS. It is a shame that DMS isn't getting the clash because with a good effort it would be a dang good race.

[4BOYZDOT]

I'm with you ladyfan. I think a Clash race at Dublin would be great. Compared to other local track[s]. They could get two wide easy and run three wide in some situations!!

[clutch81rw]

Once again the management at DMS has totally blown another chance to do something good for the track by missing the boat, and not securing the Clash race. Reality is that they had to keep their priorities in order and an event like the clash would require allot of hard work and effort not to mention the track would have to be in tiptop shape and would have had to been run on a Saturday night and we all know that that would interfere with putting the tube steaks on the grill at the beach, Guess it really is our fault that we are let down. We should have known better than to get our hopes up for a good thing like this. My Bad! I would ask that everyone, most especially DMSREV pray very hard and often, that BGM will step up or aside and employ or acquire in some way someone who has a clue as to how a track should be run and promoted. At the very least they could listen to someone who has at least a shred of knowledge of the racetrack business, rather than chasing the random destructive bonehead ideas that Satan keeps spoon feeding them in his attempt to take away a good thing from our racing community. Hey I would even be willing to give them a little sane advise if asked.

[TPope]

I sorta tipped ya off to what was gonna happen in Monday's story - but ya had to look for it 'til I could put it definitely in print:

>>> Even with the victory, Franklin made up only minimal ground in his bid to overhaul points leader Ricky Weeks of Rutherfordton. Weeks, the three-time reigning Clash champion, finished second and holds a 165-point lead with six races to go. <<<

This isn't Dublin's fault and doesn't have anything to do with problems between Larry Lee, Mike and Gail, or Chuck Smith. This is about low car counts as the season takes its toll on teams' equipment, budgets and the desire of the Clash to not go head-to-head with high school football on Friday night. There'll almost certainly be some Friday-Saturday doubleheaders for the Clash next year, but they'll be early in the season before everything gets torn up and money gets tight. That's what Larry told me.

As for Sept. 29th, all of the details haven't been firmed up yet, but like Larry Lee said, one thing that is certain is that the race will boats the biggest winner's purse in the eight-year history of the Clash (and it'll probably be a 60-lap feature). They'll announce their plans after the Clash race at Fayetteville on Sept. 8.

[gb81racing]

As for Sept. 29th, all of the details haven't been firmed up yet, but like Larry Lee said, one thing that is certain is that the race will boats the biggest winner's purse in the eight-year history of the Clash (and it'll probably be a 60-lap feature). They'll announce their plans after the Clash race at Fayetteville on Sept. 8.
man a 60 lap feature. them boys better get some tires harder than them AR 12 on the cars cause that track will be hungary and eaten away at some tires. LOL:slap:

[moparboi1202]

Dublin is gonna choke before the season's over with, maybe they'll still be open for the SAS East race