CONCORD , NC – Aug. 6, 2007 – Bill Frye is back on track.
Ending his struggles of the past three months, the veteran from Greenbrier, Ark. , returned to form with a sweep of the weekend’s MARS DIRTcar Series events at Springfield Raceway and Monett Speedway.
Frye, 47, owns a record four points titles with the MARS dirt Late Model organization, but he had been uncharacteristically winless on the tour in 2007 before breaking out with back-to-back checkered flags in Missouri .
“It makes you feel good to win,” said Frye, who vaulted from third to first in the MARS points standings with his perfect weekend. “It’s a big confidence builder to know I have a winning car again.”
Frye started his surge on Saturday night at Springfield Raceway, a quarter-mile oval that has been rejuvenated in 2007 under the direction of former Xtreme DirtCar Series owner Doug Bland and well-known open-wheel Modified chassis builder Jerry Hoffman.
Racing in front of what was called the track’s biggest crowd ever, Frye took advantage of an outside-pole starting spot to lead the inaugural 50-lap ‘Andy’s Frozen Custard Shootout’ from flag-to-flag. He repelled some late pressure from his protégé, 20-year-old Will Vaught of Crane, Mo. , to pocket the $3,000 top prize.
“I saw him one time with two or three (laps) to go,” Frye said of Vaught. “I knew the track was taking rubber at that point, but I wasn’t sure where it was at yet. Once I saw him get under me I moved down to find the rubber and I got faster.”
Frye, who made his first start at the Springfield oval since racing a Street Stock at the then-flat track 22 years ago, became the seventh different MARS winner in 2007.
Vaught, who started third, settled for runner-up money. He was coming off his second MARS victory of the season in the tour’s last event, on July 7 at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon , Mo.
Jeremy Payne, a young driver who moved from Arizona to Springfield , Mo. , to race in the dirt Late Model division, finished third, followed by his mentor/teammate Terry Phillips, also of Springfield, and 15th-starter Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark. Phillips started sixth but had to charge from the rear of the field after pitting to change a cut tire early in the distance.
On Sunday night at the three-eighths-mile Monett Speedway, Frye had to once again deal with the fast-rising Vaught to secure the 40-lap A-Main’s $3,000 winner’s check.
As Frye worked his way forward from the sixth starting spot, Vaught built a convincing lead from the pole position. But Vaught cut down a tire on an early restart, handing the top spot to Frye for good.
“When I got to second, he was already out of sight,” Frye said of Vaught, who recorded his first career MARS win on May 6 at Monett. “Would I have been able to pass him? Well, I wasn’t that good early on, so I don’t know whether I would’ve had something for him. But he obviously was pretty good, because he came through the field after getting a new tire.”
Indeed, Vaught gained plenty of attention by rallying to score his second consecutive runner-up finish. He ran out of time to mount a challenge on Frye, who schooled Vaught on the intricacies of dirt Late Model racing during the past off-season.
“He’s really turning into a race car driver,” a proud Frye said of Vaught, who spent the winter working at Frye’s chassis and parts business. “The main thing was getting him calmed down and making him realize that he doesn’t have to change his race car all the time. Like a lot of rookies, when they start struggling, they want to make a bunch of changes, but I’ve tried to tell him that he just needs to stick with what he’s doing and not second-guess himself.
“He’s getting really good at that, and now it looks like he’s gonna be a big factor in this (MARS) championship battle,” added Frye, who leads Vaught by five points in the current standings.
Sullivan started and finished third at Monett, followed by Justin Wells of Aurora , Mo. , and ninth-starter Phillips, the alltime winningest MARS driver (58 victories) who remains without a victory in 2007.
Frye, who has 31 career MARS wins, now heads to the next MARS event – this Saturday night (Aug. 11) at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland , Mo. – confident that he’s primed to challenge for a fifth MARS title.
It’s been a long season for Frye, whose ‘GRT by Frye’ mount was knocked off kilter for an extended stretch by a spring accident that occurred at Lucas Oil Speedway.
“We bent the rearend real good,” said Frye. “We couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the car for a while after that. We put a new rearend in it at Eldon ( Lake Ozark on July 7), and I got third after using a provisional to get in.
“It was like I had a new race car.”
Frye’s attitude toward racing has taken a complete about-face thanks to his repaired Late Model.
“I was talking to (NASCAR veteran Kenny) Schrader earlier this year and he said, ‘I thought you stopped racing,’” said Frye. “I told him, ‘The way we’ve been running, maybe I should have.’
“When you’re struggling, you start wondering what the problem is. After getting a couple wins, though, it’s a big confidence boost.”
MARS NOTES:
Heat winners were Frye, Vaught and Sullivan at Springfield , and Sullivan, Wells and Vaught at Monett…
Just 44 points separates first from sixth place in the MARS standings after 11 events.
The tightness of the battle was illustrated by the fall suffered by Al Purkey of Coffeyville , Kan. , who entered the weekend as the points leader but ended it ranked sixth. He struggled to finishes of ninth ( Springfield ) and 11th (Monett)…
Missing from the fields at both events was veteran Steve Rushin of Poplar Bluff , Mo. , whose season is apparently over as he awaits hip replacement surgery.
Rushin, who turns 41 on Sept. 6, already has a rod in his leg and a pin in his hip. Last week the pain in his hip made walking difficult, and he was informed by doctors that hip replacement surgery would be necessary to alleviate the discomfort.
With Rushin unable to race, he put young Poplar Bluff driver Chris Jones in his car for both events, with Jones finishing sixth ( Springfield ) and seventh (Monett). Rushin also fielded a second car at Monett for Peyton Taylor of Batesville , Ark. , who finished 18th…
After the MARS tour visits Lucas Oil Speedway this Saturday night for a race co-sanctioned by MLRA, a big four-race swing of $5,000-to-win events from Aug. 22-25 will go a long way toward determining the championship. The stretch includes Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach , Ill. , on Wed., Aug. 22; Poplar Bluff ( Mo. ) Speedway on Thurs., Aug. 23; Paducah ( Ky. ) International Raceway on Fri., Aug. 24; and I-55 Raceway in Pevely , Mo. , on Sat., Aug. 25…
For more information on the MARS DIRTcar Series, visit www.midamericaracingseries.com...
Results of MARS DIRTcar Series ‘Andy’s Frozen Custard Shootout’ – Aug. 4 at Springfield Raceway (50 laps):
1. Bill Frye
2. Will Vaught
3. Jeremy Payne
4. Terry Phillips
5. Jack Sullivan
6. Chris Jones
7. Justin Wells
8. Brandon McCormick
9. Al Purkey
10. Chris Smyser
11. Hendrix Dairan
12. Ken Essary
13. Brantlee Gotschall
14. Larry Jones
15. Jeremy Manes
16. Kenny Hartwigsen
17. Burl Woods
18. Steve Johnson
19. Jeremy Kelley
20. Leslie Essary
21. Donnie Timmerman
Results of MARS DIRTcar Series A-Main – Aug. 5 at Monett Speedway (40 laps):
1. Bill Frye
2. Will Vaught
3. Jack Sullivan
4. Justin Wells
5. Terry Phillips
6. Shane Essary
7. Chris Jones
8. Jeremy Payne
9. Brandon McCormick
10. Ken Essary
11. Al Purkey
12. Darrin Barton
13. Dustin Mooneyham
14. Burl Woods
15. Darrell Mooneyham
16. Leroy Johnson
17. Jimmy Bellamy
18. Peyton Taylor
19. Steve Johnson
20. Brad Looney
21. Todd Mcintyre
MARS DIRTcar Series Points Standings (as of Aug. 5):
1. Bill Frye 725
2. Will Vaught 720 (-5)
3. Jack Sullivan 692 (-33)
4. Terry Phillips 687 (-38)
5. Jeremy Payne 684 (-41)
6. Al Purkey 681 (-44)
7. Brandon McCormick 599 (-126)
8. Steve Rushin 499 (-226)
9. Joey Mack 275 (-450)
10. David Turner 264 (-461)
11. Brad Looney 259 (-466)
12. John Anderson 240 (-485)
13. Larry Jones 235 (-490)
14. Gary Stolba 234 (-491)
15. Billy James 216 (-509)
Ending his struggles of the past three months, the veteran from Greenbrier, Ark. , returned to form with a sweep of the weekend’s MARS DIRTcar Series events at Springfield Raceway and Monett Speedway.
Frye, 47, owns a record four points titles with the MARS dirt Late Model organization, but he had been uncharacteristically winless on the tour in 2007 before breaking out with back-to-back checkered flags in Missouri .
“It makes you feel good to win,” said Frye, who vaulted from third to first in the MARS points standings with his perfect weekend. “It’s a big confidence builder to know I have a winning car again.”
Frye started his surge on Saturday night at Springfield Raceway, a quarter-mile oval that has been rejuvenated in 2007 under the direction of former Xtreme DirtCar Series owner Doug Bland and well-known open-wheel Modified chassis builder Jerry Hoffman.
Racing in front of what was called the track’s biggest crowd ever, Frye took advantage of an outside-pole starting spot to lead the inaugural 50-lap ‘Andy’s Frozen Custard Shootout’ from flag-to-flag. He repelled some late pressure from his protégé, 20-year-old Will Vaught of Crane, Mo. , to pocket the $3,000 top prize.
“I saw him one time with two or three (laps) to go,” Frye said of Vaught. “I knew the track was taking rubber at that point, but I wasn’t sure where it was at yet. Once I saw him get under me I moved down to find the rubber and I got faster.”
Frye, who made his first start at the Springfield oval since racing a Street Stock at the then-flat track 22 years ago, became the seventh different MARS winner in 2007.
Vaught, who started third, settled for runner-up money. He was coming off his second MARS victory of the season in the tour’s last event, on July 7 at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon , Mo.
Jeremy Payne, a young driver who moved from Arizona to Springfield , Mo. , to race in the dirt Late Model division, finished third, followed by his mentor/teammate Terry Phillips, also of Springfield, and 15th-starter Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark. Phillips started sixth but had to charge from the rear of the field after pitting to change a cut tire early in the distance.
On Sunday night at the three-eighths-mile Monett Speedway, Frye had to once again deal with the fast-rising Vaught to secure the 40-lap A-Main’s $3,000 winner’s check.
As Frye worked his way forward from the sixth starting spot, Vaught built a convincing lead from the pole position. But Vaught cut down a tire on an early restart, handing the top spot to Frye for good.
“When I got to second, he was already out of sight,” Frye said of Vaught, who recorded his first career MARS win on May 6 at Monett. “Would I have been able to pass him? Well, I wasn’t that good early on, so I don’t know whether I would’ve had something for him. But he obviously was pretty good, because he came through the field after getting a new tire.”
Indeed, Vaught gained plenty of attention by rallying to score his second consecutive runner-up finish. He ran out of time to mount a challenge on Frye, who schooled Vaught on the intricacies of dirt Late Model racing during the past off-season.
“He’s really turning into a race car driver,” a proud Frye said of Vaught, who spent the winter working at Frye’s chassis and parts business. “The main thing was getting him calmed down and making him realize that he doesn’t have to change his race car all the time. Like a lot of rookies, when they start struggling, they want to make a bunch of changes, but I’ve tried to tell him that he just needs to stick with what he’s doing and not second-guess himself.
“He’s getting really good at that, and now it looks like he’s gonna be a big factor in this (MARS) championship battle,” added Frye, who leads Vaught by five points in the current standings.
Sullivan started and finished third at Monett, followed by Justin Wells of Aurora , Mo. , and ninth-starter Phillips, the alltime winningest MARS driver (58 victories) who remains without a victory in 2007.
Frye, who has 31 career MARS wins, now heads to the next MARS event – this Saturday night (Aug. 11) at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland , Mo. – confident that he’s primed to challenge for a fifth MARS title.
It’s been a long season for Frye, whose ‘GRT by Frye’ mount was knocked off kilter for an extended stretch by a spring accident that occurred at Lucas Oil Speedway.
“We bent the rearend real good,” said Frye. “We couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the car for a while after that. We put a new rearend in it at Eldon ( Lake Ozark on July 7), and I got third after using a provisional to get in.
“It was like I had a new race car.”
Frye’s attitude toward racing has taken a complete about-face thanks to his repaired Late Model.
“I was talking to (NASCAR veteran Kenny) Schrader earlier this year and he said, ‘I thought you stopped racing,’” said Frye. “I told him, ‘The way we’ve been running, maybe I should have.’
“When you’re struggling, you start wondering what the problem is. After getting a couple wins, though, it’s a big confidence boost.”
MARS NOTES:
Heat winners were Frye, Vaught and Sullivan at Springfield , and Sullivan, Wells and Vaught at Monett…
Just 44 points separates first from sixth place in the MARS standings after 11 events.
The tightness of the battle was illustrated by the fall suffered by Al Purkey of Coffeyville , Kan. , who entered the weekend as the points leader but ended it ranked sixth. He struggled to finishes of ninth ( Springfield ) and 11th (Monett)…
Missing from the fields at both events was veteran Steve Rushin of Poplar Bluff , Mo. , whose season is apparently over as he awaits hip replacement surgery.
Rushin, who turns 41 on Sept. 6, already has a rod in his leg and a pin in his hip. Last week the pain in his hip made walking difficult, and he was informed by doctors that hip replacement surgery would be necessary to alleviate the discomfort.
With Rushin unable to race, he put young Poplar Bluff driver Chris Jones in his car for both events, with Jones finishing sixth ( Springfield ) and seventh (Monett). Rushin also fielded a second car at Monett for Peyton Taylor of Batesville , Ark. , who finished 18th…
After the MARS tour visits Lucas Oil Speedway this Saturday night for a race co-sanctioned by MLRA, a big four-race swing of $5,000-to-win events from Aug. 22-25 will go a long way toward determining the championship. The stretch includes Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach , Ill. , on Wed., Aug. 22; Poplar Bluff ( Mo. ) Speedway on Thurs., Aug. 23; Paducah ( Ky. ) International Raceway on Fri., Aug. 24; and I-55 Raceway in Pevely , Mo. , on Sat., Aug. 25…
For more information on the MARS DIRTcar Series, visit www.midamericaracingseries.com...
Results of MARS DIRTcar Series ‘Andy’s Frozen Custard Shootout’ – Aug. 4 at Springfield Raceway (50 laps):
1. Bill Frye
2. Will Vaught
3. Jeremy Payne
4. Terry Phillips
5. Jack Sullivan
6. Chris Jones
7. Justin Wells
8. Brandon McCormick
9. Al Purkey
10. Chris Smyser
11. Hendrix Dairan
12. Ken Essary
13. Brantlee Gotschall
14. Larry Jones
15. Jeremy Manes
16. Kenny Hartwigsen
17. Burl Woods
18. Steve Johnson
19. Jeremy Kelley
20. Leslie Essary
21. Donnie Timmerman
Results of MARS DIRTcar Series A-Main – Aug. 5 at Monett Speedway (40 laps):
1. Bill Frye
2. Will Vaught
3. Jack Sullivan
4. Justin Wells
5. Terry Phillips
6. Shane Essary
7. Chris Jones
8. Jeremy Payne
9. Brandon McCormick
10. Ken Essary
11. Al Purkey
12. Darrin Barton
13. Dustin Mooneyham
14. Burl Woods
15. Darrell Mooneyham
16. Leroy Johnson
17. Jimmy Bellamy
18. Peyton Taylor
19. Steve Johnson
20. Brad Looney
21. Todd Mcintyre
MARS DIRTcar Series Points Standings (as of Aug. 5):
1. Bill Frye 725
2. Will Vaught 720 (-5)
3. Jack Sullivan 692 (-33)
4. Terry Phillips 687 (-38)
5. Jeremy Payne 684 (-41)
6. Al Purkey 681 (-44)
7. Brandon McCormick 599 (-126)
8. Steve Rushin 499 (-226)
9. Joey Mack 275 (-450)
10. David Turner 264 (-461)
11. Brad Looney 259 (-466)
12. John Anderson 240 (-485)
13. Larry Jones 235 (-490)
14. Gary Stolba 234 (-491)
15. Billy James 216 (-509)
