From: TVA Racing: Steve Hixson
(COLUMBUS, MS) – It’s all out in the open now, Dirt Late Model racings best kept secret, Columbus Speedway was just written into the record books as racers and race fans were treated to one of the best events in the history of the sport Friday and Saturday night. Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN entered the “Brown Engineering” Rebel Challenge event in what was only is second career visit to the MS/AL bordered facility and took home the $8,000 winners prize, which in turn came about to be his first ever career “A” Main win in the state. “This place is spectacular! We like it here. This place has character. Stokes has done some tremendous work.” stated Bloomquist in his post race interview in Victory Lane.
Teams began rolling through the gates just outside the massive high-banked clay facility Friday afternoon in preparation for pole night festivities. One by one teams parked their haulers throughout the pits and it became abundantly clear this race was about to shape into a “Who’s Who” of Dirt \Late Model racing. Billy Moyer, Dale McDowell, Ray Cook, Freddy Smith, Earl Pearson Jr. and eventually Bloomquist rolled in and by Qualifying 75 (seventy-five) entry’s were tallied readying for hot lap practice sessions before obtaining two consecutive laps of qualifying.
The stage was set early in qualifying as Steve Russell of Ponotoc, MS hit a 14:00 lap as only the third qualifier on the night as the “Ponotoc Pirate” rustled his “Aberdeen Machine Works, Ricks Furniture” Rayburn/Brown, Chevrolet Monte Carlo around his “home-base”. “Hootie’s Goat” was next and Wendall Wallace was didn’t disappoint setting his Arkansas mount along side Russell’s in the first heat. It would be Bloomquist though racking the closest time to Russell as the mysterious black knight chief pivoted his Indian to hit a 14:04 lap. Another Mississippi alumni (and new track record holder), Anthony Rushing was third overall fastest clocking a 14:09 lap with Randle Chupp and Bill Frye tying for fourth fast time with a 14:17 second lap.
In the first of six preliminary heats Russell staged to the left of Wallace and from there “it was on”… Wallace grabbed command with Russell following. Seventh overall qualifier Mark Mears reared the first official competition yellow as he stalled off turn two of the opening green flag. A quick realignment sent the field to their second green flag start and Wallace again pounced on the point. Wallace developed a push as the white flag shook over the field and Russell bombarded the leader with a slider from turn one. Russell took the checkers and Wallace mustered enough to finish second just in front of Mississippi hot-shoe Shawn Edwards. Mark Sartain finished a tremendous run coming from tenth to fourth with Robbie Harvey rounding out the top five.
Bloomquist then staged his “Scull and Bones” mount next to the 2002 S.A.S. Champion Duayne Hommel. Bloomquist never hesitated as the boys diced for second just off his spoiler. First it was David Killian showing some “Carolina Muscle” powering forward to second before Hommel and Shane Clanton came roaring back to life. Young AL/MS racing lion Rony Lee Hollingsworth even got into the fray momentarily as “Black Sunshine” continued to reign. Hommel and Clanton surpassed Killian’s surge to gain the transfer positions with Clanton planting a textbook “Bottom-Dweller” hit on Hommel for second… a half a track behind the race winner. Killian and Hollingsworth rounded out the top five.
In the third heat Rushing was just that… as his dance partner McDowell decided to liven things up. McDowell got the lead as the green waved and the chase was on. Freddy Smith kept cutting in all “gentlemanly like” as the trio tangoed to the twelve lap tune. The “Bluegrass Bandit” Gary Webb even tried to waltz into the party as the laps dwindled. “McDaddy” got some breathing room late in the run as a back-marker car wedged apart the top three. Rushing and Smith (in his Dodge Intrepid) rounded out the top three as the “J&J Steel, Larry Shaw Racecars” Rocket/Custom Pontiac Grand Prix of McDowell took the checkers. Webb and Kentucky SuperStar Mike Hawley rounded out the top five.
In heat four the band was well tuned-up, along with the fans, as Randle Chupp and the “Tar Heel Tiger” Ray Cook squared-up with Duke Whiseant and seven-time Mississippi State Champion Mike Boland tagged-up for a “four-for-all” Battle Royal. It began simple enough, as Cook got the lead over Chupp with Boland pedaling to third. “The Show-Stopper” wasn’t going away quietly as the “Biscotti’s Restaurant, Park Ohio” Rocket/Race Tek Pontiac Grand Prix gunslinger fired off round after round of sliders at “The Brownie Brown Super-Star”. Boland was poised for a race stealin’ error (in third) and failed to stop the “Duke of Arkansas” Whiseant from accessing the final transfer position with Keith Craft behind the battle in fifth. As Cook collected the white, the “Chuppster” set-up the “mother-load” mammoth bonsai power-slide coming off of four to take the win by a wheel well over Cook.
With the nurses passing oxygen to the stunned Columbus crowd, heat five rolled out as “Bigg-Badd” Bill Frye schooled fellow “Arkie” Jeff Taylor. Taylor (much like heat one) succumbed to Frye’s pressure after leading the first handful of laps as the “Petroff Towing (posse)” GRT/Kuntz Chevrolet Monte Carlo took the checkers. Taylor and Earl Pearson Jr. tallied transfer positions leaving one “Dirt-Master General” Billy Moyer to consolation land in fourth. Finishing fifth was Alabama racing veteran James Cline.
The sixth and final heat was a “Who’s That???” as Wayne Beckwith of Kilmichael MS, killed-Terry (English) as the 2002 UMP Champion struggled in the opening laps. “Little Joe” Armistead had just enough “hoss” under the hood to finish third to Beckwith, to earn the nights final transfer position as English attempted to trace down the unmarked “SouthSide Auto Parts, Lotts Exxon” Rocket/Dickens Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Chuck Proctor and “Backwards” Bill Hasselle rounded out the top five.
On Saturday, in front of a SRO crowd a series of “Triple Threat Sudden Death” “B” Main Last Chance consolation races took stage to advance the final six to the “A” Main. In race one Boland was all business securing his spot in the Rebel Challenge. Pole starter Sartain got the other transfer spot leaving Mike Head outta the show in his new Reed-ride. Craft’s Ford finished fourth with Todd Hall rounding out the top five. In race two Moyer kindly showed fifth starting Dewaine Hottinger the route to the checkers with a transfer pass on Killian and R.L. Hollingsworth. Cline exited with damage in an early race incident with Shane Rushing. Killian, Tombo Callahan and Rushing rounded out the top five. And in race three of the TTSD, Webb went unchallenged as an up-n-coming young driver named Steven Harrison picked up spot twenty-four in front of Robby Bilbrey, Marcus Minga and Ronny Hollingsworth.
After a perfectly Tingle-timed Intermission, Interview & Introduction session, the field stampeded to the green for the 50 lap, $8,000 to Win, “A” Main. As cued from the history of race stories gone by, Bloomquist found his mark in front of the field a set a march towards his first conquest on “Mississippi Money”. Unfortunately for Beckwith the sixth heat winner wouldn’t see a full lap as Chupp bounced off Stokes’ concrete in turn two. The collision also damaged Frye’s mount though both reentered the race after making a necessary pit-stop adjustments. On the restart again Russell could only watch as Bloomquist marched off. Lap four saw Pearson collect Harrison back in the pack before a 26 lap hide n’ seek match ensued. McDowell made a race of it with Chupp before setting sail after Bloomquist. With perfectly synchronized precision cars throughout the field jockeyed for position, setting up mini-battles deep within the thunder. Cook, Whiseant and Hommel all swapped positions as pole sitter Russell scurried within the top ten. As backmarker traffic allowed McDowell some closure, it wouldn’t be until Wendall Wallace stalled his third place machine that McDowell would challenge. On the restart McDowell pitched a pair of sliders Bloomquist’s way but neither attempt fazed the leader. Randle Chupp would end his night off “the zone” in turn 4 (over the banking) after running in the top five. Bloomquist caught the field asleep on the next restart leaving fans to watch the Clanton / Frye battle for third. Twentieth starting Moyer was the man on the move as the laps waned towards the big 5-0. Bloomquist took the checkered flag followed by McDowell, Frye, Clanton, and Moyer (who passed Rushing on the last lap). Cook, Whiseant, Hommel, and Smith finished seventh thru tenth.
1. Scott Bloomquist (# 0) of Mooresburg TN
2. Dale Mcdowell (# 17M) of Rossville GA
3. Bill Frye (# 66) of Greenbrier AR
4. Shane Clanton (# 25) of Pleasant Grove GA
5. Billy Moyer (# 21) of Batesville AR
6. Anthony Rushing (# 70 ½) of Kosciusko MS
7. Ray Cook (# 53) of Brasstown NC
8. Duke Whiseant (# A-1) of Texarkana AR
9. Duayne Hommel (# H2) of Newport TN
10. Freddy Smith (# 00) of Knoxville TN
11. Steve Russell (# 72) of Pontotoc MS
12. Mike Boland (# 222) of Cuba AL
13. Terry English (# 96) of Benton KY
14. Mark Sartain (# 20) of Corinth MS
15. Joe Armistead Jr. (# 21) of Sharpsburg GA
16. Shawn Edwards (# 5) of Louisville MS
17. Jeffrey Taylor (# 5) of Pleasant Plains AR
18. Steven Harrison (# 84) of Spring City TN
19. Earl Pearson Jr (# 1) of Jacksonville FL
20. Randle Chupp (# 114) of Mooresville NC
21. Wendell Wallace (# 88) of Batesville AR
22. Gary Webb (# 56) of Bluegrass IA
23. Dewaine Hottinger (# 65) of Russellville AR
24. Wayne Beckwith (# 84) of Kilmichael MS
(COLUMBUS, MS) – It’s all out in the open now, Dirt Late Model racings best kept secret, Columbus Speedway was just written into the record books as racers and race fans were treated to one of the best events in the history of the sport Friday and Saturday night. Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, TN entered the “Brown Engineering” Rebel Challenge event in what was only is second career visit to the MS/AL bordered facility and took home the $8,000 winners prize, which in turn came about to be his first ever career “A” Main win in the state. “This place is spectacular! We like it here. This place has character. Stokes has done some tremendous work.” stated Bloomquist in his post race interview in Victory Lane.
Teams began rolling through the gates just outside the massive high-banked clay facility Friday afternoon in preparation for pole night festivities. One by one teams parked their haulers throughout the pits and it became abundantly clear this race was about to shape into a “Who’s Who” of Dirt \Late Model racing. Billy Moyer, Dale McDowell, Ray Cook, Freddy Smith, Earl Pearson Jr. and eventually Bloomquist rolled in and by Qualifying 75 (seventy-five) entry’s were tallied readying for hot lap practice sessions before obtaining two consecutive laps of qualifying.
The stage was set early in qualifying as Steve Russell of Ponotoc, MS hit a 14:00 lap as only the third qualifier on the night as the “Ponotoc Pirate” rustled his “Aberdeen Machine Works, Ricks Furniture” Rayburn/Brown, Chevrolet Monte Carlo around his “home-base”. “Hootie’s Goat” was next and Wendall Wallace was didn’t disappoint setting his Arkansas mount along side Russell’s in the first heat. It would be Bloomquist though racking the closest time to Russell as the mysterious black knight chief pivoted his Indian to hit a 14:04 lap. Another Mississippi alumni (and new track record holder), Anthony Rushing was third overall fastest clocking a 14:09 lap with Randle Chupp and Bill Frye tying for fourth fast time with a 14:17 second lap.
In the first of six preliminary heats Russell staged to the left of Wallace and from there “it was on”… Wallace grabbed command with Russell following. Seventh overall qualifier Mark Mears reared the first official competition yellow as he stalled off turn two of the opening green flag. A quick realignment sent the field to their second green flag start and Wallace again pounced on the point. Wallace developed a push as the white flag shook over the field and Russell bombarded the leader with a slider from turn one. Russell took the checkers and Wallace mustered enough to finish second just in front of Mississippi hot-shoe Shawn Edwards. Mark Sartain finished a tremendous run coming from tenth to fourth with Robbie Harvey rounding out the top five.
Bloomquist then staged his “Scull and Bones” mount next to the 2002 S.A.S. Champion Duayne Hommel. Bloomquist never hesitated as the boys diced for second just off his spoiler. First it was David Killian showing some “Carolina Muscle” powering forward to second before Hommel and Shane Clanton came roaring back to life. Young AL/MS racing lion Rony Lee Hollingsworth even got into the fray momentarily as “Black Sunshine” continued to reign. Hommel and Clanton surpassed Killian’s surge to gain the transfer positions with Clanton planting a textbook “Bottom-Dweller” hit on Hommel for second… a half a track behind the race winner. Killian and Hollingsworth rounded out the top five.
In the third heat Rushing was just that… as his dance partner McDowell decided to liven things up. McDowell got the lead as the green waved and the chase was on. Freddy Smith kept cutting in all “gentlemanly like” as the trio tangoed to the twelve lap tune. The “Bluegrass Bandit” Gary Webb even tried to waltz into the party as the laps dwindled. “McDaddy” got some breathing room late in the run as a back-marker car wedged apart the top three. Rushing and Smith (in his Dodge Intrepid) rounded out the top three as the “J&J Steel, Larry Shaw Racecars” Rocket/Custom Pontiac Grand Prix of McDowell took the checkers. Webb and Kentucky SuperStar Mike Hawley rounded out the top five.
In heat four the band was well tuned-up, along with the fans, as Randle Chupp and the “Tar Heel Tiger” Ray Cook squared-up with Duke Whiseant and seven-time Mississippi State Champion Mike Boland tagged-up for a “four-for-all” Battle Royal. It began simple enough, as Cook got the lead over Chupp with Boland pedaling to third. “The Show-Stopper” wasn’t going away quietly as the “Biscotti’s Restaurant, Park Ohio” Rocket/Race Tek Pontiac Grand Prix gunslinger fired off round after round of sliders at “The Brownie Brown Super-Star”. Boland was poised for a race stealin’ error (in third) and failed to stop the “Duke of Arkansas” Whiseant from accessing the final transfer position with Keith Craft behind the battle in fifth. As Cook collected the white, the “Chuppster” set-up the “mother-load” mammoth bonsai power-slide coming off of four to take the win by a wheel well over Cook.
With the nurses passing oxygen to the stunned Columbus crowd, heat five rolled out as “Bigg-Badd” Bill Frye schooled fellow “Arkie” Jeff Taylor. Taylor (much like heat one) succumbed to Frye’s pressure after leading the first handful of laps as the “Petroff Towing (posse)” GRT/Kuntz Chevrolet Monte Carlo took the checkers. Taylor and Earl Pearson Jr. tallied transfer positions leaving one “Dirt-Master General” Billy Moyer to consolation land in fourth. Finishing fifth was Alabama racing veteran James Cline.
The sixth and final heat was a “Who’s That???” as Wayne Beckwith of Kilmichael MS, killed-Terry (English) as the 2002 UMP Champion struggled in the opening laps. “Little Joe” Armistead had just enough “hoss” under the hood to finish third to Beckwith, to earn the nights final transfer position as English attempted to trace down the unmarked “SouthSide Auto Parts, Lotts Exxon” Rocket/Dickens Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Chuck Proctor and “Backwards” Bill Hasselle rounded out the top five.
On Saturday, in front of a SRO crowd a series of “Triple Threat Sudden Death” “B” Main Last Chance consolation races took stage to advance the final six to the “A” Main. In race one Boland was all business securing his spot in the Rebel Challenge. Pole starter Sartain got the other transfer spot leaving Mike Head outta the show in his new Reed-ride. Craft’s Ford finished fourth with Todd Hall rounding out the top five. In race two Moyer kindly showed fifth starting Dewaine Hottinger the route to the checkers with a transfer pass on Killian and R.L. Hollingsworth. Cline exited with damage in an early race incident with Shane Rushing. Killian, Tombo Callahan and Rushing rounded out the top five. And in race three of the TTSD, Webb went unchallenged as an up-n-coming young driver named Steven Harrison picked up spot twenty-four in front of Robby Bilbrey, Marcus Minga and Ronny Hollingsworth.
After a perfectly Tingle-timed Intermission, Interview & Introduction session, the field stampeded to the green for the 50 lap, $8,000 to Win, “A” Main. As cued from the history of race stories gone by, Bloomquist found his mark in front of the field a set a march towards his first conquest on “Mississippi Money”. Unfortunately for Beckwith the sixth heat winner wouldn’t see a full lap as Chupp bounced off Stokes’ concrete in turn two. The collision also damaged Frye’s mount though both reentered the race after making a necessary pit-stop adjustments. On the restart again Russell could only watch as Bloomquist marched off. Lap four saw Pearson collect Harrison back in the pack before a 26 lap hide n’ seek match ensued. McDowell made a race of it with Chupp before setting sail after Bloomquist. With perfectly synchronized precision cars throughout the field jockeyed for position, setting up mini-battles deep within the thunder. Cook, Whiseant and Hommel all swapped positions as pole sitter Russell scurried within the top ten. As backmarker traffic allowed McDowell some closure, it wouldn’t be until Wendall Wallace stalled his third place machine that McDowell would challenge. On the restart McDowell pitched a pair of sliders Bloomquist’s way but neither attempt fazed the leader. Randle Chupp would end his night off “the zone” in turn 4 (over the banking) after running in the top five. Bloomquist caught the field asleep on the next restart leaving fans to watch the Clanton / Frye battle for third. Twentieth starting Moyer was the man on the move as the laps waned towards the big 5-0. Bloomquist took the checkered flag followed by McDowell, Frye, Clanton, and Moyer (who passed Rushing on the last lap). Cook, Whiseant, Hommel, and Smith finished seventh thru tenth.
1. Scott Bloomquist (# 0) of Mooresburg TN
2. Dale Mcdowell (# 17M) of Rossville GA
3. Bill Frye (# 66) of Greenbrier AR
4. Shane Clanton (# 25) of Pleasant Grove GA
5. Billy Moyer (# 21) of Batesville AR
6. Anthony Rushing (# 70 ½) of Kosciusko MS
7. Ray Cook (# 53) of Brasstown NC
8. Duke Whiseant (# A-1) of Texarkana AR
9. Duayne Hommel (# H2) of Newport TN
10. Freddy Smith (# 00) of Knoxville TN
11. Steve Russell (# 72) of Pontotoc MS
12. Mike Boland (# 222) of Cuba AL
13. Terry English (# 96) of Benton KY
14. Mark Sartain (# 20) of Corinth MS
15. Joe Armistead Jr. (# 21) of Sharpsburg GA
16. Shawn Edwards (# 5) of Louisville MS
17. Jeffrey Taylor (# 5) of Pleasant Plains AR
18. Steven Harrison (# 84) of Spring City TN
19. Earl Pearson Jr (# 1) of Jacksonville FL
20. Randle Chupp (# 114) of Mooresville NC
21. Wendell Wallace (# 88) of Batesville AR
22. Gary Webb (# 56) of Bluegrass IA
23. Dewaine Hottinger (# 65) of Russellville AR
24. Wayne Beckwith (# 84) of Kilmichael MS
