Colorado Springs,CO – April 15, 2005 – By Bret Emrick, World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® LM Series
Friday, April 8, 2005 – “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway – Cumberland,MD
The World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series “Dirty Dozen” makes their first appearance at the slightly-banked .522 mile oval known simply as “The Rock”. Situated on the Allegany County Fairgrounds, it is one of the most picturesque venues in the country. The northern branch of the Potomac River idles by outside of the backstretch with a towering mountain overlooking the speedway. With two take-off points situated at 750 feet and 1,100 feet respectively, the mountain is considered by hang-gliding enthusiasts as the best mountain east of the Mississippi for their hobby. Unfortunately, no hang-gliders made an appearance.
Apparently, thrill seekers in their automobiles have tested the mountain as well. Currently, three vehicles of various sorts have reached their final resting place on the side of the mountain. A very small, narrow road (trail actually) winds it way up the side of the mountain. Some daring souls have tried to drive up the road for a better view of the annual fireworks displays that take place at the fairgrounds. One wrong move or slip and down the mountain you go. As an employee of the fairgrounds quipped, “It was kinda’ funny last year during the fair. That one over there slid down the mountain and got caught in those trees. It was something to look up there at night and see headlights pointing straight out from the side of the mountain. Them things burned for three days until the battery finally died.”
Stacker 2®, the title sponsor of the World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series, handed out product samples and other items to the several thousand fans on hand. Two lucky fans walked away with very nice Stacker 2® jackets as part of a trivia contest. NVE Pharmaceuticals, the parent company of Stacker 2®, president Bob Occhofinto along with VP of Marketing Walter Orcutt were on hand at “The Rock”.
Defending World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series champion Scott Bloomquist was just “getting by” at “The Rock”. Shortly after leaving his Mooresburg,TN shop for “The Rock”, the hitch on the tractor that pulls the car hauler broke. Using the bus that normally tows the souvenir trailer and switching one car, some tires and some tools into a smaller trailer from the normal hauler the Bloomquist team arrived later than usual.
For “Dirty Dozen” member John Blankenship he needed a police escort to arrive at “The Rock”. The Team 23, Inc. tractor suffered engine woes three times on the way from the Williamson,WV drivers home. The third time was the unfortunate charm as the engine in the tractor gave up the ghost just a few miles from the speedway. The local police allowed Blankenship to unload the race car while arrangements were made to tow the rig to the race track. With flashing police light bars in front of him and behind him, Blankenship drove his race car down U.S. Route 220 to “The Rock” a few short minutes before the drivers meeting was to begin.
“The Rock” promoter Rick Jones and the town of Cumberland,MD welcomed the World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series “Dirty Dozen” with a huge banner that stretched across U.S. Route 200. Nice touch!
4/8/05 “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway – Cumberland,MD 50 Lap Feature - $10,000 To Win
1) STEVE FRANCIS; 2) Darrell Lanigan; 3) Scott Bloomquist; 4) Dale McDowell; 5) Billy Moyer; 6) Dan Schlieper; 7) Mark Banal; 8) Mike Balzano; 9) Jeremy Miller; 10) Alex Ferree; 11) John Blankenship; 12) Clint Smith; 13) Jack Pencil; 14) Rick Eckert; 15) Shane Clanton; 16) Josh Richards; 17) Charlie Schaffer; 18) Chub Frank; 19) Kirk Ryan Jr.; 20) Bo Feathers; 21) Tim McCreadie; 22) Dave Troutman; 23) D.J. Troutman; 24) Billy Decker; 25) Rob Blair – Fast Qualifier: Richards 19.797 secs.; Heat Race Winners: Banal, McCreadie, Francis, Lanigan; “B” Main Winners: Blankenship, D.J. Troutman; Dash Winner: Lanigan
Saturday, April 9, 2005 – Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway – Saluda,VA
Ever been to a dirt track? Ever been to a NASCAR track? Ever been to a dirt track that is just like a NASCAR track? If you can answer yes to the first two questions but shake your head to the third question then you’ve never been to Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway. Taking years of experience from owning and operating the Richmond International Raceway, president Bill Sawyer along with his nephew and general manager Clarke, took their dreams of having a state of the art dirt track facility to fruition. The .500 mile speedway facility is located about an hours drive east of Richmond,VA nestled against the Chesapeake Bay lowlands and north of the Hampton Roads area.
The first thing to strike your eye as you arrive is the massive all aluminum grandstand that seats 5,500. Wow! Look at that scoring tower. Yep. Plenty of VIP boxes up there. What’s this? An elevator? What dirt track has an elevator for the tower and for the disabled? This place is something! Plenty of room for spectator parking and camping. And, look. They actually have people parking you in an orderly fashion. Nice track office! Sit’s right off of turn three. Oh, the pit’s are over here. That’s different. Look’s like the cars have to be driven across that country road to get to the track. That’s kinda’ neat. Man, is this pit area nice. A parking area all it’s own for the race teams crews and familys vehicles. That’s cool. Wait a minute! Am I at a dirt track or a NASCAR track? The pit area is paved!!!!! Can you believe this?! Listen to that Public Address system. It can easily be heard over the roar of the engines and is as clear as can be. Check out the MUSCO lighting now that’s it’s on. Makes one forget it’s dark out. Check that out. The local police stop traffic on that country road that separates the pit area from the track so the race cars can go back and forth.
Opening ceremony’s for the “Dixie Chopper 50 presented by Thurston Spring Service,Inc.” were very, very good. Welcomes were given to Virginia political dignitaries that were on hand. Special recognition was given to four members of the Virginia National Guard, Charlie Company, 276th Engineering Battalion based out of West Point,VA. The four guardsmen had just returned from duty in Iraq two weeks prior. Their unit lost two members during the mess tent explosion that happened in Iraq in 2004. Guardsmen Mickey Sampson, who is also a Middlesex County Sheriff’s Deputy, related to the massive crowd that they were glad to have served their country and wanted to thank everyone for the prayers and thoughts. Sampson then sang a stirring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner followed by a lengthy standing ovation for the members of Charlie Company, 276th Engineering Battalion.
A huge amount of fireworks lit the sky when the command to start engines was given. When race winner Clint Smith pulled into victory lane more fireworks exploded in the sky and in victory lane.
4/9/05 Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway – Saluda,VA 50 Lap Feature - $10,000 To Win
1) CLINT SMITH: 2) Scott Bloomquist; 3) Rick Eckert; 4) Chub Frank; 5) Davey Johnson; 6) Jeremy Miller; 7) Josh Richards; 8) Shane Clanton; 9) John Blankenship; 10) Sean Cosgrove; 11) Billy Moyer; 12) Mike Balzano; 13) Dan Schlieper; 14) Tim McCreadie; 15) Chuck Finch; 16) Kenny Pettyjohn; 17) Matt Hubbard; 18) Billy Decker; 19) Jim Bernheisel; 20) Steve Francis; 21) Darryl Hills; 22) Mark Pettyjohn; 23) Darrell Lanigan; 24) Dale McDowell; 25) Alex Ferree – Fast Qualifier: Eckert 17.676 secs.; Heat Race Winners: Eckert, Moyer, Francis, Smith; “B” Main Winner: K. Pettyjohn; Dash Winner: Smith
TELEVISION
At 3:00p.m. EDT, Saturday May 7th, SPEED Channel will broadcast coverage of the April 9th, 2005 World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series “Dixie Chopper 50” presented by Thurston Spring Service,Inc. at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway. SPEED Channel is available through cable systems nationwide, DISH Network (Channel 150) and DIRECT TV (Channel 607).
QUOTABLE
Josh “Kid Rocket” Richards, driver of the No. 1 Seubert Calf Ranches/A-C-E Metal Works Rocket Chassis/Cornett Racing Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On setting quick time at “The Rock/Allegany County Speedway”, his second quick time of the 2005 season: “I couldn’t have asked for a better car. It’s the same car I ran with the same set-up as we had at Volusia County back in February. This thing drives awesome. The motors are unbelieveable! You couldn’t ask for better.”
On spinning out on the opening lap of his heat race at “The Rock”, restarting at the tail and working his way back to third to qualify for the feature: “The car was awesome. I just drove in there like an idiot and got a little loose and around we went. I just had to restart from the tail and we got up to third. If we would’ve gotten a caution I think we might’ve been able to win it.”
Steve Francis, driver of the No. 15 MOPAR Performance Parts/Valvoline Rocket Chassis/Gary Stanton Racing Engines Dodge Intrepid R/T
On his first victory of the 2005 season: “You know the car was just flawless all night. The driver had a little brain fade there during qualifying and we didn’t qualify like we thought we should have. It got in there a little tight off of two and it hurt us in qualifying. But, everything turned out good.”
On pocketing $10,000 for the win at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “My guys have worked a lot lately. We’re in the process of building a new shop so this definitely will help!”
On his night of racing at “The Rock”: “I liked it. Any time you win at a track your automatically gonna’ like it. We had a real good night. The car performed really well. The Dodge engine ran good. It was a good night all around.”
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “It was a nice place to go. We had a pretty good car there at Virginia but we gambled on tires and Clint way out thought everybody on the tires but his car was good there all night anyway. You know, we were just trying to get out of there with a conservative second and get back in to the points.. Then it broke a lower shaft in the rear-end. I don’t think I’ve seen one of those break in 10 years or so. It just unbolted. I don’t know if we got a bad piece there or what happened.”
Clint Smith, driver of the No. 44 JP Drilling/Oval Craft Rocket Chassis/Racetek Racing Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his first career World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series victory at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “We just love it we’re able to get that monkey off our back when it comes to a World Of Outlaws win. Tonight we started where we are supposed to, up front. We got out front and I drove a good race. My crew did a heck of a job. Stacker 2 is on board with the series and we win the first TV race. It don’t get no better than this!”
On his reflections after winning his first career World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series victory: “I’m just glad to get that first one out of the way with all of the strong competition that was there. We’ve won some other big races early this year but not ‘everybody’ was there. Now, we do win a race where pretty much ‘everybody’ was there. That’s a good feeling.”
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “It was an excellent race track. Super facility. Sometimes a good facility scares me ‘cause the race track ain’t as good as the facility. We had a lot reports that the race track was a lot of tire blowing like one lane stuff but the track was more than good. It was excellent. Clanton drove from like 20th to 8th and passed a bunch of cars. Other guys who started in the back did the same thing. Thelast 10 laps lapped traffic got kinda’ tough and it did get a little one lane by that time but most of the passing had been done by then anyway.”
Darrell Lanigan, driver of the No. 29 Gotta Race/Afco Racing Products Rocket Chassis/Cornett Racing Engines Ford Taurus
On his second place finish at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “When you run the points deal like we are this year you gotta’ take those top 5’s and go to the next one. And, look at the big picture at the end of the year. I mean, last year we got behind at the beginning of the year. Knock on wood, this year we’re out pretty good right now.”
On the lap 22 restart crash involving 10 cars started by contact between Mark Banal and Lanigan: “I really don’t know what the 8 car was doing. I was on the outside of him there on the second row for the restart and I don’t know if he’s not used to the World Of Outlaws restarts. When you run with the World Of Outlaws guys, they all know how the restart procedure works. Maybe he didn’t realize someone was outside of him for the restart, I don’t know. But, it caused a bunch of cars to get tore up.”
On his thoughts of racing for the first time at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “The track wasn’t too bad. It was a little rough but there was two grooves and you could pass on the race track.”
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “I think that place and facility was awesome. I mean, that’s probably the nicest place you’ll ever go to in dirt track racing. It’s like a NASCAR track. We didn’t get to run a whole lot of laps. But, the racing surface was in good shape. You could pass. It was a little tight out there but if your car was good enough you could pass.”
Scott Bloomquist, driver of the No. 0 Miller Bros. Coal Co./Hawkeye Trucking Bloomquist Chassis/Custom Race Engines For Mustang
On the trials and tribulations of just getting to “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway after the semi-tractor used to tow the trailer broke it’s hitch: “We had a rough trip getting up here. We had to unhook our souvenir trailer from the bus and get another trailer to hook up to the bus and bring just one car and what little bit of tires and tools we could. Chub Frank helped us out tonight loaning us a welder and a few other things.”
On his third place finish at “The Rock”: “We had a little bit of a rough start at the beginning of the night. The car was a little bit too tight and I hit some of them holes which cost us in the heat race and got us a bad start. But you know, I figured out it was probably good running the ‘B’ Main. Learned a little bit more about this place. It’s a different place. And, I feel we got the car good for the feature. I think we were pretty much steadily coming to the front all night.”
On wondering if his engine would last for the feature event at “The Rock”: “We had an internal crack in the engine and we were overheating and losing all of our water, probably burning it internally during the heat and the ‘B’ Main. We put some Stop Leak in it and it didn’t do it. Actually, I had the intentions of maybe running 5 laps of the feature and then parking it. We had five-gallon of water in the infield pit just to be ready. I told the crew that every caution we would come in, try and fill it and get back out. At least finish the race ‘cause I thought there might be a lot of guys getting in wrecks and there would be a lot of cautions. We got that one red flag there on lap 22 giving us a chance to fill it up and let the engine cool down and that carried us to the end.”
On his thoughts of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “Oh, it was a little rough and very action-packed. But, you know I think it made for some good racing. That place is always different everytime we go so I guess you never know what to expect.”
Chub Frank, driver of the No. 1* Lester Buildings/All Star Performance/Corry Rubber Rocket Chassis/Custom Race Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On what contributed to the lap 22 10-car wreck at “The Rock”: “Well the race track was a little choppy which made it kind of narrow but, I guess, it’s early in the season and guys are a little rusty and it made for a rough night for everybody with all the crashes prior to the ‘Big One’. That big wreck on the front straightaway should’ve never happened. You should never have a big wreck on the straightaway. Maybe in the corner but not on the straighwaway.”
On racing at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “Actually, that was great! You know we’ve only been there twice. The first time we were there I was a little disappointed with it ‘cause it was kinda’ one lane. But, the other night it was real racy. They did a great job of getting the track surface to where you could race on it.”
Dale McDowell, driver of the No. 17M Larry Shaw Race Cars/Dover Cylinder Heads/New Vision Graphics Rocket Chassis/RaceTek Racing Engines Pontiac Grand Prix
On his thoughts of racing at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “Well, the race track was a bit challenging as a competitor because of all the rain they had earlier in the week. And, it made it interesting with the double-file restarts.”
On his fourth place finish at “The Rock”: “ I felt like we had a good run. We lost a cylinder with about 20 laps to go and that hurt us right there at the end. It let Scott get by us when we were running third and dropped us back to fourth. But, we feel really fortunate to run fourth with what happened to us. It was a good night for us and a not so good night for some of the other guys. But, that’s the way it goes. I’m sure our share of rough nights are coming. I know they are ahead.”
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “I think the facility was good and the racing was good. I didn’tget to race that long. We had mechanical failure and I only got to run 7 or 8 laps. But, it is a great facility and I was impressed with it.”
Tim McCreadie, driver of the No. 39 Sweetners Plus/A & C Speedworld,Inc. Rocket Chassis/C.C. Performance Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his thoughts of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “It was pretty cool. You know, anytime you qualify well, win your heat and get a good starting spot all the tracks are good.”
On the problems he suffered after leading the first 18 laps at “The Rock”: “We had a real good car. It’s just unfortunate we had a little problem with the frame of the car. It broke the cross-member out of the front and we didn’t have any steering after that. And, we had a broke hub and some other things. Maybe we got it all ironed out now so we won’t have any more mechanical failures the rest of the year.”
Rick Eckert, driver of the No. 24 Raye Vest Excavating Rocket Chassis/Cornett Racing Engines Ford Taurus
On his night of racing at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “Well, I did finally miss that one wreck! That big one was the only wreck in the feature that I missed. Every other one I was in. It was miserable. I qualified bad and got in the back and sorta’ got knocked out of the way in the heat race. Then in the ‘B’ Main we blew a tire and knocked the interior out of the car and the side off of it. Then got into all those wrecks in the feature except the big one. We’re just lucky we didn’t wreck the truck on the way home.”
On his third place finish at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway, his best finish of the early season: “Yeah, it’s our best finish so far this year but it’s a real shame too. The car missed the whole race from lap one on. Actually, it started on the last lap of the dash. We came in and changed all the ignition stuff but apparently we haven’t found it yet. It got to backfiring and missing from the drop of the green flag on. So, to get a third out of that was a pretty good accomplishment. Maybe we’re getting some better luck going. We haven’t had any and it takes some luck to run this deal. Hopefully, things are starting to change around.”
Dan Schlieper, driver of the No. 9 Miller Bros. Coal/Hawkeye Trucking C.J. Rayburn Race Cars/Pro Power Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his thoughts of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “It’s definitely a racy race track. It got a little rough in the corners which made for good passing. We had a good strong run going and those late cautions hampered my performance somewhat but all in all I think we had a pretty good run.”
John Blankenship, driver of the No. 23 Busch Beer/Walker CAT Rocket Chassis/Custom Race Engines Ford Taurus
On having a police escort to get his car to “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway after the engine in the tow rig died after three breakdowns: “It was pretty fun. I’m probably one of the few people that have ever got to drive one of this things on the road. That was cool!”
On his thoughts of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “I liked it really pretty well. It was a little on the rough side though. We’ve been working on this thing all night and all day just to get it ready. But, I liked it overall. I’d go back.”
Billy Moyer, driver of the No. 21 J&J Steel/One Hour Cooling C.J. Rayburn Race Cars/Pro Power Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “They have a beautiful facility there. I thought the racetrack started out really good early in the night where you could run all over it. And then, like a lot of them do, when you get to the big race the track is probably not the best for racing. But, you know, we had never been there before and we made some mistakes like with our tire choice for sure. We didn’t do like near where we would’ve liked to have done. But, overall the facility is super nice. I just think they need to do some more work with the dirt or something. Just my opinion.”
Shane Clanton, driver of the No. 25 SAE Parts/RSDEnterprises,Inc. Rocket Chassis/Custom Race Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his impressions of racing at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “I thought the place was pretty good. I felt it was gonna’ rubber up, lock down and be one groove but it was pretty much two groove racing all night long. It did lockdown with about 10 laps to go but hey, by then most of the passing had been done.”
Rick Jones, Promoter/President of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway
On the World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series event at “The Rock”: “It was a great show. I’m extremely happy with how the night went. It was a good car count and a good fan count. We’ll definitely have them back again. I’m talking with them now to see if we can’t get another show for yet this year. I think having Stacker 2® aboard will be a great thing for all of us. We’ll be glad to have them back anytime. Maybe next year we can do a two-day show or something like that.”
Clarke Sawyer, General Manager of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway
On the inaugural appearance of the World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series to V.M.S.: “I thought things went very well for the first appearance of the World Of Outlaws at Virginia Motor Speedway. We had a great crowd who have told us they were thrilled with the event. We haven’t heard any complaints at all. The racing was just great.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
The World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series will return to action Friday, April 29 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver,PA before heading to Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown,MD for the “Stanley Schetrompf Memorial 50”, Saturday, April 30. The World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series will support the $24,999 to win “The 99”, May 5th – 7th at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway in Calvert City,KY. The event will be sanctioned by UMP (a DIRT Motorsports property) but will award World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series Championship points. The “Dirty Dozen” band of travelers will then make a first time ever appearance at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima,OH, May 13th. Then, debut at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles,OH, May 20th before heading for Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt,IN, May 20th.
Friday, April 8, 2005 – “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway – Cumberland,MD
The World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series “Dirty Dozen” makes their first appearance at the slightly-banked .522 mile oval known simply as “The Rock”. Situated on the Allegany County Fairgrounds, it is one of the most picturesque venues in the country. The northern branch of the Potomac River idles by outside of the backstretch with a towering mountain overlooking the speedway. With two take-off points situated at 750 feet and 1,100 feet respectively, the mountain is considered by hang-gliding enthusiasts as the best mountain east of the Mississippi for their hobby. Unfortunately, no hang-gliders made an appearance.
Apparently, thrill seekers in their automobiles have tested the mountain as well. Currently, three vehicles of various sorts have reached their final resting place on the side of the mountain. A very small, narrow road (trail actually) winds it way up the side of the mountain. Some daring souls have tried to drive up the road for a better view of the annual fireworks displays that take place at the fairgrounds. One wrong move or slip and down the mountain you go. As an employee of the fairgrounds quipped, “It was kinda’ funny last year during the fair. That one over there slid down the mountain and got caught in those trees. It was something to look up there at night and see headlights pointing straight out from the side of the mountain. Them things burned for three days until the battery finally died.”
Stacker 2®, the title sponsor of the World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series, handed out product samples and other items to the several thousand fans on hand. Two lucky fans walked away with very nice Stacker 2® jackets as part of a trivia contest. NVE Pharmaceuticals, the parent company of Stacker 2®, president Bob Occhofinto along with VP of Marketing Walter Orcutt were on hand at “The Rock”.
Defending World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series champion Scott Bloomquist was just “getting by” at “The Rock”. Shortly after leaving his Mooresburg,TN shop for “The Rock”, the hitch on the tractor that pulls the car hauler broke. Using the bus that normally tows the souvenir trailer and switching one car, some tires and some tools into a smaller trailer from the normal hauler the Bloomquist team arrived later than usual.
For “Dirty Dozen” member John Blankenship he needed a police escort to arrive at “The Rock”. The Team 23, Inc. tractor suffered engine woes three times on the way from the Williamson,WV drivers home. The third time was the unfortunate charm as the engine in the tractor gave up the ghost just a few miles from the speedway. The local police allowed Blankenship to unload the race car while arrangements were made to tow the rig to the race track. With flashing police light bars in front of him and behind him, Blankenship drove his race car down U.S. Route 220 to “The Rock” a few short minutes before the drivers meeting was to begin.
“The Rock” promoter Rick Jones and the town of Cumberland,MD welcomed the World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series “Dirty Dozen” with a huge banner that stretched across U.S. Route 200. Nice touch!
4/8/05 “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway – Cumberland,MD 50 Lap Feature - $10,000 To Win
1) STEVE FRANCIS; 2) Darrell Lanigan; 3) Scott Bloomquist; 4) Dale McDowell; 5) Billy Moyer; 6) Dan Schlieper; 7) Mark Banal; 8) Mike Balzano; 9) Jeremy Miller; 10) Alex Ferree; 11) John Blankenship; 12) Clint Smith; 13) Jack Pencil; 14) Rick Eckert; 15) Shane Clanton; 16) Josh Richards; 17) Charlie Schaffer; 18) Chub Frank; 19) Kirk Ryan Jr.; 20) Bo Feathers; 21) Tim McCreadie; 22) Dave Troutman; 23) D.J. Troutman; 24) Billy Decker; 25) Rob Blair – Fast Qualifier: Richards 19.797 secs.; Heat Race Winners: Banal, McCreadie, Francis, Lanigan; “B” Main Winners: Blankenship, D.J. Troutman; Dash Winner: Lanigan
Saturday, April 9, 2005 – Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway – Saluda,VA
Ever been to a dirt track? Ever been to a NASCAR track? Ever been to a dirt track that is just like a NASCAR track? If you can answer yes to the first two questions but shake your head to the third question then you’ve never been to Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway. Taking years of experience from owning and operating the Richmond International Raceway, president Bill Sawyer along with his nephew and general manager Clarke, took their dreams of having a state of the art dirt track facility to fruition. The .500 mile speedway facility is located about an hours drive east of Richmond,VA nestled against the Chesapeake Bay lowlands and north of the Hampton Roads area.
The first thing to strike your eye as you arrive is the massive all aluminum grandstand that seats 5,500. Wow! Look at that scoring tower. Yep. Plenty of VIP boxes up there. What’s this? An elevator? What dirt track has an elevator for the tower and for the disabled? This place is something! Plenty of room for spectator parking and camping. And, look. They actually have people parking you in an orderly fashion. Nice track office! Sit’s right off of turn three. Oh, the pit’s are over here. That’s different. Look’s like the cars have to be driven across that country road to get to the track. That’s kinda’ neat. Man, is this pit area nice. A parking area all it’s own for the race teams crews and familys vehicles. That’s cool. Wait a minute! Am I at a dirt track or a NASCAR track? The pit area is paved!!!!! Can you believe this?! Listen to that Public Address system. It can easily be heard over the roar of the engines and is as clear as can be. Check out the MUSCO lighting now that’s it’s on. Makes one forget it’s dark out. Check that out. The local police stop traffic on that country road that separates the pit area from the track so the race cars can go back and forth.
Opening ceremony’s for the “Dixie Chopper 50 presented by Thurston Spring Service,Inc.” were very, very good. Welcomes were given to Virginia political dignitaries that were on hand. Special recognition was given to four members of the Virginia National Guard, Charlie Company, 276th Engineering Battalion based out of West Point,VA. The four guardsmen had just returned from duty in Iraq two weeks prior. Their unit lost two members during the mess tent explosion that happened in Iraq in 2004. Guardsmen Mickey Sampson, who is also a Middlesex County Sheriff’s Deputy, related to the massive crowd that they were glad to have served their country and wanted to thank everyone for the prayers and thoughts. Sampson then sang a stirring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner followed by a lengthy standing ovation for the members of Charlie Company, 276th Engineering Battalion.
A huge amount of fireworks lit the sky when the command to start engines was given. When race winner Clint Smith pulled into victory lane more fireworks exploded in the sky and in victory lane.
4/9/05 Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway – Saluda,VA 50 Lap Feature - $10,000 To Win
1) CLINT SMITH: 2) Scott Bloomquist; 3) Rick Eckert; 4) Chub Frank; 5) Davey Johnson; 6) Jeremy Miller; 7) Josh Richards; 8) Shane Clanton; 9) John Blankenship; 10) Sean Cosgrove; 11) Billy Moyer; 12) Mike Balzano; 13) Dan Schlieper; 14) Tim McCreadie; 15) Chuck Finch; 16) Kenny Pettyjohn; 17) Matt Hubbard; 18) Billy Decker; 19) Jim Bernheisel; 20) Steve Francis; 21) Darryl Hills; 22) Mark Pettyjohn; 23) Darrell Lanigan; 24) Dale McDowell; 25) Alex Ferree – Fast Qualifier: Eckert 17.676 secs.; Heat Race Winners: Eckert, Moyer, Francis, Smith; “B” Main Winner: K. Pettyjohn; Dash Winner: Smith
TELEVISION
At 3:00p.m. EDT, Saturday May 7th, SPEED Channel will broadcast coverage of the April 9th, 2005 World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series “Dixie Chopper 50” presented by Thurston Spring Service,Inc. at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway. SPEED Channel is available through cable systems nationwide, DISH Network (Channel 150) and DIRECT TV (Channel 607).
QUOTABLE
Josh “Kid Rocket” Richards, driver of the No. 1 Seubert Calf Ranches/A-C-E Metal Works Rocket Chassis/Cornett Racing Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On setting quick time at “The Rock/Allegany County Speedway”, his second quick time of the 2005 season: “I couldn’t have asked for a better car. It’s the same car I ran with the same set-up as we had at Volusia County back in February. This thing drives awesome. The motors are unbelieveable! You couldn’t ask for better.”
On spinning out on the opening lap of his heat race at “The Rock”, restarting at the tail and working his way back to third to qualify for the feature: “The car was awesome. I just drove in there like an idiot and got a little loose and around we went. I just had to restart from the tail and we got up to third. If we would’ve gotten a caution I think we might’ve been able to win it.”
Steve Francis, driver of the No. 15 MOPAR Performance Parts/Valvoline Rocket Chassis/Gary Stanton Racing Engines Dodge Intrepid R/T
On his first victory of the 2005 season: “You know the car was just flawless all night. The driver had a little brain fade there during qualifying and we didn’t qualify like we thought we should have. It got in there a little tight off of two and it hurt us in qualifying. But, everything turned out good.”
On pocketing $10,000 for the win at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “My guys have worked a lot lately. We’re in the process of building a new shop so this definitely will help!”
On his night of racing at “The Rock”: “I liked it. Any time you win at a track your automatically gonna’ like it. We had a real good night. The car performed really well. The Dodge engine ran good. It was a good night all around.”
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “It was a nice place to go. We had a pretty good car there at Virginia but we gambled on tires and Clint way out thought everybody on the tires but his car was good there all night anyway. You know, we were just trying to get out of there with a conservative second and get back in to the points.. Then it broke a lower shaft in the rear-end. I don’t think I’ve seen one of those break in 10 years or so. It just unbolted. I don’t know if we got a bad piece there or what happened.”
Clint Smith, driver of the No. 44 JP Drilling/Oval Craft Rocket Chassis/Racetek Racing Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his first career World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series victory at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “We just love it we’re able to get that monkey off our back when it comes to a World Of Outlaws win. Tonight we started where we are supposed to, up front. We got out front and I drove a good race. My crew did a heck of a job. Stacker 2 is on board with the series and we win the first TV race. It don’t get no better than this!”
On his reflections after winning his first career World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series victory: “I’m just glad to get that first one out of the way with all of the strong competition that was there. We’ve won some other big races early this year but not ‘everybody’ was there. Now, we do win a race where pretty much ‘everybody’ was there. That’s a good feeling.”
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “It was an excellent race track. Super facility. Sometimes a good facility scares me ‘cause the race track ain’t as good as the facility. We had a lot reports that the race track was a lot of tire blowing like one lane stuff but the track was more than good. It was excellent. Clanton drove from like 20th to 8th and passed a bunch of cars. Other guys who started in the back did the same thing. Thelast 10 laps lapped traffic got kinda’ tough and it did get a little one lane by that time but most of the passing had been done by then anyway.”
Darrell Lanigan, driver of the No. 29 Gotta Race/Afco Racing Products Rocket Chassis/Cornett Racing Engines Ford Taurus
On his second place finish at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “When you run the points deal like we are this year you gotta’ take those top 5’s and go to the next one. And, look at the big picture at the end of the year. I mean, last year we got behind at the beginning of the year. Knock on wood, this year we’re out pretty good right now.”
On the lap 22 restart crash involving 10 cars started by contact between Mark Banal and Lanigan: “I really don’t know what the 8 car was doing. I was on the outside of him there on the second row for the restart and I don’t know if he’s not used to the World Of Outlaws restarts. When you run with the World Of Outlaws guys, they all know how the restart procedure works. Maybe he didn’t realize someone was outside of him for the restart, I don’t know. But, it caused a bunch of cars to get tore up.”
On his thoughts of racing for the first time at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “The track wasn’t too bad. It was a little rough but there was two grooves and you could pass on the race track.”
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “I think that place and facility was awesome. I mean, that’s probably the nicest place you’ll ever go to in dirt track racing. It’s like a NASCAR track. We didn’t get to run a whole lot of laps. But, the racing surface was in good shape. You could pass. It was a little tight out there but if your car was good enough you could pass.”
Scott Bloomquist, driver of the No. 0 Miller Bros. Coal Co./Hawkeye Trucking Bloomquist Chassis/Custom Race Engines For Mustang
On the trials and tribulations of just getting to “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway after the semi-tractor used to tow the trailer broke it’s hitch: “We had a rough trip getting up here. We had to unhook our souvenir trailer from the bus and get another trailer to hook up to the bus and bring just one car and what little bit of tires and tools we could. Chub Frank helped us out tonight loaning us a welder and a few other things.”
On his third place finish at “The Rock”: “We had a little bit of a rough start at the beginning of the night. The car was a little bit too tight and I hit some of them holes which cost us in the heat race and got us a bad start. But you know, I figured out it was probably good running the ‘B’ Main. Learned a little bit more about this place. It’s a different place. And, I feel we got the car good for the feature. I think we were pretty much steadily coming to the front all night.”
On wondering if his engine would last for the feature event at “The Rock”: “We had an internal crack in the engine and we were overheating and losing all of our water, probably burning it internally during the heat and the ‘B’ Main. We put some Stop Leak in it and it didn’t do it. Actually, I had the intentions of maybe running 5 laps of the feature and then parking it. We had five-gallon of water in the infield pit just to be ready. I told the crew that every caution we would come in, try and fill it and get back out. At least finish the race ‘cause I thought there might be a lot of guys getting in wrecks and there would be a lot of cautions. We got that one red flag there on lap 22 giving us a chance to fill it up and let the engine cool down and that carried us to the end.”
On his thoughts of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “Oh, it was a little rough and very action-packed. But, you know I think it made for some good racing. That place is always different everytime we go so I guess you never know what to expect.”
Chub Frank, driver of the No. 1* Lester Buildings/All Star Performance/Corry Rubber Rocket Chassis/Custom Race Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On what contributed to the lap 22 10-car wreck at “The Rock”: “Well the race track was a little choppy which made it kind of narrow but, I guess, it’s early in the season and guys are a little rusty and it made for a rough night for everybody with all the crashes prior to the ‘Big One’. That big wreck on the front straightaway should’ve never happened. You should never have a big wreck on the straightaway. Maybe in the corner but not on the straighwaway.”
On racing at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “Actually, that was great! You know we’ve only been there twice. The first time we were there I was a little disappointed with it ‘cause it was kinda’ one lane. But, the other night it was real racy. They did a great job of getting the track surface to where you could race on it.”
Dale McDowell, driver of the No. 17M Larry Shaw Race Cars/Dover Cylinder Heads/New Vision Graphics Rocket Chassis/RaceTek Racing Engines Pontiac Grand Prix
On his thoughts of racing at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “Well, the race track was a bit challenging as a competitor because of all the rain they had earlier in the week. And, it made it interesting with the double-file restarts.”
On his fourth place finish at “The Rock”: “ I felt like we had a good run. We lost a cylinder with about 20 laps to go and that hurt us right there at the end. It let Scott get by us when we were running third and dropped us back to fourth. But, we feel really fortunate to run fourth with what happened to us. It was a good night for us and a not so good night for some of the other guys. But, that’s the way it goes. I’m sure our share of rough nights are coming. I know they are ahead.”
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “I think the facility was good and the racing was good. I didn’tget to race that long. We had mechanical failure and I only got to run 7 or 8 laps. But, it is a great facility and I was impressed with it.”
Tim McCreadie, driver of the No. 39 Sweetners Plus/A & C Speedworld,Inc. Rocket Chassis/C.C. Performance Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his thoughts of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “It was pretty cool. You know, anytime you qualify well, win your heat and get a good starting spot all the tracks are good.”
On the problems he suffered after leading the first 18 laps at “The Rock”: “We had a real good car. It’s just unfortunate we had a little problem with the frame of the car. It broke the cross-member out of the front and we didn’t have any steering after that. And, we had a broke hub and some other things. Maybe we got it all ironed out now so we won’t have any more mechanical failures the rest of the year.”
Rick Eckert, driver of the No. 24 Raye Vest Excavating Rocket Chassis/Cornett Racing Engines Ford Taurus
On his night of racing at “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “Well, I did finally miss that one wreck! That big one was the only wreck in the feature that I missed. Every other one I was in. It was miserable. I qualified bad and got in the back and sorta’ got knocked out of the way in the heat race. Then in the ‘B’ Main we blew a tire and knocked the interior out of the car and the side off of it. Then got into all those wrecks in the feature except the big one. We’re just lucky we didn’t wreck the truck on the way home.”
On his third place finish at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway, his best finish of the early season: “Yeah, it’s our best finish so far this year but it’s a real shame too. The car missed the whole race from lap one on. Actually, it started on the last lap of the dash. We came in and changed all the ignition stuff but apparently we haven’t found it yet. It got to backfiring and missing from the drop of the green flag on. So, to get a third out of that was a pretty good accomplishment. Maybe we’re getting some better luck going. We haven’t had any and it takes some luck to run this deal. Hopefully, things are starting to change around.”
Dan Schlieper, driver of the No. 9 Miller Bros. Coal/Hawkeye Trucking C.J. Rayburn Race Cars/Pro Power Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his thoughts of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “It’s definitely a racy race track. It got a little rough in the corners which made for good passing. We had a good strong run going and those late cautions hampered my performance somewhat but all in all I think we had a pretty good run.”
John Blankenship, driver of the No. 23 Busch Beer/Walker CAT Rocket Chassis/Custom Race Engines Ford Taurus
On having a police escort to get his car to “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway after the engine in the tow rig died after three breakdowns: “It was pretty fun. I’m probably one of the few people that have ever got to drive one of this things on the road. That was cool!”
On his thoughts of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway: “I liked it really pretty well. It was a little on the rough side though. We’ve been working on this thing all night and all day just to get it ready. But, I liked it overall. I’d go back.”
Billy Moyer, driver of the No. 21 J&J Steel/One Hour Cooling C.J. Rayburn Race Cars/Pro Power Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his impressions of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “They have a beautiful facility there. I thought the racetrack started out really good early in the night where you could run all over it. And then, like a lot of them do, when you get to the big race the track is probably not the best for racing. But, you know, we had never been there before and we made some mistakes like with our tire choice for sure. We didn’t do like near where we would’ve liked to have done. But, overall the facility is super nice. I just think they need to do some more work with the dirt or something. Just my opinion.”
Shane Clanton, driver of the No. 25 SAE Parts/RSDEnterprises,Inc. Rocket Chassis/Custom Race Engines Chevrolet Monte Carlo
On his impressions of racing at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway: “I thought the place was pretty good. I felt it was gonna’ rubber up, lock down and be one groove but it was pretty much two groove racing all night long. It did lockdown with about 10 laps to go but hey, by then most of the passing had been done.”
Rick Jones, Promoter/President of “The Rock”/Allegany County Speedway
On the World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series event at “The Rock”: “It was a great show. I’m extremely happy with how the night went. It was a good car count and a good fan count. We’ll definitely have them back again. I’m talking with them now to see if we can’t get another show for yet this year. I think having Stacker 2® aboard will be a great thing for all of us. We’ll be glad to have them back anytime. Maybe next year we can do a two-day show or something like that.”
Clarke Sawyer, General Manager of Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway
On the inaugural appearance of the World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series to V.M.S.: “I thought things went very well for the first appearance of the World Of Outlaws at Virginia Motor Speedway. We had a great crowd who have told us they were thrilled with the event. We haven’t heard any complaints at all. The racing was just great.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
The World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series will return to action Friday, April 29 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver,PA before heading to Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown,MD for the “Stanley Schetrompf Memorial 50”, Saturday, April 30. The World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series will support the $24,999 to win “The 99”, May 5th – 7th at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway in Calvert City,KY. The event will be sanctioned by UMP (a DIRT Motorsports property) but will award World Of Outlaws Stacker 2® Late Model Series Championship points. The “Dirty Dozen” band of travelers will then make a first time ever appearance at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima,OH, May 13th. Then, debut at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles,OH, May 20th before heading for Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt,IN, May 20th.
