COLUMBUS, MS- For a while, "The Ragin' Rebel" David Breazeale was a somewhat regular sight in Columbus Speedway Super Late Model Victory Lane. The Four Corners, Mississippi driver, made popular in 2002 with his no-holds-barred, fearless style has since had a dry spell at "The Baddest Bullring in the South". Saturday night, the 2004 MSCCS "State Series" competitor, and currently 4th in MSCCS points, rode back to Columbus victory lane in a nail-biting thriller of a 30-lap Super Late Model feature event.
Recent changes to the Speedway have made Columbus, ranked by Behind the Wheel/Late Model America publication reader’s poll as the #3 track in the country following the 2003 season, better than ever according not only to fans, but nationally renowned drivers. After three weeks of steady proof, it is apparent that the improvements are no "optical illusion", as the track known in recent years as a multi-grooved but a bit high-line heavy speedplant has matured into a wide-open, run anywhere you want to race track. Saturday night, a healthy 99 race cars lined up at Johnny Stokes' red clay bullring to put on a show for the Columbus faithful. As in recent weeks, fans would be filing out of the gates and on their way home early, with events concluding just after 10:30 PM, partially due to 2004's new racing format.
Breazeale set fast time in MidsouthRacing.com Super Late Model Pole Qualifying in his Brown Engineering-powered GRT with a 15.04 second lap in unconventional fashion for Columbus, running on the hub of the track. Only three drivers qualified outside the 15-second bracket (two of those with a 16.07), making for a tight, competitive Super Late Model feature field, with only one other driver trying the bottom in qualifying. Many drivers who have not had the best of luck at Columbus have begun to adapt to the track following the changes made in recent weeks.
Breazeale would attack the rim going into the first turn as the green flag fell on the Super Late Model feature field, with "The Wild Child" James Dean on his bumper and last week's victor "The Prowler" Shawn Edwards digging on the inside. "Ravishing" Rick Rickman in his 2004 regular season debut would blast to the hub in turn 4 making it a brief 4-wide before Breazeale assumed the lead on the frontstretch. Edwards would then pull outside Dean for second using the extreme upper groove, then dive to the hub of the popular #16 in the next set of turns as the racing action was 2 and 3 wide from the front to rear of the pack. Rickman would once again move in on the battling second-place duo as the green flag laps clicked away, and "Marvelous" Mark Stokes would ease in near the infield to make it 4-wide once again as Breazeale led the pack at arm's reach.
Edwards and Dean would move away again on lap 6 to resume their side-by-side battle for second place, with Stokes and Rickman running low and high for 4th behind them before Edwards pulled to the infield with trouble on the next lap. Stokes, looking very strong on the hub, would take 3rd place on lap 8 but his #2 Rocket would get loose in turn 3, allowing Rickman and 2003 track champ and recent returnee "The Weir Wolf" Tombo Callahan to pass by. Meanwhile, Dean began to close on Breazeale as the duo reached lapped traffic on lap 12. Dean, running the rim of the speedway, would pull alongside the leader's black #54 and the two would duke it out side-by-side, lap after lap without breaking stride until Rickman's Russell Baker-powered machine pulled to a stop near the pit exit. Rickman's tough luck would bring out the first caution of the race on lap 17. Breazeale had held on to the lead after moving to the rim to fend off Dean, and 11th-starting Callahan followed the two across the line.
Breazeale took the green flag on the restart and rode the middle groove, with Dean assaulting the rim and Callahan blasting to the hub of the track before Stokes took the 3rd position away on the following lap. Stokes would proceed to interrupt Dean's relentless pursuit of the lead as he pulled alongside the #16 and the two ran a series of laps running side-by-side, with Dean soon regaining the advantage. Callahan and Roger Shirley put on a display as the battle raged ahead of them, with Callahan sparking off the turn 2/backstretch wall as the two sparred in a battle for 4th. After another hub-and-rim even lap around the speedway, Stokes would once again get loose under Dean but was saved by a lap 21 caution for debris in turn 3.
On the restart, all mayhem erupted. Stokes, racing down the front stretch with Shirley, would get turned sideways and collect Jay Dickens, Jackie Grammar, and Clint Hardin near the flag stand. Dickens would pile into Stokes at near full speed as other cars scattered to avoid the erupting chaos, and the two drivers would suffer extensive damage to their machines. Grammar would be able to continue. Breazeale, Dean, 10th-starting Shirley, Callahan, and "The Pontotoc Pirate" Steve Russell would make up the top five as the field sorted out.
Breazeale and Dean resumed their race-long battle for the lead when the green flag fell, Dean now trying his luck on the hub of the track. Breazeale would apparently tire of seeing the blue nose of Dean's car pulling alongside him as he raced the middle of the track and would move to the hub himself. Dean would counter by moving up to the middle himself and looking outside as Shirley crept up to Breazeale's bumper prior to the final caution on lap 28.
The two-lap dash to glory saw Breazeale hold off inside challenges from Dean, while Shirley and Callahan would go door-to-door until Russell moved in to challenge Callahan. The #20 would shrug off the #72 and once again go around turn 3 and 4 beside Shirley as Breazeale fired across the finish line, checkered flag waving, in his McGivney Do-It-Best sponsored, Brown Engineering-powered, American Racer-shod GRT. Dean would take home runner-up honors, and Shirley would earn a career-best 3rd place finish at Columbus, holding off 4th-place Callahan with Russell in fifth. Trey Cullum, Dewayne Riddle, Grammar, Terrell Stripling, and Todd Graham would round out the top ten in an exciting, competitive feature event.
Open-Wheel Modified action was just as exciting and competitive, with Jeremy Shaw and "Mr. Untouchable" Jason Hollis taking each other on side-by-side from the first lap to the last. Lee Ray and Todd Gray would duel in much the same manner behind the leading pair as Hollis soared around the rim and Shaw dug in on the hub, Hollis usually maintaining a slight advantage at the line. After a midway-point caution, Hollis would change tactics and drive around the inside line. "The Shawtown Flyer" proved undeterred, going outside of Hollis to keep the battle raging as the laps wound down. Hollis would eventually hold off Shaw to take the win, followed by Gray, Ray, and Matt Price.
Chad Nickoles would take the early lead in Pro Street action and run up front alone for a while as newcomer Judson Littlejohn picked off cars on his way from the back in what appeared to be a powerful machine. Littlejohn would move up and challenge for the lead by lap 15. Nickoles held on each lap on the outside as Chase Christian battled Chris Harmon for 3rd. Nickoles would race to the win in his #11 ride, followed across the line by Littlejohn's #3. Littlejohn elected not to cross the scales or attend technical inspection and would be disqualified. Harmon, Christian, Randy Bush, and Alvin Foster would complete the top five.
Jimmy Anderson would lead the Street Stock field following the green flag with Mike Barton and John Thomas battling behind as "Big Money" David Honeycutt blasted from the back to the front along with TK King. Barton would assume the point on lap 3 and hold the lead for most of the race as Honeycutt and King continued to creep up through the pack. Honeycutt would drive around Barton's outer flank for the lead on lap 12 with King following suit on lap 15. Honeycutt would go on to win the feature after starting 11th followed by 15th-starting King, Barton, Anderson, and Terry Kelley.
Aaron Peay took the Mini Stock feature lead from early point-holder Keith McCool on lap 4 and the two would embark on a race-long battle, McCool hot on the heels of the #11 Mustang. The two would make contact as the final laps approached, with Peay being sent across the infield and McCool gaining the top position and riding to the win. Nick Deese, Peay, Bo Minor, and Heath Minor would come home in the top five.
Two-Person Cruisers would once again run clockwise (reverse laps), providing for unusual and entertaining racing action. Melvin & Taylor Murphy would take the lead from Greg & Kenny Stripling following a rare Cruiser caution and hold the spot until a near-flip by Barry Parker & Mike Chandler brought out a second yellow flag. Jeremy Glasgow & Buddy Glover would then move around the #M2 machine to lead the way to victory. The Murphy duo would finish second, followed by John Beard & Terry Atkins.
Action continues at Columbus Speedway next Saturday night, May 1st with the 1st Annual MSCCS Richard Underwood Memorial. The 7th event in 2004 for the wildly popular Mississippi State Championship Challenge Super Late Model series and the series' first stop at Columbus Speedway features the 50-lap, $3,000-to-win "Big Daddy 50" feature event as well as a full racing program in all other divisions. Clinton, MS driver and defending series champ Scott Slay rolls into Columbus with the "State Series" points lead as Dennis Duncan, Rodney Wing, David Breazeale, and Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Wall hold down the top five.
The Columbus Speedway Weekly Racing Series will also be getting underway as the first points event of the year for the local divisions will be held on May 1st for the Pro Street, Open Wheel Modifieds, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, and Cruisers.
Event information has pit gates opening at 3 PM with drivers meeting scheduled for 6:00. Grandstands admission is $15 with children under 10 admitted free, and pit passes are $25. Grandstand gates will be opening at 5pm with action at 7:30pm. Lawn chairs and coolers are welcome, and headsets/radios can be used to tune in to 88.5 FM to hear the Columbus Speedway broadcast. . Event flyer is located at the Columbus Speedway Official Website located at www.MidsouthRacing.com/columbusindex.htm or the MSCCS Website located at www.StateSeries.com so stop by for more information. Speedway information can be obtained by calling Johnny Stokes at 662-574-2572 during the day or at 662-327-3047 in the evenings. Additional Columbus Speedway information can be found on the Columbus Speedway Internet home hosted at www.midsouthracing.com or by calling the Columbus Speedway event hotline at 662-241-5004.
Columbus Speedway Fast Finish:
SUPER LATE MODELS - Top 10
1ST 54 DAVID BREAZEALE
2ND 16 JAMES DEAN
3RD 57 ROGER SHIRLEY
4TH 20 TOMBO CALLAHAN
5TH 72 STEVE RUSSELL
6TH 5 TREY CULLUM
7TH DEW1 DEWAYNE RIDDLE
8TH 33 JACKIE GRAMMAR
9TH 86 TERRELL STRIPLING
10TH 1 TODD GRAHAM
Open Wheel Modified - Top 10
1ST 5 JASON HOLLIS
2ND 1S JEREMY SHAW
3RD 7G TODD GRAY
4TH 2 LEE RAY
5TH 17 MATT PRICE
6TH 90 BRIAN RICKMAN
7TH 41 BILL SUDDUTH
8TH 8 BRYAN BROCK
9TH 66 CHRIS GLENN
10TH 71 WILLIAM WELLS
Pro Street - Top 5
1ST 11 CHAD NICKOLES
2ND 27 CHRIS HARMON
3RD 10 CHASE CHRISTIAN
4TH 99+ RANDY BUSH
5TH 3 ALVIN FOSTER
Street Stock - Top 5
1ST 15 DAVID HONEYCUTT
2ND 6 TK KING
3RD 27 MIKE BARTON
4TH 35 JIMMY ANDERSON
5TH 00 TERRY KELLEY
Mini Stock - Top 5
1ST 527 KEITH MCCOOL
2ND 51 NICK DEESE
3RD 11 AARON PEAY
4TH 22 BO MINOR
5TH 21 HEATH MINOR
Two-Person Cruiser - Top 5
1ST 24 JEREMY GLASGOW & BUDDY GLOVER
2ND M2 MELVIN & TAYLOR MURPHY
3RD 22 JOHN BEARD & TERRY ATKINS
4TH 30 GREG & KENNY STRIPLING
5TH 71 KEITH & KEVIN MONAHAN
Recent changes to the Speedway have made Columbus, ranked by Behind the Wheel/Late Model America publication reader’s poll as the #3 track in the country following the 2003 season, better than ever according not only to fans, but nationally renowned drivers. After three weeks of steady proof, it is apparent that the improvements are no "optical illusion", as the track known in recent years as a multi-grooved but a bit high-line heavy speedplant has matured into a wide-open, run anywhere you want to race track. Saturday night, a healthy 99 race cars lined up at Johnny Stokes' red clay bullring to put on a show for the Columbus faithful. As in recent weeks, fans would be filing out of the gates and on their way home early, with events concluding just after 10:30 PM, partially due to 2004's new racing format.
Breazeale set fast time in MidsouthRacing.com Super Late Model Pole Qualifying in his Brown Engineering-powered GRT with a 15.04 second lap in unconventional fashion for Columbus, running on the hub of the track. Only three drivers qualified outside the 15-second bracket (two of those with a 16.07), making for a tight, competitive Super Late Model feature field, with only one other driver trying the bottom in qualifying. Many drivers who have not had the best of luck at Columbus have begun to adapt to the track following the changes made in recent weeks.
Breazeale would attack the rim going into the first turn as the green flag fell on the Super Late Model feature field, with "The Wild Child" James Dean on his bumper and last week's victor "The Prowler" Shawn Edwards digging on the inside. "Ravishing" Rick Rickman in his 2004 regular season debut would blast to the hub in turn 4 making it a brief 4-wide before Breazeale assumed the lead on the frontstretch. Edwards would then pull outside Dean for second using the extreme upper groove, then dive to the hub of the popular #16 in the next set of turns as the racing action was 2 and 3 wide from the front to rear of the pack. Rickman would once again move in on the battling second-place duo as the green flag laps clicked away, and "Marvelous" Mark Stokes would ease in near the infield to make it 4-wide once again as Breazeale led the pack at arm's reach.
Edwards and Dean would move away again on lap 6 to resume their side-by-side battle for second place, with Stokes and Rickman running low and high for 4th behind them before Edwards pulled to the infield with trouble on the next lap. Stokes, looking very strong on the hub, would take 3rd place on lap 8 but his #2 Rocket would get loose in turn 3, allowing Rickman and 2003 track champ and recent returnee "The Weir Wolf" Tombo Callahan to pass by. Meanwhile, Dean began to close on Breazeale as the duo reached lapped traffic on lap 12. Dean, running the rim of the speedway, would pull alongside the leader's black #54 and the two would duke it out side-by-side, lap after lap without breaking stride until Rickman's Russell Baker-powered machine pulled to a stop near the pit exit. Rickman's tough luck would bring out the first caution of the race on lap 17. Breazeale had held on to the lead after moving to the rim to fend off Dean, and 11th-starting Callahan followed the two across the line.
Breazeale took the green flag on the restart and rode the middle groove, with Dean assaulting the rim and Callahan blasting to the hub of the track before Stokes took the 3rd position away on the following lap. Stokes would proceed to interrupt Dean's relentless pursuit of the lead as he pulled alongside the #16 and the two ran a series of laps running side-by-side, with Dean soon regaining the advantage. Callahan and Roger Shirley put on a display as the battle raged ahead of them, with Callahan sparking off the turn 2/backstretch wall as the two sparred in a battle for 4th. After another hub-and-rim even lap around the speedway, Stokes would once again get loose under Dean but was saved by a lap 21 caution for debris in turn 3.
On the restart, all mayhem erupted. Stokes, racing down the front stretch with Shirley, would get turned sideways and collect Jay Dickens, Jackie Grammar, and Clint Hardin near the flag stand. Dickens would pile into Stokes at near full speed as other cars scattered to avoid the erupting chaos, and the two drivers would suffer extensive damage to their machines. Grammar would be able to continue. Breazeale, Dean, 10th-starting Shirley, Callahan, and "The Pontotoc Pirate" Steve Russell would make up the top five as the field sorted out.
Breazeale and Dean resumed their race-long battle for the lead when the green flag fell, Dean now trying his luck on the hub of the track. Breazeale would apparently tire of seeing the blue nose of Dean's car pulling alongside him as he raced the middle of the track and would move to the hub himself. Dean would counter by moving up to the middle himself and looking outside as Shirley crept up to Breazeale's bumper prior to the final caution on lap 28.
The two-lap dash to glory saw Breazeale hold off inside challenges from Dean, while Shirley and Callahan would go door-to-door until Russell moved in to challenge Callahan. The #20 would shrug off the #72 and once again go around turn 3 and 4 beside Shirley as Breazeale fired across the finish line, checkered flag waving, in his McGivney Do-It-Best sponsored, Brown Engineering-powered, American Racer-shod GRT. Dean would take home runner-up honors, and Shirley would earn a career-best 3rd place finish at Columbus, holding off 4th-place Callahan with Russell in fifth. Trey Cullum, Dewayne Riddle, Grammar, Terrell Stripling, and Todd Graham would round out the top ten in an exciting, competitive feature event.
Open-Wheel Modified action was just as exciting and competitive, with Jeremy Shaw and "Mr. Untouchable" Jason Hollis taking each other on side-by-side from the first lap to the last. Lee Ray and Todd Gray would duel in much the same manner behind the leading pair as Hollis soared around the rim and Shaw dug in on the hub, Hollis usually maintaining a slight advantage at the line. After a midway-point caution, Hollis would change tactics and drive around the inside line. "The Shawtown Flyer" proved undeterred, going outside of Hollis to keep the battle raging as the laps wound down. Hollis would eventually hold off Shaw to take the win, followed by Gray, Ray, and Matt Price.
Chad Nickoles would take the early lead in Pro Street action and run up front alone for a while as newcomer Judson Littlejohn picked off cars on his way from the back in what appeared to be a powerful machine. Littlejohn would move up and challenge for the lead by lap 15. Nickoles held on each lap on the outside as Chase Christian battled Chris Harmon for 3rd. Nickoles would race to the win in his #11 ride, followed across the line by Littlejohn's #3. Littlejohn elected not to cross the scales or attend technical inspection and would be disqualified. Harmon, Christian, Randy Bush, and Alvin Foster would complete the top five.
Jimmy Anderson would lead the Street Stock field following the green flag with Mike Barton and John Thomas battling behind as "Big Money" David Honeycutt blasted from the back to the front along with TK King. Barton would assume the point on lap 3 and hold the lead for most of the race as Honeycutt and King continued to creep up through the pack. Honeycutt would drive around Barton's outer flank for the lead on lap 12 with King following suit on lap 15. Honeycutt would go on to win the feature after starting 11th followed by 15th-starting King, Barton, Anderson, and Terry Kelley.
Aaron Peay took the Mini Stock feature lead from early point-holder Keith McCool on lap 4 and the two would embark on a race-long battle, McCool hot on the heels of the #11 Mustang. The two would make contact as the final laps approached, with Peay being sent across the infield and McCool gaining the top position and riding to the win. Nick Deese, Peay, Bo Minor, and Heath Minor would come home in the top five.
Two-Person Cruisers would once again run clockwise (reverse laps), providing for unusual and entertaining racing action. Melvin & Taylor Murphy would take the lead from Greg & Kenny Stripling following a rare Cruiser caution and hold the spot until a near-flip by Barry Parker & Mike Chandler brought out a second yellow flag. Jeremy Glasgow & Buddy Glover would then move around the #M2 machine to lead the way to victory. The Murphy duo would finish second, followed by John Beard & Terry Atkins.
Action continues at Columbus Speedway next Saturday night, May 1st with the 1st Annual MSCCS Richard Underwood Memorial. The 7th event in 2004 for the wildly popular Mississippi State Championship Challenge Super Late Model series and the series' first stop at Columbus Speedway features the 50-lap, $3,000-to-win "Big Daddy 50" feature event as well as a full racing program in all other divisions. Clinton, MS driver and defending series champ Scott Slay rolls into Columbus with the "State Series" points lead as Dennis Duncan, Rodney Wing, David Breazeale, and Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Wall hold down the top five.
The Columbus Speedway Weekly Racing Series will also be getting underway as the first points event of the year for the local divisions will be held on May 1st for the Pro Street, Open Wheel Modifieds, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, and Cruisers.
Event information has pit gates opening at 3 PM with drivers meeting scheduled for 6:00. Grandstands admission is $15 with children under 10 admitted free, and pit passes are $25. Grandstand gates will be opening at 5pm with action at 7:30pm. Lawn chairs and coolers are welcome, and headsets/radios can be used to tune in to 88.5 FM to hear the Columbus Speedway broadcast. . Event flyer is located at the Columbus Speedway Official Website located at www.MidsouthRacing.com/columbusindex.htm or the MSCCS Website located at www.StateSeries.com so stop by for more information. Speedway information can be obtained by calling Johnny Stokes at 662-574-2572 during the day or at 662-327-3047 in the evenings. Additional Columbus Speedway information can be found on the Columbus Speedway Internet home hosted at www.midsouthracing.com or by calling the Columbus Speedway event hotline at 662-241-5004.
Columbus Speedway Fast Finish:
SUPER LATE MODELS - Top 10
1ST 54 DAVID BREAZEALE
2ND 16 JAMES DEAN
3RD 57 ROGER SHIRLEY
4TH 20 TOMBO CALLAHAN
5TH 72 STEVE RUSSELL
6TH 5 TREY CULLUM
7TH DEW1 DEWAYNE RIDDLE
8TH 33 JACKIE GRAMMAR
9TH 86 TERRELL STRIPLING
10TH 1 TODD GRAHAM
Open Wheel Modified - Top 10
1ST 5 JASON HOLLIS
2ND 1S JEREMY SHAW
3RD 7G TODD GRAY
4TH 2 LEE RAY
5TH 17 MATT PRICE
6TH 90 BRIAN RICKMAN
7TH 41 BILL SUDDUTH
8TH 8 BRYAN BROCK
9TH 66 CHRIS GLENN
10TH 71 WILLIAM WELLS
Pro Street - Top 5
1ST 11 CHAD NICKOLES
2ND 27 CHRIS HARMON
3RD 10 CHASE CHRISTIAN
4TH 99+ RANDY BUSH
5TH 3 ALVIN FOSTER
Street Stock - Top 5
1ST 15 DAVID HONEYCUTT
2ND 6 TK KING
3RD 27 MIKE BARTON
4TH 35 JIMMY ANDERSON
5TH 00 TERRY KELLEY
Mini Stock - Top 5
1ST 527 KEITH MCCOOL
2ND 51 NICK DEESE
3RD 11 AARON PEAY
4TH 22 BO MINOR
5TH 21 HEATH MINOR
Two-Person Cruiser - Top 5
1ST 24 JEREMY GLASGOW & BUDDY GLOVER
2ND M2 MELVIN & TAYLOR MURPHY
3RD 22 JOHN BEARD & TERRY ATKINS
4TH 30 GREG & KENNY STRIPLING
5TH 71 KEITH & KEVIN MONAHAN
