The weather was perfect for racing and the pits yet again filled with racers as Commercial Bank presented under lights the Parts Plus USCS Winged Outlaw Sprint Cars, Rislone Pro Modifieds, Faster Pastor Charity Challenge (a special charitable event), SportMods, Cruisers and Mini Stocks at Drew County Speedway Saturday night, April 11, 2009.
The evening also marked the much-anticipated grand opening of Signs, Shirts & Decals KidZone Klub, in memory of Faith Reed. KidZone Klub Director Mellissa Rodgers and volunteers planned a fun-filled evening for the younger crowd at the track, complete with an Easter egg hunt and the first round of the World Championship Econo-Box drag races.
Faith Reed’s mother, Elizabeth, was present for the ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as primary sponsors Kerry and Becky Rice of Monticello, owners of Signs, Shirts & Decals. “We are very happy to be able to sponsor the new playground here at Drew County Speedway,” Kerry Rice said as children scurried by him through the entrance to gather for the Easter egg hunt. “The night we lost little Faith was so tragic and shocking. I stood and watched everyone here coming together for Faith, and I felt so helpless. My wife and I are very excited to be able to provide a good, safe place for the children to play in Faith‘s memory…to get them out of the pits and stands and give them something fun to do while their parents enjoy the show,” the former flagman and track tech said. “God has blessed us, and we are so proud to be able to pay it forward to benefit the children and this track. It really means a lot to us.”
“We really appreciate the Rice family and everyone who helped make this playground possible for the children,” Reed said. “The people at Drew County Speedway have been so kind, and it touches our hearts to know that Faith is remembered and loved by so many, and that children will have a place to play each week at the track. Thanks to everyone who came out and made this a special night for our family.”
The Parts Plus United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour winged sprint cars blew into the speedway for a fast-paced, action-packed show, followed by the Rislone Pro Modifieds, who thundered around the 3/8-mile oval track for an intense run in front of a packed crowd.
A 25-year veteran of racing and sprint racer since 1990, 2008 Mid-South Champion Tim Crawley dominated the 25-lap feature in his return visit to DCS, having raced in Modified divisions at the track in previous seasons. He brought Memphis car owner Mike Ward’s winged sprint car to the checkered and gave local fans a show like none they’d ever witnessed at the fast-growing speedway.
“We’re happy with the surface; they’ve done a good job getting it ready for us,” Crawley said before the race. “It’s a nice dry, slick track, and that’s fine with me. I like ’em dry,” he said, thanking team sponsors Boater Sports, AMC Plumbing, Southern Renovations, Simply Countertops and Senter Farms. Recapping the night after his win, Crawley said, “Basically, we missed a little early on in the heat race and dash. Being the first time here in winged sprints, we weren’t sure on some things, but we worked hard and got the car dialed in. Everything was good for the feature, and we went on for the win.” 2008 Mid-South Championship runner-up Marshall Skinner (#26) secured a second place win, followed by third place Bryce Vowan (#2M).
Another favorite in the series, Bartlett, Tenn., driver Terry Gray (#10 Rislone) also seemed pleased with the track development and expected a strong run. “It seems like a nice place; we’ve never run sprints here before, so everyone’s on even ground. I’m looking forward to getting out there and giving it a shot,” he said pre-race. The seven-time USCS Champion and 2008 National Champion won the six-lap dash over other series headliners, but his evening turned sour when the car’s drive shaft broke and put Gray out of contention for the feature, finishing in 10th spot. “That’s just something that doesn’t happen very often,” Gray said.
Hunter Rasdon, the 22-year-old USCS Rislone Pro Modified driver, was ultra-fast in qualifying and went on to win his fifth feature win of the year (third for USCS) in his quest to secure the 2009 championship. “I’ve been racing since I was four years old, but I’ve only been running modifieds for about three years,” Rasdon said.
Running on a limited schedule in 2008, Rasdon secured a third place finish in the championship last year, proving his #5R car is the one to watch this season. Rasdon is no stranger to winning, securing in his career eight track championships and numerous big feature wins, making him one of the hottest open-wheeled modified racers in the nation. “We had a great time here at DCS,” Rasdon said, adding he looks forward to the upcoming races on the schedule this year when they will once again invade the speedway. “I travel all over the place, and this track has nice facilities on it; the pits were nice and big (we weren’t crowded like a lot of places), the lighting is real good, and the track surface was nice to race on. It had multi-grooves and we could run just about anywhere we wanted. They did a good job of getting the show moving and running smoothly for us. We’re definitely looking forward to coming back.” Behind Rasdon, 2006 USCS Champion Ben Reed powered his #07 car to a second place finish in the 25-lap feature, followed by third place #73, driven by 2008 USCS Champion Ashley Newman.
USCS representative Pete Walton said the series would return to DCS May 29. “It’s going to be a really big show,” he said. “We’ll be bringing about 30 modifieds, so it’ll be an exciting night for sure.”
In the sport modified class, Heath Wilson (#A1) of Farmerville, La., started on the inside pole and held off Cody Harger (#6VOLT) to lead the entire race to the checkered. Harger started the race in fifth position and worked his way to second place. The top two cars pulled away from the field and held a strong lead throughout the race, followed by Monticello drivers #8 Robert Moore and #1R Bennie Ryburn, with #5T Guy Teeter rounding out the top five. Ronnie Adcock (#0), who started in 12th position earned a ninth place finish, and #27h Roger Hayden finished out the top ten.
After many racers donated their cars to be used in the charitable Faster Pastor Challenge earlier in the evening, the mini-stocks took the track, and #11x Eric Moss, this year’s repeat winner, fell back to seventh place as Nick Frost of Monticello (#11) returned to the track the for the first time this season in his 1996 Honda Civic and took the checkered. Frost was a four-time feature winner in the 2008 season.
A fender-banging fan favorite, the Cruiser class was once again packed, with 20 cars making the feature. Tonya Chadwick of El Dorado (#27tc) became the first female to be named winner of the class, who ran a strong race with second place finisher Brandon Lloyd (#15). “We’re always happy just to be able to run a clean race and pull our car onto the trailer at the end of the night with no major damage; although, we sure do like it when we have a trophy in our hand, too,” said Lloyd, also last week’s second place finisher.
For Chadwick, racing at Drew County Speedway has become a full-family affair, with her sister Lisa Owens (#44) racing alongside her in the Cruiser division and her son, Cody Chadwick, operating the #14cc limited modified (who finished in 11th place in his class). “Our main focus is Cody, of course,” Chadwick said, “but my dad convinced me last year that I could do it, too. I didn’t believe him at first, but here I am in first place, so I guess women CAN race, too! I’m so happy that my dad believed in me and that racing is a way for our family to spend time, work and have fun together,” she said. “We’ve raced a lot of other places, and won at a few of them, but DCS is by far the best place we’ve ever been. If it weren’t for our great experiences here, we never would have invested the time and money into two cruiser cars and two modifieds for Cody. This is our home track. We love this place, and we’ll never race anywhere else again.”
Official race results may be found at www.speednetdirect.com/results.php .
Parts Plus United Sprint Car series sprint car results at DCS, April 11, 2009:
1. 88 Tim Crawley of Benton, Ark.
2. 26 Marshall Skinner of West Memphis, Ark.
3. 2M Bryce Vowan of Forrest City, Ark.
4. 24 Justin Carver of Drummonds, Tenn.
5. 16 Anthony Nicholson of Bartlett, Tenn.
6. 26S John Stinson of Memphis, Tenn.
7. 01 Jeremy Newkirk of Little Rock, Ark.
8. 31 Michael Craddock of Olive Branch, Miss.
9. 25 Ray Bugg of Iuka, Miss.
10. 10 Terry Gray of Bartlett, Tenn.
11. 1A Lee Moore of Tuscaloosa, Ala.
12. 58 Wade Oliver of Southaven, Miss.
K&N Filters Pole Award: Marshall Skinner
Parts Plus Power Dash: Winner #10 Terry Gray
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Winner #26 Marshall Skinner
Butlerbuilt Second Heat: Winner #10 Terry Gray
JE Pistons Top Guns: #16 Anthony Nicholson, fifth place
Lunati Crank It Up Award: #24 Justin Carver
Rislone USCS Modified Series feature results at DCS April 11, 2009
1. R5 Hunter Rasdon
2. 07 Ben Reed
3. 73 Ashley Newman
4. 19 Jeremy Kester
5. 8 Mike Palasini, Jr.
6. 18A Richard Anders
7. 51 John Polasini
8. 401K Travis Broach
9. 26 Patrick Linn
10. 99R Justin Roberts
11. 20 Shannon Farr
12. 88S Seth Reed
13. 48 Alan Brown
14. 22 Richard Kinney
15. 22M Casey Minton
16. 51F Cory Dumas
17. 74 Matt Stacey
18. 8 Jodey Reep
19. 89 Joseph Leister
20. 26 Kevin Ferrell
21. 27F Lynnsee Povence
22. 17F Casey Findley
23. F2R Keith Craft
24. 60B Mike Bowers
25. 15 Grant Box DNS
K&N Filters Fast Time: Hunter Rasdon 17.86 seconds
Rislone Power Dash Winner: 51 John Polasini
Aero Race Wheels Semi-Feature #1 Winner: 51 John Polasini
R.H.S. Racing Head Service Semi-Feature #2 Winner: 17F Casey Findley
Comp Cams Hard Charger: 99R Justin Roberts (started in 24th position and finished 10th)
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