Tag Archive for: #orangecountyspeedwaynews

Orange County Speedway Championship Race, Saturday, October 28

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Orange County Speedway Championship Race, Saturday, October 28

— courtesy Orange County Speedway by Jim Cribbs

Making his first season start in the Orange County Speedway Championship Race, Josh Oakley over-powered the field green to checkered for the win in the Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating and Air Late Model race. Points leader Terry Dease finished in second, with a slightly damaged car, to take home his second consecutive Late Model Track Championship.
Mike Chambers, making his first start of the season, qualified second, just in front of Dease and Daniel Moss. At the start, Chambers went fender to fender with Moss for second while Oakley motored away and Dease fell back several positions. Then it was Chuck Lawson and Chris Denny, who started on the third row, racing side by side for fourth. Twelve laps into the 75-lap race, Chambers spun his car in turn two and Denny spun avoiding Chambers. That allowed Lawson to grab second in front of Moss and Dease as the caution flag flew..
On the restart, Oakley led the way, followed by Lawson, Moss, Dease and Mason Hudson in his first start of the year. On lap 28, Hudson almost takes it three-wide with Dease and Lawson, followed by contact between the cars of those two, putting Lawson’s machine in the turn three wall. Dease continued but Lawson, none too pleased, used his car to block the car of Dease when Dease came back around under caution. Lawson then pulled his damaged car to the garage..
At the finish, Oakley and Dease had the top two spots, Moss was third, with Hudson, Denny and Chambers occupying fourth through sixth. Camden Gullie, after extensive repairs from a practice crash, took seventh, the last car on the lead lap.

The top two points leaders in the Limited Sportsman division, Daryl Carver and Brent Evans, Jr, started side by side in row two for their 35-lap race with pole-sitter Daniel Moss and Tracey Chambers taking the green in the front row. Chambers fell behind Moss at the start but stayed on Moss’s bumper, taking the lead ten laps later then defending that top spot for her first ever win in this division. Her last OCS win was sixteen years ago while racing in the Mod4s.
Points leader Carver held on to take the second spot to win this year’s track championship, his second overall. Evans, Jr finished in third, followed by Jerry Hinesley in fourth. Moss apparently wore his tires out in the fight with Chambers, settling for a fifth-place finish. Brothers Corey and Ausin Purnell completed the night in the next two spots respectively.

Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks had plenty of twists and turns as points leader John Comstock, with four season wins under his belt, fell out of the 20-lap event at the halfway point with motor problems. Jeffrey Martin, who came into the race just behind Comstock in the points, snatched the lead from pole-sitter Kiser Martin at the green, then held the lead through numerous restarts, only to see Devin Parrot nip him for the win at the checkered flag. However Comstock’s misfortune appeared to hand this year’s track championship to five-time season winner Jeffrey Martin.

Smokey Dave’s BBQ Mod4s got off to a confusing start with the two points leaders parked after a handful of laps. Pole-sitter Corey Purnell picked up his third season win, and in a strange turn of events, took this year’s track championship for that division. After the green flag flew to start the 25-lap race, officials black-flagged points leader Dennis Capps, and Harold Sumney, third in points, went out with mechanical problems. Purnell, starting the race second in points between those two, had his own problems, spinning on a lap eleven restart after contact with the car of Timmy Wilder. Purnell, fifth on the restart, charged through the field for his third win of the season. Wilder held on to take second, followed by Randy Ayers and Michael Dudley in third and fourth.

The Allison Legacy Series 35-lap race appeared to be no contest with Justin Taylor, second in points, taking a commanding lead at the green and staying there until lap 20 when lapped traffic changed the complexion of the race. Brent Suggs used that traffic to slip by Taylor and hold on for the win. Taylor battled Suggs right up to the end but settled for second place. Kyle Campbell took third in the race which awarded him the 2017 track championship for the miniature NASCAR look-alike machines.

The Carolina Collectors Auto Fest Vintage Sportsman 12-lap race was won by James Brown. He was heard to say after the race “I feel good”. No, not really. Lorne Long started on pole but front brake problems sidelined that car. Jacob Clayton took the lead from there but his car left the race at the midway point. From there Brown held on for the win but was aggressively challenged in the last few laps by Kenneth Smith, the second-place finisher. Paul Blalock finished third.

The final results of the 25-lap Pure Stock race have not been finalized as a result of post-race inspections. It does appear that Greg Autry, who lead from start to finish, was the winner in his first season appearance at OCS. Danny Winstead and Bobby Clayton came into the race tied in the championship points. But then those two crashed into each other avoiding the spinning car of Troy Sandefur. Winstead continued but Clayton’s day was done. The final points rundown is yet to be released.

(Orange County Speedway is an advertising client of WIZS.)

Orange County Speedway Limited Sportsman race and unofficial race results from last Saturday

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Orange County Speedway Limited Sportsman race and unofficial race results from last Saturday

— courtesy Orange County Speedway by Jim Cribbs

The Heaven’s must have been smiling when Daryl Carver took the checkered flag at the end of the hard-fought 75-lap Limited Sportsman race at Orange County Speedway Saturday night for his fourth season win. The Donnie Carver Memorial Race was named in honor of his late uncle, a great friend and supporter of OCS for many years. Donnie Carver was a NASCAR official, including flagman, for many years. The actual flags used for the race were his very own.
Daryl Carver’s victory was well deserved, having started fifth as a result of a pre-race draw for starting positions. That same draw shoved pole-sitter, Daniel Moss, back to a seventh-place start where contact with the car of Austin Purnell on lap 5 put him out of the race. The luck of the draw went to Brandon Baker and Tracey Chambers, the two front-row starters. Baker bolted past Chamber at the green to take the lead.
Daniel Schadt appeared to have the car to beat, moving from sixth to the second in the first few laps of the race, then passing Baker for the lead ten laps later. From there, those two staged a fierce battle for the lead until a lap 50 competition caution. On the ensuing restart, fourth-place Carver methodically worked his way past third-place Corey Purnell, then past Baker for second. Passing Schadt for the lead was no easy task for Carver as those two traded sheet metal several times after the restart.
The defining moment of the race may have been contact between the cars of Chambers and Baker on lap 60, bringing out the seventh caution flag and putting Baker out of the race. Chambers was able to continue, finishing the night in sixth. The following restart renewed the side by side race between Carver and Schadt with Carver getting by eight laps from the end, relegating Schadt to a second-place finish, followed by Corey Purnell in third. Jared Fryer in his first OCS race this year took fourth, with Brent Evans, Jr behind him. Seventh through ninth went to Jared Gillis, Jerry Hinesley, and Austin Purnell respectively, all three having recovered from spinouts during the race but all three on the lead lap.

Donnie Carver Memorial Race, Limited Sportsman, 75 laps
1) Daryl Carver
2) Daniel Schadt
3) Corey Purnell
4) Jared Fryer
5) Brent Evans, Jr
6) Tracey Chambers
7) Jared Gillis
8) Jerry Hinesley
9) Austin Purnell
10) Brandon Baker (-15)
11) Richard Hayden (-51)
12) Daniel Moss (-70)
PASS Touring Series Super Late Models, 150 laps
1) Tate Fogleman
2) Matt Craig
3) Kyle Plott
4) Dave Farrington, Jr
5) Kodie Conner
6) Trevor Noles (-1)
7) Jordan McCallum (-2)
8) Casey Roderick (-2)
9) Jody Measamer (-2)
10) Roy Hayes, III (-2)
11) Kyle McCallum (-3)
12) JP Josiasse (-3)
13) Tyler Church (-56)
14) Jay Fogleman (-103)
15) Donnie Carlton (-132)
16) Ryan Moore (-132)
Southern Modified Racing Series, 75 laps
1) David Bohn
2) Burt Myers
3) Jeremy Gertsner
4) Jason Myers
5) Tim Brown
6) George Brunnhozel, III
7) Josh Nichols
8) Gary Putnam
9) Tom Buzee
10) Brandon Ward

(Orange County Speedway is an advertising client of WIZS.)

Orange County Speedway, Rougemont, Saturday, August 26

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Though Chris Denny started the night nine points behind division leader Terry Dease, after missing the rain-delayed next day conclusion of the previous Mike Bledsoe Mechanical Heating and Air Late Model Stock race at OCS only 49 days ago, he made up for it by winning both LMSC 35-lap twin races to on Saturday Night. Dease had his own measure of success, settling for second in both races after a fifth-place start in the first one and a fourth-place start in the second. Chuck Lawson followed that pattern by taking third in both events.

In race one Daniel Moss proved to be no lightweight, waging a strong battle with Dease for second until contact between the cars of those two, initiated by Dease, caused Moss to nearly spin his car on the backstretch twelve laps from the finish. Moss held on to finish fifth just behind the fourth-place car of Camden Gullie.

In race two, it was Lawson who got the action going when the nose of his car made contact with Gullie’s, spinning Gullie’s car into the fourth-turn wall, bringing out the caution before the first lap was complete. Gullie was able to continue, completing the night with a fifth-place finish. After the green flag fell on the next attempt to start the race, Moss decided on a little payback for Dease, bumping the rear of leader Dease’s car but almost spinning himself out in the process and dropping him to third, giving Dease a comfortable lead. From there, it was a battle between Moss and fourth-place Denny with Denny getting the best of that one. After a brief caution on lap 16, Dease lost the lead to Denny on the restart but kept his car on Denny’s bumper the remainder of the event.

An 11-car field for the Limited Sportsman race dwindled down to five lead-lap cars by the time the checkered flew on lap 35, giving 12-year-old Gage Painter of Statesville his first OCS win. Painter did it by outgunning cagey veteran Daryl Carver, winner of two races this season, but an owner of a second-place finish on Saturday, on his bumper the last five laps of the race. It was pole-sitter Carver and the other front-row starter Brent Evans, Jr showing their impatience that drew swift action from officials. After one or the other seemed to jump not only the start of the race, leading to a redo, but two more restarts, officials placed both cars at the back on a lap 10 restart. Evans worked his way back up to take third at the end of the race.

The night’s attrition first started when the cars of Austin and Corey Purnell got into each other in turn one on the second lap, putting the car of Austin out of the race and bringing out the night’s first caution flag. Corey Purnell did manage a fifth-place finish. After six more laps of action, the caution flag flew again for the spin and brief oil line fire from the car of Jacob Borst, putting that driver out of the race.
Two laps after the restart, the car of Tracey Chambers got into the one of Justin Newlin, which in turn brought the car of Jerry Hinesley crashing into those two between turns one and two. Hinesley got the worst of it, parking his car for the night with an eighth-place finish. Chambers was able to continue, salvaging a sixth-place finish, two laps in arrears. Newlin’s car sustained the least damage, allowing him to complete the night in fourth-place.

Pure Stock racers completed their 25-lap event with pole-sitter Chase Sandefur leading all laps except the last one, getting passed by division points leader and now four-time season winner Danny Winstead on the last lap, leaving Sandefur winless this year. A hard-charging Bobby Clayton, Jr used a fifth-place start to garner a third-place finish with Trevor Winstead finishing behind him. Lonnie Glosson took the checkered in fourth on the lead lap with Jamie Kerr the fifth-place car, five laps down. The most spectacular crash of the night happened when the cars of Thomas Penny and Taylor Tolar attempted to take the green but Tolar’s car plowed underneath the rear of Penny’s car, causing those two to crash into the inside wall of turn one, leaving Tolar’s car suspended on the wall and out of the race. Penny’s car made three more laps after the restart, retiring with smoke billowing from underneath the hood.

Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks finished their 20-lap race under caution, giving points-leader John Comstock his third season win and leaving a seething three-time winner Jeffrey Martin in second. Breaking up the Martin clan was the third-place truck of Devin Parrott, followed by 13-year old Noah Martin, making his first OCS start, in fourth. Fifth-place went to the truck of Kiser Martin. Jeffrey’s disappointment was the result of Kiser’s truck spinning out on the last lap and ending the race under the yellow.

The 25-lap Smokey Dave’s BBQ Mod4s finished the night with first-time season winner Corey Purnell taking the checkered in front of the hard-charging car of pole-sitter Harold Summey, after stealing the lead from Summey at the start of the race. Summey had to recover from a lap one backstretch spin to finish second, a lap that included Randy Ayers spinning his car out at the start/finish line. Ayers finished the night in fifth, behind the car of Timmy Wilder. Dennis Capps, winner of the season’s last two races, started behind Purnell in third and finished the night in that position.

The 600-horsepower Grand American Modifieds, sponsored by Quality Collision Solutions of Graham, roared around OCS for 35-laps with the car of Gary Young, Jr starting on pole and finishing out front, giving him his third season win. Young, Jr qualified in second but inherited the top starting spot after the pole-sitting car of Josh Nichols had a problem with pre-race inspection, placing him at the back of the field for the start of the race. Nichols made quick work of the field, squeezing past the second-place car of John Barilka, six laps in. Nichols held on to finish there with Barilka behind him, followed by the fourth-place car of Richard Thomas. Connie Ray Wallace took fifth, the last car on the lead lap.

The Allison Legacy Series, the much smaller NASCAR look-alikes, ran their 35 laps with Kyle Campbell starting out front and finishing there for the win. Brett Suggs finished behind Campbell with the car of Matthew Davey coming home in third, followed by Jake Garcia in fourth, the last car on the lead lap. Ethan Elder appeared to have the car to beat after starting sixth in the nine-car field. After making a bold move past Suggs for second on lap 24, Elder’s car inexplicably spun in turn four, violently slamming the turn four wall. Though uninjured, his car was too damaged to continue.

Jacob Clayton, driving a 1956 Chevrolet, took home the trophy in the Carolina Collector Auto Fest Vintage Sportsman 10-lap race.

Orange County Speedway, Saturday, August 26

Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating & Air Late Model Stock 35 laps, 1st rac

1) Chris Denny

2) Terry Dease

3) Chuck Lawson

4) Camden Gullie

5) Daniel Moss

Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating & Air Late Model Stock 35 laps, 2nd race

1) Chris Denny

2) Terry Dease

3) Chuck Lawson

4) Daniel Moss

5) Camden Gullie

Limited Sportsman 35 laps

1) Gage Painter

2) Daryl Carver

3) Brent Evans, Jr

4) Justin Newlin

5) Corey Purnell

6) Tracey Chambers (-2)

7)  Jared Gillis (-17)

8) Jerry Hinesley (-22)

9) Jacob Borst (-23)

10)Richard Hayden (-26)

11)Austin Purnell (-29)

Pure Stock 25 laps

1) Danny Winstead

2) Chase Sandefur

3) Bobby Clayton

4) Trevor Winstead

5) Lonnie Glosson

6) Jamie Kerr (-5 )

7) Thomas Penny (-22)

8) Taylor Tolar (-25)

Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks 20 laps

1) John Comstock

2) Jeffrey Martin

3) Devin Parrott

4) Noah Martin

5) Kiser Martin

6) Dalton Martin (-4)

Quality Collision Solutions of Graham Grand American Modifieds 35 laps

1) Gary Young, Jr

2) Josh Nichols

3) John Barilka

4) Richard Thomas

5) Connie Ray Wallace

6) Roy Cook (-1)

7) Jonathan Cook (-1)

Smokey Dave’s BBQ Mod4s 25 laps

1) Corey Purnell

2) Harold Summey

3) Dennis Capps

4) Timmy Wilder

5) Randy Ayers

6) Mike Dudley (-4)

7) Darrell Haynie (-6)

Allison Legacy Series 35 laps

1) Kyle Campbell

2) Brett Suggs

3) Matthew Davey

4) Jake Garcia

5) Ashely Pantoulas (-4)

6) Kayla Lyons (-9)

7) Ethan Elder (-11)

8) Tim Niesen (-13)

9) Justin Taylor (-30)

Carolina Collector Auto Fest Vintage Sportsman 10 laps

1) Jacob Clayton

2) Paul Blalock

3) Kenneth Smith (lapped)

Steven Wallace and Deac McCaskill take home Mid-Atlantic Classic

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ROUGEMONT, NC (July 23, 2017) – Steve Wallace made the most of a late-race restart to muscle Bubba Pollard out of the way and fend off Matt Craig’s aggressive advances in the final two laps of Saturday night’s inaugural Mid-Atlantic Classic at Orange County Speedway, a $10,000-to-win event which drew a near-capacity crowd to the track outside of Durham, N.C., despite heat indexes above 100 degrees. Deac McCaskill dominated the late model stock portion of the event, a 100-lap dash to checkered which preceded the super late model feature.

LATE MODEL STOCK RECAP

Josh Berry blistered the Orange County Speedway for yet another Hedgecock Racing Pole Award and earned the right to lead the field to the green flag for the 100-lap late model stock car race.

No sooner than the race began, chaos ensued when Stefan Parsons and Tommy Lemons, Jr., got together in turn three on lap 8, bringing out the first caution of the night. Parsons and Lemons continued while Terry Dease was eliminated from the race due to crash damage.

Six laps later, a multi-car incident in turn three sparked by contact between Chris Denny and Ryan Repko eliminated Denny and Chris Davis while damaging the ride of Brandon Grosso.

After the last early-race restart, McCaskill motored around Berry and began to pull away from the field. During the mid-race run, Ronald Hill clawed his way to the front in the best run of his CARS Tour career and began to close in on McCaskill for the race lead.

McCaskill began to pull away from the field until lap 91 when Stefan Parsons and Ty Gibbs were involved in the scariest incident of the night. The pair made contact on the exit of turn two while racing inside the top ten and the aftermath sent Gibbs onto his roof, sliding the length of the backstretch in a shower of sparks and ultimately bursting into flames once the car came to a stop. Gibbs emerged from the accident unscathed. 

With nine laps to go, McCaskill was forced to fend off Ronald Hill on a restart, a task he handled with precision. As he pulled away to his fourth career CARS Late Model Stock Tour win, Hill dealt handily with Berry, Jared Fryar and Layne Riggs as he led them across the line to complete the top five.

“We had such a great racecar, and it kept getting better,” a clearly exhausted McCaskill said in Edelbrock Victory Lane. “It started to get a little tight in one and two, but I just had to back my corner up. We just had killer drive off tonight. I just can’t thank my guys for all their hard work yesterday when we got the car driving good, but it seemed like we worked on it more today to try to get the drive off the corner and it paid off. We’ve been working our butts off on this car, and we’ve been off and I haven’t been my normal self, but this race is special. I grew up racing here and learned from a lot of those guys. I think it’s been 2003 since I’ve won a late model stock race here.

“Ronald’s a tough guy and he’s hungry, he’s definitely hungry for a win” he continued when asked about his earlier days where he raced Hill and his father, among others, during weekly shows at the track. “We were up there talking about our age earlier, but this was a good run for him here with his hometown crowd, and he needed this living just a few miles from here. We really appreciate the CARS Tour and all these fans coming out, what a great turnout with all this hot weather.”

SUPER LATE MODEL RECAP

After winning his first career super late model race at Orange County a month ago, Cole Rouse picked up where he left off by winning the Mahle Pistons Pole Award in qualifying, placing him on the front row with Brandon Setzer for the start of the super late model race. In a new, unique format to super late model racing, the event was scheduled with four varying-length stages with breaks in between for adjustments and pit stops.

Rouse easily led the opening 35-lap segment from start to finish, but his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Christopher Bell was not so lucky. Racing with Brandon Setzer for third, Bell and Setzer made minor contact in turn three, sending Bell’s No. 4 into a spin which resulted in contact with the outside wall. Though able to continue, he was not a factor the rest of the night.

Rouse shot out to the lead once again in stage two until Stephen Nasse lost control of his car on the frontstretch and pounded the outside wall. On the ensuring restart, Rouse spun the tires and stacked up the field, giving Bubba Pollard the opportunity to lead for the first time on the night. Pollard held the top spot until the lap 100 break, earning an extra $500 for the mid-race stage win.

The vast majority of the field took tires during the lap 100 break to prepare them for the 50-lap dash to the finish. Those who took fewer tires started ahead of those who more, leaving Jeff Batten (none) and Tate Fogleman (two) on the front row. Chase Purdy and Brandon Setzer took three tires and restarted in row two ahead of a plethora of others who bolted on four sticker Hoosiers.

Fogleman quickly rocketed to the lead but it was short-lived when Bubba Pollard reeled in the No. 8 Ford and reassumed command of the race on lap 110. Pollard continued to set the pace handily over Steve Wallace who finished the penultimate stage in second prior to the final break on lap 135.

On the restart, Pollard nearly missed his turn-in point in the first corner, allowing Wallace and others to challenge for the lead, but he quickly gathered himself to begin pulling away for what appeared to be a $10,000 payday until a last-lap caution slowed the field prior to the checkered flag. Per CARS Tour rules, the entire field must take the white flag for the race to complete and a small handful of cars had not when Kodie Conner and Lucas Jones tangled in turn one to facilitate the final caution period of the night.

With two laps remaining, Pollard gave Steve Wallace the bottom lane into turn one and Wallace took full advantage of it. Pollard turned into the first turn early, making minor contact with Wallace, sending Pollard’s car up the hill and opening the door for Wallace, Matt Craig and others to shuffle around the Georgian as the field came to the white flag. Craig made a last-corner desperation attempt to steal the lead in turn three, door-slamming Wallace and sending both cars into a slide, but the No. 66 Ford of Wallace won the drag race to the checkered flag and the richest payday in CARS Tour history ahead of Craig, Rouse, Spencer Davis and Pollard.

“That was good, hard racing, man,” an exhausted and overheated Steve Wallace said in Edelbrock Victory Lane. “Me and Bubba have raced really hard over the last few years, but it is what it is, it’s a big win, we’re racing for 10,000 bucks right here. It just feels good to win. These Jet Tools guys work so hard, and it’s just me at the race shop, and we dig as hard as we can. All these boys come in and work their tails off for me, and we couldn’t do it without Jeff Fultz and Fury Racecars, they built me one hell of a machine. I’ve raced my whole life and never been this hot. It was scorching out there, but we won the race, and we sure as hell are going to win the party, I’ll promise you that. 

“I like Bubba, he’s a really good friend of mine, but I came here with all the friends I need and I’m going home with ’em too and I ain’t worried about it,” he continued when asked about recent scuttlebutt from Pollard on the way he has been raced across the country. “That’s just racing, man. All these fans paid a good amount of money to come see this race and I feel like we gave ’em one hell of a show tonight.”

The CARS Tour visits Hickory Motor Speedway for the inaugural Throwback 276 on August 5, an event featuring over two dozen throwback-themed paint schemes and at least a half-dozen NASCAR legends including Ned Jarrett, Waddell Wilson, Harry Gant, Robert Pressley, Robert Huffman and Jack Ingram. Fans are encouraged to don their own throwback attire for the race, a tribute to short track racing’s past by the stars of the future.

For more information on the CARS Tour, visit their website at www.carsracingtour.com. Fresh content and updates can also be found on the series Facebook page (@carstour), Twitter (@carstour), Instagram (@cars_tour), Snapchat (@carstour) and YouTube channel (/carstour). The series Roku app is also available for installation to see live and on-demand events by following the instructions available at www.carstour.tv.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

–          How popular was the race at Orange County in its inaugural format? Series officials pushed the start of the event back 15 minutes to accommodate the exceptionally long line at the ticket gate. Fans continued to fill the facility even after the green flag, reiterating the quality show they have come to expect from the series at Orange County.

–          With only three races remaining, the late model stock title fight drew even closer at Orange County. Unofficially, Layne Riggs, Anthony Alfredo and Josh Berry are separated by a mere 6 point margin heading into the Throwback 276. Alfredo won both duels at Hickory earlier this season despite a dominant performance by teammate Berry early.

–          The upcoming Throwback 276 has already had a number of schemes revealed including liveries paying tribute to the early careers of Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Richard Petty, Alan Kulwicki and more. A number of other regionally and nationally-famous schemes will be unveiled in the weeks leading up to the event.

 

THE FINISHES:

CARS Late Model Stock Tour
Mid-Atlantic Classic
Orange County Speedway – July 22, 2017

POS        NUM     DRIVER LAPS      REASON OUT
1.            08           Deac McCaskill  100
2.            74           Ronald Hill           100
3.            88b         Josh Berry           100
4.            81           Jared Fryar          100
5.            99           Layne Riggs         100
6.            8             Anthony Alfredo 100
7.            14           Ryan Repko        100
8.            32           Brandon Grosso 100
9.            28           Chris Hudspeth 100
10.          2              Myatt Snider      100
11.          98           Stefan Parsons  91           Accident
12.          18           Ty Gibbs               91           Accident
13.          44           Justin Johnson  60           Mechanical
14.          61           Justin Hicks         53           Mechanical
15.          42           Tommy Lemons 53           Mechanical
16.          1              Craig Moore       16           Mechanical
17.          2d           Chris Denny        14           Accident
18.          88           Chris Davis          14           Accident
19.          06           Terry Dease        8              Accident
CARS Super Late Model Tour
Mid-Atlantic Classic
Orange County Speedway – July 22, 2017

POS        NUM     DRIVER LAPS      REASON OUT
1.            66           Steve Wallace    151
2.            54           Matt Craig           151
3.            51           Cole Rouse         151
4.            55           Spencer Davis    151
5.            26           Bubba Pollard    151
6.            8              Tate Fogleman  151
7.            97           Chase Purdy       151
8.            6W         Matt Wallace     151
9.            99           Raphael Lessard 151
10.          49           Jeff Batten          151
11.          34           Nolan Pope        151
12.          4              Christopher Bell 151
13.          37           Mike Speeney   151
14.          16           Lucas Jones        149         Accident
15.          45           Kodie Conner     149         Accident
16.          5              Trevor Noles      147         Mechanical
17.          6              Brandon Setzer 131         Mechanical
18.          51N        Stephen Nasse  74            Accident
19.          118         Bradley McCaskill 61       Mechanical
20.          98           Jody Measmer  56           Mechanical
21.          28           Jared Irvan          10           Engine

Article Via CarsRacingTour.com

Photos by Jeremy Tyndall

Gullie slips as Dease goes back to back at Orange County

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by Jim Cribbs

Photos by Jeremy Tyndall

Kid’s Bike Race Night, Orange County Speedway, July 8 & 9

Thanks to the weather, Kid’s Bike Race Night on Saturday became a two-day affair, concluding Sunday afternoon. Only the Grand American Modifieds  (and the kids on bicycles) completed their scheduled racing, thus did not return on Sunday. The remaining divisions, minus a few drivers on day 2, competed both days.

The Late Model Stock two-day 75 lap race was a heartbreaker for more than one driver.  But for Terry Dease it was a welcome, but somewhat surprising, second consecutive win.  Camden Gullie, who had the lead in front of Dease with four laps remaining, appeared to be headed to his first ever OCS win.  His car suddenly got sideways out of turn four, letting Dease out front for good, and leaving a disappointed Gullie with a second place finish.  Daniel Moss settled for third.  Another victim of hard luck, but hard racing, Chuck Lawson took the fourth place spot, almost forty laps in arrears.  The cars of Chris Denny, Saturday’s pole winner, (94.937 mph, 14.220 sec) and newcomer Brad Kurth were unable to return on Sunday but were credited with a fifth and sixth place finish respectively, with only twelve laps completed.

When the rain put a stop to Late Model Stock competition, Lawson held the lead, having stolen it from Denny at the start of the race.  Kurth was in second after a daring pass by Denny while Dease held the fourth place spot.  When the green flag fell for the Sunday restart, it was Lawson, Dease, Moss and Gullie first through fourth in that order.  After more than 20 laps of intense side by side racing between Lawson and Dease, not to mention Moss and Gullie, Lawson’s luck turned on him.  Coming out of turn four, determined to keep Dease behind him, Lawson slammed up against the front stretch wall, putting him out of the race thirty-six laps in.  The rest, as they say, is history.

In the first of twin 20 lap races for the Limited Sportsman drivers, Boo Boo Dalton, truly the class of the field, ran uncontested green to checkered to take the win.  Daryl Carver, winner of three consecutive races, was the top qualifier but his repeated success relegated him to a 6th place start per race officials. Carver still worked his way back to third at the finish with the car of Gary Young Jr sandwiched between those two for second.  Brent Evans took the fourth spot and Richard Hayden ended up fifth.

On day 2, race 2 for Limiteds, Dalton was required to draw his starting position, having won race 1. That unlucky pick landed him way back in sixth for the green flag.  Not a problem for the 2016 Limited division champ.  Lining up first through fifth were the cars of Hayden, Evans, Carver, Austin Purnell and Corey Purnell.  Tracey Chambers started behind Dalton in seventh.  A dizzy second lap saw Chambers lose control and spin her car out of turn four while Hayden and Carver did their own pirouette out of one, bringing out the caution.  By that time, Dalton had worked his way to second and, at the restart, proceeded to dominate the race for his second consecutive win.  Evans collected second, followed by Carver in third and Hayden in fourth. Chambers took a hard-fought fifth place finish from Corey Purnell.  Austin Purnell finished behind those two in seventh.

Pure Stock cars competed in twin 15 lappers with pole-sitter Danny Winstead leading from start to finish for the win in the first one.  Despite missing the last few races, Chase Sandefur qualified second and finished there.  Bobby Clayton, after taking the green in fifth, took the third finishing spot while Brandon Watson piloted his machine to fourth, right where he qualified.  Trevor Winstead, son of 2016 division winner Danny, occupied fifth at the checkered.  Finishing sixth through ninth in the mainly single file event were the cars of Jamie Kerr, Taylor Tolar, Lonnie Glosson and Thomas Penny in that order.

Per track rules, the winner of race one was required to draw for starting position in race two, placing Danny Winstead in the fourth place spot at the green flag. Inverted from the first race, Brandon Watson started out front, Clayton beside him and Sandefur beside Danny in the second row.  At the start, something broke in Clayton’s right front suspension, putting him out of the race and bringing out the caution.  On the next restart, the car of Glosson inexplicably slammed the inside turn one wall, ending his day and bringing out another caution.  On the ensuing restart, recently married Sandefur held the top spot with Watson to his outside.  Trevor lined up beside his dad Danny in row two.  At the checkered, it was Watson taking the win, Sandefur finishing second once again and Trevor beating dad for third.  Danny, apparently having used up his car a little the night before, held on for a fourth-place finish.  Jared Gillis, absent from race one, took fifth, followed by the cars of Kerr, Penny, Glosson and Clayton, sixth through ninth.

No surprise, John Comstock was the fastest qualifier as usual for the Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks 20 lap race.  However, he did not finish there. Outnumbered by the rest of the field, who all happened to have the last name Martin, Comstock had to settle for third at the checkered.  Jeffrey Martin outdueled second place finisher Kiser Martin for the win.  Another Martin, Wesley came home in fourth with family members Dalton and Scott occupying fifth and sixth respectively. Comstock’s finish was the result of a missed shift on the restart and a bump from the truck of Wesley Martin. That sent Comstock’s truck for a spin down the front stretch half way through the race.

Quality Collision Solutions of Graham Grand American Modified division planned to run 35 laps but it was not to be.  A big pile-up on lap 15 resulted in only two cars out of seven running at the end of the shortened 18 lap race.  Todd Massey took the photo finish win from points leader Richard Thomas.  Remarkably, Massey was able to restart his car after being involved in the turn two crash that appeared to leave only the car of Thomas on track and ready to finish the race.  Finishing third through fifth three laps down, victims of the turn two crash, were Dillon Harville, winner of the last race, John Barilka and Michael Roney. One lap behind the crash victims, and apparently the cause of the crash after a radiator hose blew, was OCS first-timer, Eddie Gibson.  Another OCS newbie, Rich Kilmarchuk, completed five laps and finished seventh.

Kenneth Smith grabbed his second consecutive win in the Carolina Collector Auto Fest Vintage Sportsman race.

Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating & Air Late Model Stock 75 laps

1) Terry Dease

2) Camden Gullie

3) Daniel Moss

4) Chuck Lawson

5) Chris Denny

6) Brad Kurth

Limited Sportsman 20 laps, Race 1

1)  Ross “Boo Boo” Dalton

2) Gary Young Jr.

3) Daryl Carver

4) Brent Evans

5) Richard Hayden

6) Gage Painter

7) Holden Kurth

8) Austin Purnell

9) Corey Purnell

10) Tracey Chambers

11) Jerry Hinesley

Limited Sportsman 20 laps, Race 2

1) Ross “Boo Boo” Dalton

2) Brent Evans Jr.

3) Daryl Carver

4) Richard Hayden

5) Tracey Chambers

6) Corey Purnell

7) Austin Purnell

Pure Stock 15 laps, Race 1

1) Danny Winstead

2) Chase Sandefur

3) Bobby Clayton

4) Brandon Watson

5) Trevor Winstead

6) Jamie Kerr

7) Taylor Tolar

8) Lonnie Glosson

9) Thomas Penny

Pure Stock 15 laps, Race 2

1) Brandon Watson

2) Chase Sandefur

3) Trevor Winstead

4) Danny Winstead

5) Jared Gillis

6) Jamie Kerr

7) Thomas Penny

8) Lonnie Glosson

9) Bobby Clayton

Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks 20 laps

1) Jeffrey Martin

2) Kiser Martin

3) John Comstock

4) Wesley Martin

6) Dalton Martin

7) Scott Martin

Quality Collision Solutions Grand American Modifieds 16 laps

1) Todd Massey

2) Richard Thomas

3) Dillon Harville

4) John Barilka

5) Michael Roney

Carolina Collector Auto Fest Vintage Sportsman, 10 laps

1) Kenneth Smith

2) Jacob Clayton

3) Paul Blalock

Cars Tour Gearing up for visits to Orange County Speedway

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Mooresville, NC 6/13/17- Just prior to the CARS Tour first race of 2017 at Orange County Speedway on June 24th, the series is proud to announce the format for the $10,000 to win Mid Atlantic Classic on July 22nd. The major event at North Carolina’s fastest 3/8th mile track will feature 100 green flag laps for Late Model Stocks and 150 green flag laps with four different segments for the Super Late Models. The first three segments will pay $500 to win with the final segment paying $10,000.

The inaugural Puryear Tank Lines-Thrifty Tire Centers “Mid Atlantic Classic” pres. by The Grilling Store will award $10,000 to the winner and a minimum of $1,000 to each competitor taking the green flag. Along the way each segment will pay $500 to win on lap 35, 100, and 135. The eight tire optional race will allow competitors a choice to change zero, one, two, three, or four tires under a five minute break period, before being lined up in position based on their strategic tire change choice. In addition, the winners of each segment will be awarded a guaranteed top eight starting position in the final fifteen lap segment to the finish, with the exact positioning to be determined by tires taken.

“I love this format and how it creates strategy and choice for the race teams. It’s very similar to what they use to do at SpeedFest, down in Cordele, for those that were familiar with that format. The only difference is we are creating the opportunity to make that tire change at the conclusion of each segment,” explained Chris Ragle, CARS Tour Series Director. “I think this format creates hard racing early rather than just at the end. A driver could easily win the first segment settle in and make a strategic tire move to battle for the win. The winning move could be winning that first segment. Another plus for Super Late Model competitors is the only thing that increased is the entry by $50, that’s it. Everything else is the same as a normal event. If that’s not value, and big money bang for your buck I don’t know what is!”

The CARS Tour will host a 150 lap tune up race at Orange County Speedway on Saturday June 24th in Rougemont, North Carolina for Late Model Stock and Super Late Models leading up to the big event. Entry forms, event schedule, and advance ticket purchase for the Puryear Tank Lines-Thrifty Tire Centers “Mid Atlantic Classic” pres. by The Grilling Store are available at www.carsracingtour.com. Tickets are $17 in advance and $25 at the gate for this major event.

Oxford’s Terry Dease Scores First Win Since 2014 at Orange County Speedway

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by Jim Cribbs

An eery, orange full moon hanging above the turn one fence may have been prophetic as quite a bit of trouble for the drivers occurred in that turn.  Before the night’s racing began, what looked to be hundreds of kids got a thrill when all the drivers, loaded with several kids in each car, made a few easy laps around the track on Kids Ride Along Night at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont Saturday night.  After that, six racing divisions provided plenty of short track action.

When the checkered flag flew at end of the Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating & Air Late Model Stock 75 lap race, the 2016 Track Champion for that division, Terry Dease, had his first win of the season and his first since the 2014 season.

At the start of the race, Chris Denny was on the pole as the fastest qualifier (14.414 sec, 93.659 mph) and Chuck Lawson was to his outside.  Dease was the third place starter with Daniel Moss beside him.  Starting fifth was the car of Stefan Parsons, son of former NASCAR racer Phil Parsons, and Camden Gullie was beside him.  Jonathan Hall took the green behind those two.  When the race was complete, it was Dease out front, followed by Parsons in second.  Denny had to settle for a third place finish, Moss was fourth and Hall came in fifth.  Taking sixth was Gullie and Lawson, the victim of motor problems 33 laps in, settled for seventh.

 

Before the field could get to turn one, Lawson snatched the lead from Denny and looked to be in a class of his own.  Fate would not see it that way as his car slowed drastically near the halfway point, then regained speed, only to drop back again and eventually retiring from the race with a smoking machine.  With Dease in the lead, caution on lap 38 brought the field back together.

 

On the restart, it was the cars of Dease, Denny, Parsons and Moss, first through fifth respectively.  Parsons made quick work of Denny, getting by him before that lap was complete.  However, it didn’t stay that way with Moss battling side by side with either Parsons or Denny for second place throughout the rest of the race.

 

Starting on the pole for the second time this season proved to be the charm for Daryl Carver in 35 laps of Limited Sportsman racing as he picked up his second consecutive win.  Brent Evans, the second place starter, finished in that spot.  The third and fourth place starters, Barry Beggarly, Jr and Gage Painter respectively, decided to change spots for the finish.  Painter, who hails from Statesville and was competing in his first OCS race, drove the number 12 car.  His nickname is 12 gauge and remarkably, he’s only twelve years old.

Back in the pack could have arguably been the best racing of the night as fifth place starter Tracey Chambers first defended charges by the car of Gary Young, Jr, who started seventh, and appeared to run Chambers up the track in turn 4 to take that spot fourteen laps in. A few laps later, Jerry Hinesley, from a sixth place start, did some fender rubbing with the car of Richard Hayden, who began the race behind him.  Hinesley, apparently suffering mechanical woes, left the race six laps from the end, finishing 10th.  At the finish, it was Chambers taking fifth after some contact with Hayden, who finished behind her.  The cars of Austin Purnell and Corey Purnell settled for seventh and eighth.

 

In the third start of his career and after inheriting the first place starting spot, Taylor Tolar improved on his fourth place finish a couple of weeks ago, earning his first win in the 25 lap Pure Stock event.  Danny Winstead was the fastest qualifier but was required to start sixth, the result of two consecutive wins this year.  He looked to have a third straight win until faltering on a lap 15 restart and getting a not-so gentle push from the front bumper of third place starter Bobby Clayton, spinning Winstead’s car into the first turn wall and out of the race for a sixth place finish.  Clayton ended up finishing in third with Jamie Kerr, who started behind Clayton, getting around him for the second place spot.  Trevor Winstead followed in fourth with OCS first-timer Lonnie Glosson’s car the fifth place finisher.

 

The Super Mini Trucks competed for ten laps, not once, but twice.  Jeffrey Martin, one of four Martin family members in the race, walked away with the win, not once, but twice.  John Comstock was the fastest qualifier for his third consecutive race but was relegated to a sixth place starting spot, the result of two consecutives wins this year.  At the end of race one, it was Martins taking second, third and fifth, Wesley, Scott and Kiser, with Devin Parrott sandwiched between the last two.  After taking the win for the first race, Jeffrey started fourth in race two, as the top four finishers from race one were inverted.  That didn’t prove to be a problem for Jeffrey, as he quickly motored to the top spot, holding for his second win of the night. Comstock faired a little better this time around, taking second.  Then it was the trucks of Wesley, Kiser and Scott finishing third through fifth.  Parrott, after spinning on the last lap, took sixth.

 

The Quality Collision Solutions Grand American Modifieds competed in twin 20 lap races.  Newcomer Dillon Harville, not only proved to be the fastest qualifier for the first race, but turned out to be the dominant driver, taking the win in both races.   Gary Young, Jr, the next quickest qualifier, was required to start sixth after winning the previous two races of the season.  Starting second through fifth were Richard Thomas, Todd Massey and Roy Cook, in that order.  Michael Roney and Larry Cook started behind those two.

 

At the finish of race one, it was Thomas, Roney and Cook, taking second through fourth.  Larry Cook and Todd Massey finished in the next two spots.  Young, Jr took the checkered in second but post-race inspection led to a disqualification.  That problem was fixed, allowing Young, Jr to start the second race.

 

Harville started fourth in the second race, as the top four finishers from race one were inverted.  After contact with second place starter Thomas going into turn one on the second lap, Harville bolted out front and never looked back for his second win of the night.  Thomas recovered to take second.  Finishing third through sixth were Young, Jr, Roney, Massey and Larry Cook.  Roy Cook did not start the race.

 

Kenneth Smith was the winner of the ten lap Carolina Collector Auto Fest Vintage Sportsman ten lap event.

Cover and Above Photos by Jeremy Tyndall

Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating & Air Late Model Stock 75 laps

1) Terry Dease

2) Stefan Parsons

3) Chris Denny (Pole)

4) Daniel Moss

5) Jonathan Hall

6) Camden Gullie -1 (lap down)

7) Chuck Lawson -42

Limited Sportsman 35 laps

1) Daryl Carver (Pole)

2) Brent Evans

3) Gage Painter

4) Barry Beggarly, Jr

5) Tracey Chambers

6) Austin Purnell

7) Cory Purnell

8) Richard Hayden

9) Gary Young, Jr -4

10) Jerry HInesley -7

Pure Stock 25 laps

1) Taylor Tolar

3) Jamie Kerr

4) Bobby Clayton

5) Lonnie Glosson

6) Danny Winstead -10 (Pole) (started 6th, 2 consecutive wins)

Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks 10 laps, First Race

1) Jeffrey Martin

2) Wesley Martin

3) Scott Martin

4) Devin Parrott

6) Kiser Martin

7) John Comstock (Pole) (started 6th, two consecutive wins)

Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks 10 laps, Second Race

1) Jeffrey Martin

2) John Comstock

3) Wesley Martin

4) Kiser Martin

5) Scott Martin

6) Devin Parrott

Quality Collision Solutions Grand American Modifieds 20 laps, First Race

1) Dillon Harville (Pole)

2) Richard Thomas

3) Michael Roney

4) Roy Cook

5) Larry Cook

6) Todd Massey

Gary Young, Jr (started 6th, 2 consecutive wins) (disqualified post-race inspection)

Quality Collision Solutions Grand American Modifieds 20 laps, Second Race

1) Dillon Harville (Pole)

2) Richard Thomas

3) Gary Young, Jr

4) Michael Roney

5) Todd Massey

Military Appreciation Night, May 27, Orange County Speedway, Rougemont, NC

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by Jim Cribbs

Like father, like son was the theme of the night for the Mike Bledsole Mechanical Heating & Air Late Model Stock division.  Brandon Setzer, the son of Late Model great Dennis Setzer, took the top starting spot.  To his outside was the car of Chris Denny, winner of the season’s first Late Model race.  The second row of starters was comprised of Chuck Lawson and Thomas Beane his outside in the fourth place starting spot.  The fifth place starting spot belonged to last year’s track champion Terry Dease with Daniel Moss to his outside.  The seventh and eighth place starting positions belonged to Camden Gullie, son of short track specialist, Jason Gullie, and Dean Fogleman, respectively.  Tripp Massengill, second place finisher and pole winner in the night’s earlier Limited Sportsman race, started in ninth.

As the race started, Denny took the lead from Setzer momentarily but Setzer squeezed back in front.  Intense pressure from Lawson’s front bumper led to Denny getting loose, forcing his car to fall to third behind Lawson, all of this action in the first few laps.  Lap four saw Beane and Dease running side by side for fourth with Moss doing his best to get by those two.  Beam, on 35 lap older tires than those two, fell back to sixth, leaving Dease in fourth and Moss in fifth.

The first caution of the night came on lap 15 when the car of Fogleman grenaded a motor.  That problem resulted in the car of Gullie sustaining right front damage, after bouncing off Fogleman’s car in the blinding smoke.  After a lengthy pit stop repairing the damage, Gullie returned to the race still on the lead lap.  Caution laps not counted in a 75 lap race.  Lining up for the restart, with Setzer holding the top spot, the cars of Lawson, Denny, Dease, and Moss, occupied second through fifth respectively. Beane had to settle for restarting in sixth, with Massengill outside of him.

As the cars came to the green, Lawson appeared to momentarily jump the start.  Realizing that, he slowed a bit, inadvertently allowing the cars of Denny and Dease to go by, one on each side of Lawson.  From there, loose, sideways race cars continually changing positions gave fans the fender to fender action they came for.  Unfortunately for Beane ended up retiring his car with only a third of the race completed.  After things settled down a bit, a caution flag on lap forty brought the field back together.   Setzer was still in the lead, Dease was in second, with Lawson and Denny behind them in third and fourth.  Moss and Massengill occupied the next two spots as the fifth and sixth place cars.  Gullie brought up the rear.

A sloppy restart led to a re-do.  On the next restart, the top four cars of Setzer, Dease, Lawson and Denny were all over each other, bumper to bumper, fender to fender.  Two laps later, Moss had to retire his car with apparent engine problems.  At the checkered, it was Setzer with the win, having finished second to Denny in the first race of the season.  Dease finished second, followed by Lawson, the third place car, and Denny in fourth.  Massengill took the fifth spot, with Gullie taking sixth.

Limited Sportsman division began their 35 lap race with Tripp Massengill starting in the top spot and Daryl Carver to his outside as the second place starter.  Carver started in his backup car, having wrecked his primary in the first race of the season.  On the next row, third place starter Barry Beggarly, Jr was flanked by Jerry Hinesley, the fourth place qualifier.  Row three belonged to Brent Evans, the fifth place starter and Richard Hayden in sixth.  The next three spots were occupied by Tracey Chambers, Austin Purnell and Corey Purnell, in that order.

As the green flag fell, Carver bolted to first in front of Massengill.  The car of Beggarly began to back peddle through the field, apparently having a mechanical issue, leading to his exit from the race eleven laps in and a ninth place finish.  Corey Purnell had his own problems, ending up parking his machine on lap 19, finishing ahead of Beggarly in eighth.

As the race unfolded, Massengill continued to hound Carver for the lead, with those two staging an intense side by side battle for the last third of the race.  At the checkered, Carver prevailed for his first win of the season.  Massengill settled for a second place finish with Hinesley behind him for third. Hayden held on for a fourth place finish and Evans behind him in fifth.  Chambers and Austin Purnell did their own share of jousting.  Eventually, Chambers prevailed giving her the sixth place spot over Purnell, who wound up seventh.

In Victory Lane, Carver thanked the other drivers for their hard charging, sometimes fender rubbing, but courteous driving.  Overwhelmed by emotion, Massengill was quite appreciative of his finish.  Missing-in-action from tonight’s event was the winner of the last Limited Sportsman race and a recent Ace Speedway winner, Boo Boo Dalton.

Smokey Dave’s BBQ Mod4s twenty lapper provided some fender bendin’ action.  Michael Cooper started on pole with Harold Summey on the outside of row one.  Behind them were the cars of Corey Purnell and Mike Herron with Herron on the outside.  Starting fifth through seventh were Randy Ayers, Timmy Wilder and Dennis Capps, in that order.  With three laps of green flag racing completed, the car of Herron had a problem, putting him out of the race.  After a brief caution on lap eleven, the field took the restart with Cooper out front, followed by Summey, Purnell, Wilder and Capps, who had recovered from a lap down thanks to the Lucky Dog Pass.  Ayers restarted last one lap in arrears.  One lap from the finish, the cars of Summey and Purnell came together coming out of turn 4, bringing out the caution and putting them out of the race.  On the restart for a green-white-checkered finish, the car of Cooper was out front, Wilder behind him, followed by Capps and the lapped car of Ayers.  However, Cooper missed a gear on the restart, giving Capps an opening to take the lead and the win. Cooper settled for second followed by Wilder in third and Ayers in fourth, one lap down. 

The Quality Collision Solutions of Graham Grand American Modifieds roared to life with Gary Young Jr out front, having taken his second consecutive pole this season.  Richard Thomas occupied the outside front row, with first-time OCS starter Issac Wright and Jonathan Cook behind those two.  When the checkered flag flew at end of thirty laps, Young, Jr had his second consecutive win, followed by Thomas in the second place car and Cook in third.  Wright ended up fourth, followed by Larry Cook in fifth.

Once again, John Comstock did a dance on the Martin family in 20 laps of competition for the Hill’s Complete Carpet Care Super Mini-Trucks.  Comstock started on pole with Wesley Martin, Kiser Martin and Jeffrey Martin occupying the second through fourth place starting positions.  Devon Parrott started fifth followed by, yes, you guessed it, another Martin named Scott in sixth.  As the race started, the Martins battled as Comstock held the lead.  A competition caution was deployed on lap 12.  The following restart saw leader Comstock falter just a bit, allowing Wesley Martin to get by, then Kiser Martin grabbed the lead.  From there, Kiser and Comstock were side by side for several laps with Comstock getting back out front three laps from the end.  At the finish, Comstock had his second consecutive win.  The Martin family settled their differences with Kiser taking second, Scott in third, Wesley in fourth and Scott in sixth, with Parrott sandwiched between those two for fifth.

Twenty-five laps of Pure Stock racing provided few surprises as Danny Winstead, last year’s track champ, went from green to checkered to pick up his second consecutive win.  Bobby Clayton was the second place finisher, followed by Trevor Winstead and Tyler Tolar, in third and fourth respectively.  James Kerr and Les Aliff rounded out the field, a distant fifth and sixth.

Orange County Speedway Geared up for Season Opener this Saturday Night

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As Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model racers from across the Carolinas prepare for the series long awaited return to Orange County Speedway on Saturday, March 25th, a great championship battle is heating up following the first two races of the season.   Heading into the upcoming “Original” Orange Blossom Special, points leader Bradley McCaskill and former PASS South champions, Matt Craig and Tate Fogleman, are only separated by two points.   As a matter of fact, the top 11 drivers in points only have 42 points between them.

Following his recent win in the Dogwood 150 at Southern National Motorsports Park, Matt Craig looks forward to the next stop for a number of reasons, including the opportunity to get a guaranteed starting spot in the 44th Annual Oxford 250 with a win and a shot at the $25,000 top prize come last weekend in August.

“It was good to win with the new style Hamke car and be the first one to win with it,” says Craig.   “We broke something at Dillon and we just nursed it to the finish, so we know we have good speed.”

After a tight battle throughout the season in 2016 with Kodie Conner, Craig was able to prevail and capture the championship.   But, he knows it will be no easy task to become the first two-time winner of the South’s oldest Super Late Model championship.

“Getting the PASS South championship was a big boost of confidence for all of us, but it’s a new year and we want more trophies,” said Craig.   “I hope that us, the 18 [McCaskill], Fogleman, Conner, and the 29 [Spencer Davis] can go at it all year and make it a good show, but we plan to run this well the whole season in PASS.”

In addition to the PASS South championship, the Orange Blossom Special will serve as the second race of the PASS National Championship Series.   4-time PASS National champion, Ben Rowe, is in contention once again, along with Davis, McCaskill, Sarah Cornett-Ching, and Fogleman, and fellow New Englanders Dave Farrington, Jr. and Derek Griffith.

Action gets under way on Friday, March 24 for the “Original” Orange Blossom Special with rotating practice from 3 – 6 PM for the PASS Super Late Models, Southern Modified Racing Series Tour Mods, and USAC Eastern Midgets.   On Saturday, March 25, pit gates open at 11 AM, with rotating practice for from 1 – 3:30 PM, qualifying at 4 PM, the Pit Party at 5:45 PM and feature racing set to begin at 7 PM.

Entry forms for the Orange Blossom Special, along with the 44th Annual Oxford 250 and upcoming events at Thompson Speedway, Hickory Motor Speedway, Oxford Plains Speedway and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com.  The 2017 license forms for the PASS Super Late Models are also available at ProAllStarsSeries.com.   Drivers purchasing licenses for the 2017 season will receive bonus points for each race they are pre-registered for and will also save money towards any events that they enter early.

The Pro All Stars Series is recognized as North America’s premier sanctioning body for asphalt Super Late Models and boasts such marquee events as the Easter Bunny 150 and the Mason-Dixon MegaMeltdown 300 at Hickory Motor Speedway and the legendary Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway. For media or marketing questions, please contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or alandietzpass@live.com. Please visit ProAllStarsSeries.com for more information and don’t forget to “Like” the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.

OCS to hold 2017 rules meeting and banquet

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Attention All Competitors in ALL Divisions:

The 2017 Rules Meeting will be held on Sunday, December 18th at 1:30pm. V-8 Cars: Late Model & Limited Sportsman & Street Stock will meet @ 1:30pm. All 4 cylinder divisions will meet at 2:30 and all other divisions will meet immediately following the 4 cylinder meeting. Please bring positive thoughts & positive solutions that are in the best interest of competitors, the race track and fans.

The 2016 OCS Banquet will be held on Saturday, January 21st at the Festival House at Homestead Steak House. Details will be coming next week: ticket pricing, times, etc.

CONGRATULATIONS to all 2016 Champions:

Terry Dease – Late Model Stock

Boo Boo Dalton – Limited Sportsman

John Barilka – Grand American Modified

Jared Gillis – Street Stock

Danny Winstead – Pure Stock

Dennis Capps – Mod 4

John Comstock – Super Mini Trucks