Starstruck Report, Southside Speedway news and notes April 16, 2010

The Starstruck Report- April 16, 2010 News and notes.

Hello friends and welcome to another edition of the Starstruck Report. It was a long offseason which we watched our country have economic problems. Going into last night, I was thinking how the economy could affect racing. To me, 2010 was setting up to be a year of transition for the track, good or bad.  For the first night, things were better than expected. It was a good clear comfortable night. When I first arrived, the lines were long at the box office waiting to get in.  This may have delayed the show a little but to look out and see one of the best crowds in years, of course barring the Denny Hamlin Short track showdowns.  As usual, the fun part was setting up with the notepad and looking over the driver roster. All the divisions except modifieds had new faces. MACKA fielded the largest car count I have seen for any champ kart race at Southside. The night had alot of action and lap traffic played a role in some of the wins. Now, let's get to the action.

Ucar (25 laps): Michael Hall (94) started the race on the pole. He stayed strong the entire run. On lap 7, Tony Mills (61) had some contact in turn 4.  We had a restart and ran a lap before Shawn Hendricks (44) spun around in turn 2. The first attempt at a restart was called back when David Kerns (78) passed before the flag stand. The next restart was declared clean. On lap 10, Andrew Condrey (36) and Bryan Scott (34) got together in turn 4. David Gonce (09) went in the pits during the caution period. Lap 13, David Blankenship (4), Jonathan Doane (21) and Michael Harper (77) had some contact in turn 3. During the restart, Doane (21) was blackflagged for passing on the inside.  Lap 22, Shawn Hendricks (44) spun in turn 4.  Michael Hall (94) claimed the checkerd flag and lead the whole race.  Hall told the fans on the victory interview how this was his first win. Here is the official results.  1. Michael Hall (94) 2. Charlie Simons (3) 3. Austin Dodge (87) 4. David Kerns (78) 5. Frank Silva (91) 6.  Mike Chapman (18) 7. Corey Lawrence (6) 8. Jody Young (5) 9. Joshua Thomas (72) 10. Daniel Thomas (99) 11. Andrew Condrey (36) 12. Bryan Scott (34) 13. Rusty Bennett (92) 14. Michael Harper (77) 15. Tony Mills (61) 16. Jordan Bell (17) 17. David Blankenship (4) 18. Shawn Hendricks (44) 19. Jonathan Doane (21) 20. David Gonce (09).

Grand Stock (30 laps): Mark Simpson (36) had the fastest lap on the qualifying period. However, Tommy Tatum (62) would start on the pole following the redraw. Last year's division champion looked very much up to the task as he lead the entire 30 laps. No cautions came out during this race. Tatum (62) had a strong challenge from Donnie Newman (69) for most of the race. However, the lap traffic worked in Tatum's (62) favor the last few laps and enabled him to pull away. Here is the official results.  1. Tommy Tatum (62) 2. Donnie Newman (69) 3. Mark Simpson (36) 4. Shawn Hopkins (84) 5. Brian Myslivy (3) 6. Daniel Shelton (27)  7. Kevin Wilson (47) 8. Bill Nixon (49) 9. Doug Fields (44) 10. Cory Willoughby (7) 11. Woody Ellington (11) 12. James Overton (15).

Modifieds (50 laps): Thomas Stinson (4) had the fastest lap in qualifying. However, the redraw placed Mike Rudy (8) on the pole. This race was also a caution free race. Lap 27, Chris Hoylman (37) retired from the race. Lap 43, Alan Purser (41) retired from the race with engine problems. Rudy (8) had a half straightaway lead on the field for most of the race. Lap traffic enabled Stinson (4), who was running 2nd, to catch up. They raced side by side on the final lap and Rudy (8) took the victory in a photo finish. Rudy (8) dedicated his win to the parents he lost last year. Here is the official finish. 1. Mike Rudy (8) 2. Thomas Stinson (4) 3. Chris Johnson (36) 4. Kyle Wood (19) 5. Michael Johnson (38) 6. Ryan Wilbourne (21) 7. Stacey Wilbourne (23) 8. Alan Purser (41) 9. Chris Hoylman (37).

MACKA (20 laps): The MACKA karts had a car count of 20 this race and looks to be going through a growth period. LeRoy Devore (8) started the race on the pole. Devore (8) had some problems with his kart during the pace laps.  Ricky Gum (28) lost one wheel during the pace laps as well. The green flag dropped and Buzz Moore (11) took the lead on the first lap. Lap 2, caution was called as Kenny Miller (4) and Clint Gunn (02) made contact in turn 4. Lap 9, J D Eversole (98) takes the lead and Clint Gunn (02) went in the pits. Lap 13,  Eversole (98) spun in turn 2 and David Emory (22) takes the lead. Lap 14, Ryland Craze (55) and Wes Simmons (26) spin in turn 4, but both were able to get going again. No caution was called. Lap 17, Derek MacCauley (21) took the lead and would claim the checkered flag. After the race, he was disqualifyed and Brad Davis (18) was named the winner. Here is the official results. 1. Brad Davis (18) 2. David Emory (22) 3. Mike Mitchell (3) 4. Tommy Chambers (08) 5. Stan Holmes (01) 6. Buzz Moore (11) 7. Mitch Bartholomew (2) 8. Randy Emory (00) 9. Stanley Holmes (38) 10. LeRoy DeVore (8) 11. J. D. Eversole (98) 12. Daniel Davis (12) 13. Wes Simmons (16) 14. Josh Barefoot (88) 15. Ryland Craze (55) 16.  Tanner Aman (66) 17. Clint Gunn (02) 18. Kenny Miller (4) 19. Ricky Gum (28) 20. Derek McCauley (21)-DQ.

Late Model Sportsman (75 laps): Shayne Lockhart (K95) had the fastest lap in qualifying and kept the pole on the redraw. The first start was rough as Eddie Johnson (43) spun hard in turn 1 before a lap could be completed, resulting in a complete restart. Lap 4, Brad Davis (18) dropped a cylinder and was smoking heavily. The field was put under a red flag. Lap 10, Mike Lee (90) retires to the pits. The race continue being mostly clean. Lap 34, Lin O'Neil (1va) went in the pits. Lap 49, Jason Pittman (51) spun in turn 3. During the caution, Greg Fernandez (02) retires to the pits with transmission problems. Lap 62, Steve Zuskin (71) and Jeff Oakley (15) got together in turn 4. Zuskin (71) couldn't continue and Oakley (15) kept running with some heavy damage. Lap 63, Tony Culley (59) retired in the pits. Lap 71, caution was called for an incident in turn 4. The restart wasn't clean and Shannon Marano and Mike Kersey (7) have some contact and Kersey (7) spins. After the race, Marano said he was hit by Michael Solaimani (12). It was a very close restart. Lockhart (K95) claimed the checkered flag. This completed a night where all divisions except MACKA had leaders who won after leading flag to flag. Here are the official results. 1. Shayne Lockhart (95) 2. Chris Hopkins (99) 3. John Eversole (98) 4. Chris Dodson (0) 5. Brandon Hendrick (39) 6. Mike Kersey (7) 7.  Billy Morris (5) 8. Shannon Marano (6) 9.  Raymond Pittman III (50) 10. Michael Solaimani (12) 11. Jason Pittman (51) 12. David Mooney (25) 13. Adam Resnic (4) 14.  Jeff Oakley (15) 15. Tony Culley (59) 16. Steve Zuskin (71) 17. Greg Fernandez (02) 18. Lin O'Neil (1) 19. Mike Lee (90) 20. Brad Davis (18) 21.  Eddie Johnson (43).

Now it's time to give out the weekly awards.

Tough luck award Ucar:  While there were some cautions, I will be giving this one to Jordan Bell (17). He started the race on the outside pole with Michael Hall (94) and lost 14 positions in the race.

Tough luck award Grand Stock: I think the drivers will be happy to know there was no recipients this week. How can you give one when there was no cautions and no DNF's.

Tough luck award modified: This was a hard one to call as well since the race was caution free. However, I will declare a tie and give it to Alan Purser (41) and Chris Hoylman (37) since they were the only cars that didn't finish.
Tough luck award MACKA: Derek Macauley (21) has this one for winning the race and being disqualified in tech.

Tough luck Late Model Sportsman: This one was harder to call. It would be easy to say Eddie Johnson (43) for his spin on the first attempt to start the race and it would also be easy to say Brad Davis (18) for dropping a cylinder. However, this week, the recipient is Jeff Oakley (15). From my understanding, Steve Zuskin's (71) car was starting to go bad during their incident. Jeff Oakley (15) had a strong car and was in a good position to win this week.

Performance of the week: All the races were entertaining this week. But Mike Rudy ( Modified 8) will take this award. His victory in a photo finish was one of the most exciting wins at Southside. I wish more races ended like that.

What's ahead: True, the season is just getting started and things started with a bang. Next week, the Modifieds return in a 100 lap race. Ucar and Grand Stock also return to action next week in addition to the first seasonal appearance of the Street Stock division.

In closing, I want to take a moment to say thank you to the track in all they have done over the years to keep the racing going despite rumors of closings. A crowd like we saw this week is much to be proud of. As always, I can't thank the drivers and crews enough for sharing their stories each week. Most of all, I want to thank all my readers who take the time to let me tell them a story each week. All of the above mentioned makes the Starstruck Report a true labor of love for me. That's all for now, I will see you at the races.

*Larry Starstruck*  

PS, I also want to thank Circle Track for visiting Southside Speedway on April 16, 2010. I wish I had a chance to meet all of you while you were at the track.

Would love to tell you some stories about the track.  

It has been brought to my attention that MACKA which stood for Mid Atlantic Champ Kart Association no longer exists as a sanctioning body. Prior to 2009, the group was a separate entity. Today, the champ karts are an official division of Southside Speedway. All future articles will reflect the changes and will be refered to as the Champ Karts.