Action at Ona Speedway

There was a gaggle of racefans at Ona Speedway last weekend for the Midway Ford 200 – 558 people, to be more precise!

There was a lot of activity both on and off the track.

Longtime flagman JR Tooley died April 7, and drivers and fans collected $971 for his family to help with all the expenses. JR was a terrific guy and taught me how to drop the flag for races. It’s not as simple as you think it might be, and I was happy to learn from him.

When I locate the photo of me dropping the green at Ona Speedway, I'll post that one, too. 

I’m sorry I missed Wolfy, the mascot of 96.1 The Wolf radio. I love costumed characters. Ask my Race Peeps! I see a costume, I’m running over to them camera in hand! I have photos of me with Lug Nut, me with the Stewart’s Hot Dog, me with the TUMS Taco, me with the Chick-fil-A Cow, me with each of the Red, Yellow and Green M&Ms, me with, well, you get the idea.

Since I was in meetings all day and evening Saturday at Stonewall Jackson Resort with West Virginia Lions, I also missed the Barbie Car. Alaina Harvey – regular attendees to Ona Speedway know her name – decked out her car in a Barbie theme and finished third in the V6 race.GIRL POWER!

Here is the winners list from April 26. I need to give a shout out here to Scott Pierson for sending the results.

·         UCAR—Heat 1-Joe Workman; Heat 2-Rick Watson; Feature-Chris Deskins

·         V6—#93 Gary Cassidy

·         CLASSICS—#3 Glen Foster

·         HOBBY STOCK—#8 Mike Christy

·         SPORT MODIFIED—#88 Greg Chandler

·         LATE MODEL--#12 Greg Carby

The Jones Excavating 150 will be this coming Saturday, May 3. Racing starts at 7 p.m.

Scott says all the photos aren’t up on the track’s Facebook page yet, but here’s a link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.218210471721926.1073741832.140301162846191&type=1

Where to go, close to home?

While NASCAR IS at the Track Too Tough to Tame, Steve Francis is at Winchester (VA) Speedway tonight with his #15 Georgia Boot latemodel for Clint Bowyer Dirt, and we have some local racing happening.

April 12 – DARF Night at Atomic Speedway, Chillicothe, Ohio. Classes running will be Sprints, AMRA Late Models, AMRA Modifieds, Street Stocks, and Sport Mods. General admission $12; Pit admission $30. Pit gate opens at noon, General Admission gates open at 2 p.m. Hot Laps begin at 4 p.m. For more information call 740-703-9749 or 740-663-4141, or visit the Atomic Speedway website at www.atomicspeedway.net  

April 12 – State Equipment Night at Ona Speedway, Ona, W.Va. Classes running  6- Any Car and 4- Cylinder U-Car, Hobby Stock, Classic V-8, Sport Mods and Late Models. General Admission $10, children 11-17 years $7, children 10 and younger free. Green drops at 7 p.m.

Let's go racin'!

Boogity, boogity, boogity, it's time to race!

It’s hard to believe local racing is ready to roll off pit road.

Some places are already turning laps; others are gearing up for the fraternity of giddy-up-go!

For a preview of Ona Speedway, stop by Lowe’s at the Huntington Mall from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday, April 5 to meet and greet the drivers from some of the classes which will run every other weekend on the asphalt track in the valley.

Scott Pierson Racing is in charge this season, and the green flag will drop at 7 p.m. on April 12.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Stop by Lowe’s and see Scott and some of the 2014 drivers. Maybe there will be one of those huge Jimmie Johnson grassman things. They do appear at NASCAR events. Boom! Confetti. Old 6-time won’t be in aisle 3 or in his reserved parking space, either. He’ll be, well, a little too busy in Texas to make an appearance in Barboursville.

See, I TOLD you there was a grass statue of Jimmie Johnson! That's me with my friends at the Kobalt 400 in Las Vegas last month. 

 

Anyway, while you are at Lowe's, Scott says there will be time for photos with the cars, free bumper stickers and there will be some race tickets given away.

And on that note, admission for Ona Speedway will be $10 with children from 11-17 admitted for $7 and children 10 and under will be free. General admission gates open at 5 p.m.

Up Route 23 at Chillicothe, Ohio, Atomic Speedway will honor all emergency responders this Saturday. Any and all emergency responders either in uniform or showing ID will be admitted for $5.

In addition, there will be “cheap eats” with Dollar Dogs at the concession stand, perfect for big families.

Racing starts at 6 p.m.  and will featured 410 Sprints, Late Models, Modifieds and Sport Mods.

General admission is $12 for adults, children 12 and younger are free. Gates open at 4 p.m.

Boogity, boogity, boogity, as we hear ‘Ol DW say – Let’s go racin’!

Home sweet home

When Kenny Wallace Tweeted an invite to fans Thursday on the way to the Dollar General 300 to stop by and visit from noon to 1 p.m., he wasn’t kidding. He gave the address to his fan club office.

What he didn’t say was, that office was at his home.

So I, and about 30 others, invaded his fan club/ office/ shop / home. He had snacks and sodas set out. He greeted everyone as they came inside."Hey! How ya doin'? Come on in!"

How cool was that?!

Now, I almost didn’t go. He had already autographed my Pit Road Pets book, which is where I collect those. But my friends made an executive decision, plugged the address into the Tom Tom GPS and off we went. 

Steve and Caitlin Sunday get a few things signed by Kenny Wallace

 The Kenny you see on TV, You Tube, Instagram, Vine and Twitter, is the same Kenny we saw Thursday.

He’s talking, laughing, answering questions and showing everyone around.

His heart is really in dirt racing and does it every chance he gets. I jumped into that opening.

“Hey Kenny, do you know Steve Francis?” I asked.

“He’s a legend!” the Hermanator exclaimed. “He’s racin’ for Clint Bowyer  now!”

Oh, yeah. He knows Ashland, Kentucky’s Steve Francis. And when we Tweet from the Dirt Track World Championship in Portsmouth, Ohio, next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Kenny Wallace will be following; and Tweeting, retweeting and replying. 

Kenny answers questions and talks racing, TV commentating and Social Media

 After talking about dirt racing, he posed for photos with everyone there. He signed autographs for everyone who asked – on multiple items. He strolled down memory lane with fan questions. He talked about preparing to leave metro Charlotte and moving to Kansas City.( BTW, the house is for sale.) And dirt racing. He went through the trophy case and talked about each one, where, when and how it came to be his.

There are perks to this job

Certainly we realized not all drivers can do something this personal for the fans. But what an opportunity! Everyone in that room felt special. They felt like they were the only person on the planet Kenny Wallace was greeting and talking with, not to and not at. Talking with them.

It's all cool...

Just because it’s technically Autumn, the weather has cooled slightly and leaves are beginning to fall, racing doesn’t stop on the tracks and cars don’t stop cruising in to towns.

Here are the coming weekend motor events for your planning pleasure.

Weekend of Sept. 27 – 29

Friday, Sept. 27

Covered Bridge Car Club Cruise-In - Perry Morris Square, Milton, W.Va.; 5 p.m. to dusk. No registration. 304-743-5321 or 304-654-0745.

Ole Car Club of Gallpolis, Ohio, Gallia County Visitor’s Center Cruise In - WalMart parking lot on Eastern Avenue, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Registration: donations accepted; music, door prizes, 50/50 drawing. Hot dogs, chips and drinks available. Net profits donated to local charities. No alcohol allowed. 740-446-0643 dhively@att.net or 740-446-4064 lewis02@yahoo.com.

Saturday, Sept. 28

Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park - Complete racing program with Late Models, Modifieds, Limited Late Models and Bombers. Admission adults $12, (age 16 and up), ages 12-15 $5, ages 7-11 $2, and age 6 and under free. Gates open 4 p.m., hot laps at 6:30 p.m., racing begins at 7:30 p.m. Late models pay $2,000 to win; Modified pay $600 to win; Limited Late Models $500 to win. Final points race of the season and it’s Pepsi Employee Night! www.portsraceway.com

201 Speedway, Paintsville, Ky. - Weekly racing program (regular show in all classes)

Kanawha Valley Dragway, Southside, W.Va. - Gates open 11 a.m., time trials 1 p.m. www.kanrace.com

Or, do you have plans to hit Dover International Speedway and the NASCAR Chase on Sunday, Sept. 29? Do you think Matt Kenseth is stoppable? Or do you think the Biff will motor up the standings and take the coveted Cup to make him the Triple Threat?

If you don’t get those tickets from Ollie’s Bargain Outlet for the special AAA 400 Kevin Harvick section, you can watch at 2 p.m. Sunday on ESPN. The Nationwide Series race will be on ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. 

Hot night in Portsmouth

It was hot Saturday night short trackin’ at Portsmouth Raceway Park – the temperatures were hot, the racing was hot and the tempers were, well, just as hot from where I sat.

The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt series rolled in to Portsmouth, Ohio, with a quick turnaround to race the Hillbilly 100 at I-77 speedway in Ripley, W.Va.

In the pack were some drivers we follow as hometown heroes – Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va.

Three heat races before the A-Main were fast and furious and the first of them forced four restarts to get the show going.

By night’s end, Billy Mowyer took the checkers, followed by Jimmy Owens and Dennis Erb Jr., before loading up and heading to Ripley.

Local favorite Steve Francis finished 6^th in the #15 Georgia Boot Toyota for car owner Clint Bowyer. Eddie Carrier Jr. finished 11^th.

Being fairly new to this series, I obviously need to brush up on the rules. Or at least find out where the restart line is on the trac - is it the backstretch? Is it between turns 3 and 4 or coming out of turn 4? I certainly couldn't decide. But then again, there were a lot of restarts - at the beginning of the races and coming out of cautions.

Then there is the whole Scott Bloomquist issue.

I don't believe anyone in Portsmouth likes him. Except I'm sure he likes himself.

Bloomquist finished 4th for the night, overtaken by a late surge from Erb.

Labor Day motorsports featuring a familiar face

Ah, Labor Day weekend. Seems like summer just started.

But there's still cruise-ins to be visited and races to be attended, including the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series where you can see future Hall of Famer Steve Francis race! I don't just throw that HOF phrase around lightly. When I visit Charlotte aka the Mecca of Southern Motorsports, the folks at SPEED, er Fox Sports 1, call him that. NASCAR drivers who double on the dirt in sprints call him that.

Right now, Steve is second in points for the series. And, no, the other guy isn't the points leader, it's team owner Clint Bowyer, who will be busy in HotLanta on Sunday.

C'mon, Tri-State, let's get out there and fill the stands for Steve!

He's going to be at Portsmouth on Saturday and Ripley on Sunday, and I can't wait to see him on the track!

Weekend of Aug. 30 - Sept. 1
Friday, Aug. 30
Covered Bridge Car Club Cruise-In - Perry Morris Square, Milton, W.Va.; 5 p.m. to dusk. No registration. 304-743-5321 or 304-654-0745.

Saturday, Aug. 31
Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park - Pepsi 50 River Days Rumble, Lucas Oil Series $15,000 to win. Admission adults $12, (age 16 and up), ages 12-15 $5, ages 7-11 $2, and age 6 and under free. Gates open 4 p.m., hot laps at 6:30 p.m., racing begins at 7:30 p.m. www.portsraceway.com or call 740-354-3278 or 740-858-6661.

Ona Speedway, W.Va. - There will be racing at 7 p.m. in U-cars, V-6, Hobby Stock, Classics and Sports Mods. Admission $10 for adults, $7 for ages 11-17, and children under 10-years free. It will also be Youth Sports Night and football players and cheerleaders in jersey or uniform will have free admission and be invited onto the track before racing to get an upclose and personal look at the cars. 

Sunday, Sept. 1
1-77 Raceway Park, Ripley, W.Va. - the 45th annual Hillbilly 100, a $25,000 to win purse, another Lucas Oil series event. For more information, visit www.racei77.com or call 304-373-1110.