From the Crossville Chronicle – Crossville, TN. July 6, 2007
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.com
There may be some new records set at Daytona Saturday night, as the current cars race for the last time on a Restrictor Plate track. This will also be the last time for the ‘Pepsi 400’ at Daytona, and Tony Stewart has a chance to be the ONLY 3 in a row winner of the Pepsi 400 at Daytona.
Only one other driver has won 3 in a row in the July Daytona race, David Pearson did it in 1972, ‘73 and ‘74 when it was the Firecracker 400. This will be the last Pepsi 400 as the pouring rights at Daytona change at the end of the year from Pepsi to Coke. No title sponsor for the race next year has yet to be named. At the only remaining restrictor plate race this year, the UAW – Ford 500 at Talladega SuperSpeedway in October teams will be bringing the Car of Tomorrow, and starting with Daytona 2008, the COT will be the only car.
There are 53 cars on the entry list for the Pepsi 400, so look for lots of cars ‘going home’.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced Tuesday that he will take the wheel of the 88 Navy JR Motorsports Busch car at Daytona this weekend, replacing regular driver Shane Huffman. “Upon a midseason evaluation of the performance of this race team, we decided we needed to make a change, and right now we have a window to do that,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Because of the short notice, I am going to drive the Navy car Friday night at Daytona. It’s a big race for us. We are carrying a special Navy SEALS’ paint scheme on the car, so we want to make sure we give it a good run for the Navy and all our sponsors and employees.”
This is intended to be a one time race for Jr. although who will take over as the full time driver has not yet been determined .
On the Local Racing scene:
Last Friday’s races at Wartburg Speedway were rained out and the track rescheduled them for Saturday. Winners for Saturday at Wartburg were;
SLM- Steve Smith, Sportsman- Greg Martin, Street- Joe Seiber, Mini-David Christmas, FWD- Joe Freels
Saturday’s winners at Crossville Raceway were;
SLM-Billy Ogle Jr., LLM- Sam Williams, OWM- Steve Mullinax, Street- Brian Selby, Mini- John Ross, FWD- Jonathan Norris
Wednesday July 4th Wartburg Speedway hosted the Shoney’s Independence 70, $10,000.00 to win Super Late Model race and a $2,000.00 to win Sportsman race as well as their support classes.With the largest crowd to ever attend a race at Wartburg Speedway, and easily one of the largest Dirt Race crowds in the region the fans enjoyed a great night of racing.. Over 24 Super Late Models were on hand. In the Sportsman class 30 cars showed up to race, forcing a B main event. During intermission, the fans were treated to a spectacular fireworks display that lasted more than 20 minutes.
Top finishers:
SLM 1. Anthony White, 2. Curt Williams, 3. Billy Ogle, 4. Stacey Boles, 5. Randy Weaver
Sportsman 1. Jeff Adkisson, 2. Jeff Hamby, 3. Keith Longmire, 4. Darrick York, 5. Scott Gardner
Pure Mini winner Brian Frost, Pure Street winner Jason Capps, FWD winner David Hall Jr,
This weekends local racing action:
Wartburg Speedway will be closed Friday.
Crossville Raceway will be open Saturday with a full racing card including Super Late Models, Limited Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Street Stock, Mini Stock and Front Wheel Drives. This is Armed Forces night where anyone presenting an active or retired military ID will get discounted admission to the races.
BONUS this Saturday will be double features for the Limited Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Street Stock and the front Wheel drives. Those features were rained out on Saturday June 23.
Get off that couch and bring the family out to a local dirt track and support the local racers. You may just see the next Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart on his way up.
