South Boston Speedway Founders, Eddie Crouse Inducted Into Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame

SOUTH BOSTON, VA….Three individuals who played key roles in the history of South Boston Speedway and NASCAR racing were inducted into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame here Saturday night.

Inducted into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame were the late E.B. “Buck” Wilkins and the late Dave Blount, the founders and builders of South Boston Speedway, and the late Eddie Crouse, South Boston Speedway’s first NASCAR track champion and a two-time NASCAR National Modified Champion.

The trio was inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony held as part of the annual South Boston Speedway Awards Ceremony, which was held at The Prizery in downtown South Boston.

Mrs. Jenny Wilkins, wife of the late Buck Wilkins, and Tommy Blount and Mrs. Reya Roller, the son and daughter of the late Dave Blount, accepted the posthumous honors for the deceased recipients. Carolyn Crouse, wife of the late Eddie Crouse, accepted the posthumous honor for the late champion driver.

The induction of Wilkins, Blount and Crouse brings to 10 the number of individuals to have been inducted into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame. Wilkins and Blount are the first residents of South Boston, Va. to be inducted into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Saturday night’s Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame inductions were the first to be held in the last three years. Prior inductees into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame include the late Wendell Scott of Danville, Va., the late Ray Hendrick of Richmond, Va., the late H. Clay Earles of Martinsville, Va. and the late Paul Sawyer of Richmond, Va., all of who were inducted in 2003.

Longtime former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car owner Junie Donlavey of Richmond, Va. and Glen and Leonard Wood of Stuart, Va. was inducted into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Wilkins and Blount, along with former partner Louis Spencer, constructed and opened South Boston Speedway in August 1957. The track was opened just over 50 years ago as a quarter-mile dirt oval on the site of what was then known as the McRae Farm. While the track has undergone various transformations through the years, it has remained on its original site.

Through the years, Wilkins and Blount worked hard to raise the popularity of the sport of stock car racing in South Boston and Halifax County and throughout the state, bringing the top competitors and cars in the sport to South Boston Speedway, a facility that not only lended itself to good quality racing, but was also a facility that promoted a family-friendly atmosphere with good amenities and good food.

In 1979 Blount was named as the “Promoter Of The Year.” H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, the President of Charlotte Motor Speedway (now Lowes’s Motor Speedway), late Martinsville Speedway President H. Clay Earles, NASCAR Competition Director Bill Gazaway and NASCAR Field Director Lance Childress came to South Boston Speedway to present the honor to Blount in front of South Boston Speedway’s many fans.

Today, thanks to the foundation laid by Wilkins and Blount, South Boston Speedway is recognized as one of the premier short tracks operating under the NASCAR banner. Many of NASCAR racing’s legendary drivers including Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Joe Weatherly, Wendell Scott, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt have competed at South Boston Speedway during their careers.

The track is also noted as the track where a number of top NASCAR stars including former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton, Jeff Burton, Elliott Sadler, Stacy Compton cut their racing teeth.

Crouse was one of the key racing personalities at South Boston Speedway in the track’s early years and became one of the noted legends of NASCAR racing.

The cigar-chewing resident of Glen Allen, Va. drove the “Flying 11” Chevrolet coupe co-owned by Jack Tant and Clayton Mitchell to numerous wins at South Boston Speedway.

Crouse was South Boston Speedway’s first NASCAR Modified champion, winning the title in 1960, the year that South Boston Speedway joined NASCAR. He finished second to Johnny Roberts of Baltimore, Md. in the chase for the 1961 NASCAR National Modified Championship and came back to win the NASCAR National Modified Championship in 1962 and 1963.

A crowd-favorite for his pedal-to-the-metal driving style, Crouse, was a popular figure at racetracks across the state of Virginia, particularly at South Boston Speedway and at the former Strawberry Hill track in Richmond, Va. where Richmond International Raceway now stands.

Crouse passed away in 2004 at the age of 78.

South Boston Speedway Champion Adam Barker, Others Feted At Annual South Boston Speedway Awards Ceremony

SOUTH BOSTON, VA…South Boston Speedway 2007 Barkhouser Late Model Stock Car Division champion Adam Barker of Hurt, Va. reaped the rewards of his championship season here Saturday night at the annual South Boston Speedway Awards Ceremony.

Barker, who won 10 of the track’s 18 points races in 2007, received $14,965 in prize money and awards during the annual event that honors the track’s champions and other top competitors.

A total of $70,000 in cash and awards was presented during the awards ceremony held in the Chastain Theater of The Prizery in downtown South Boston, Va.

In addition to winning the South Boston Speedway NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car Division championship, Barker also received awards for having the most wins, the most pole position wins and for leading the most laps.

Also honored in the Late Model Stock Car Division were Wayne Ramsey of Amherst, Va., Eddie Johnson of Midlothian, Va., C.E. Falk, III of Virginia Beach, Va. and David Triplett Jr. of Timberlake, N.C., who finished second through fifth respectively in the division points standings.

Also among the honorees was Bruce Anderson of South Boston, Va. who won his second straight South Boston Speedway Limited Sportsman Division championship. In addition to his awards for winning the division title, Anderson received the awards for the most wins, most pole position wins and most laps led.

Danny Willis Jr. of Cluster Springs, Va., Brian Pembleton of Amelia, Va., Lee Pulliam of Semora, N.C. and Timmy Langford of Amelia, Va. received awards for finishing second through fifth in the division points standings.

Chuck Watkins of Stem, N.C., who won his second straight championship in the Budweiser Pure Stock Division was honored for that accomplishment. He also received the award for winning the most pole positions in the division.

Mark Francisco of Halifax, Va., Joey Throckmorton of Scottsburg, Va., William Ridgeway of Burlington, N.C. and Quain Moore of Callands, Va. received awards for finishing second through fifth in the division points standings.

Throckmorton received the awards for having the most race wins and leading the most laps.

Also honored Saturday night was Randy Smith of Bassett, Va. who won the championship in the Southern Vintage Modified Division. The 2007 season marked the first time that the division had been included among South Boston Speedway’s regular four track divisions.

Most Improved Driver Awards were presented to Falk in the Late Model Stock Car Division, Terri Marks of Capron, Va. in the Limited Sportsman Division and to Justin Tucker of Elon, N.C. in the Pure Stock Division.

Winners of Most Popular Driver Awards were Rodney Cook of Reidsville, N.C. in the Late Model Stock Car Division, Willis in the Limited Sportsman Division and Throckmorton in the Pure Stock Division.

Sportsmanship Award winners were Ramsey in the Late Model Stock Car Division, George Spencer of Halifax, Va. in the Limited Sportsman Division and Courtney Crosby of Scottsburg, Va. in the Pure Stock Division.

Rookie of the Year honors were presented to Matt Lofton of Timberlake, N.C., in the Late Model Stock Car Division, Pulliam in the Limited Sportsman Division and Melissa Daniel of South Boston, Va. in the Pure Stock Division.

Owen Miller of Emporia, Va., who finished sixth in the Late Model Stock Car Division points standings, was presented the annual Goo Fallen Spirit Award named in honor of late Halifax County, Va. businessman and race team owner, Floyd “Goo” Fallen.

Craig Turlington, the crew chief for Late Model Stock Car Division competitor Scott Turlington of Richmond, Va. was presented the Craftsman Mechanic of the Year Award.

In addition to the competitors who compete in South Boston Speedway’s four NASCAR racing divisions, the champions of the five competitor groups of the Halifax County Motorsports Academy Karting Program were recognized.

The group included students Jenna Elliott, Brittany Crews, Austin Thaxton, Brent Younger and Matthew Wilborn.

South Boston Speedway will open its 2008 NASCAR racing season on Saturday afternoon, March 22 with races for all four of its regular track divisions.

For more information about the track’s 2008 season, visit the speedway’s website at www.southbostonspeedway.com or telephone 434-572-4947 or 1-877-440-1540.

THE DAVIDSON COMPANY CONTINUES CONTINGENCY PROGRAM SPONSORSHIP AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY

(Stafford Springs, CT)---Stafford Motor Speedway has announced that The
Davidson Company has renewed their commitment to the SMS Contingency Program
for the 2008 season. The Davidson Company will pay a $150 bonus to each SK
Modified® feature event winner. The 2008 season will mark the fourth
consecutive season that The Davidson Company has offered the $150 first
place bonus for SK Modified® competitors.
“We feel that with all the costs associated with racing that our contingency
sponsorship just helps offset a little of that cost to the racers,” said
Dave Rowe, Owner of The Davidson Company. “We believe that Stafford Motor
Speedway puts on a great show each and every Friday night and that our
contributions helps make it an even better experience. The Rowe Family along
with the Davidson Racing family can think of nowhere else we’d rather be on
a Friday night than Stafford Motor Speedway.”
In addition to their SK Modified® contingency program sponsorship, The
Davidson Company’s involvement with team sponsorship at Stafford Motor
Speedway has evolved into a family that includes five teams in three
different divisions. The Davidson Company both owns and sponsors the SK
Modified® cars of Jeff Malave and Woody Pitkat and the Late Model car driven
by Michael Bennett along with the #20 car driven by Mike Lane in the SK
Light Modified division.
The Davidson Company is also the primary sponsor of the #48 Kretschman
Motorsports owned Late Model, which has yet to name a driver for the 2008
season, and the Limited Late model of Joey Ferrigno. The Davidson cars had
a great 2007 season with Woody Pitkat leading the way. Pitkat scored a
grand total of 11 feature wins with 8 wins in the SK Modified® car and 3
victories in the Kretschman Late Model, while Jeff Malave drove to 10 top-10
finishes and a 7th place finish in the SK Modified® points standings.
Michael Bennett drove to his first career Late Model victory this past
season and finished 15th in the points standings, while Mike Lane drove to 7
top-10 finishes and an 11th place finish in the SK Light points standings.
“It’s great to have a company like Davidson as a track partner,” said SMS
CEO/GM Mark Arute. “We promote a family atmosphere here at the track every
Friday night, and Mr. Rowe, the Rowe family, and everyone associated with
The Davidson Company epitomize what family is all about. You couldn’t ask
for better people to be involved with than the Rowe family and we’re proud
to be able to once again list them as one of our track sponsors for the
upcoming 2008 season.”
The Davidson Company is the largest wholesale specialty food distributor in
Southern New England. The Davidson Company is number one in customer
service, and has been owned and operated by Dave Rowe and his family since
1974. Davidson offers over 4,000 specialty food products, including the
complete line of Cosmos Antipasto Specialties of West Haven, CT. When you
visit your local grocery store, chances are very high of purchasing food
that came from Davidson’s Wallingford, CT warehouse. For more information
about The Davidson Company and their race teams at Stafford Motor Speedway,
visit www.davidsonspecfoods.com.
For more information about how to become a Contingency Program sponsor at
Stafford Motor Speedway, contact the track office at 860-684-2783 or visit
us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
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CARQUEST AUTO PARTS EXTENDS CONTINGENCY PARTNERSHIP; CELEBRATES 23rd SEASON AT STAFFORD

(Stafford Springs, CT)---When the Tech Net Spring Sizzler presented by
CARQUEST Auto Parts takes the green flag on Sunday, April 27th, CARQUEST
Auto Parts will kick off its 23rd consecutive season as a Stafford Motor
Speedway track partner. CARQUEST Auto Parts will return as a track
contingency partner, and will offer $375 each Friday night in contingency
bonus money, with $150 to each SK Modified® feature winner, $125 to each
Late Model feature winner, and $100 to each Limited Late Model feature
winner.
With 22 events scheduled for the 2008 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
season, CARQUEST Auto Parts will pay out $8,250 to SMS competitors during
the upcoming season. The $8,250 that will be paid out to SMS feature
winners will push CARQUEST Auto Parts’ total contribution to the SMS
Contingency Program to over $50,000 since their initial contingency
partnership during the 1999 season.
“We’re pleased to be returning to Stafford for our 23rd season of racing,”
stated Rich Pallai, Vice President of Marketing for CARQUEST Auto Parts.
“The Stafford contingency program is another avenue for us to support
Stafford and its competitors."
The CARQUEST Auto Parts / Stafford Speedway relationship continues to grow
by leaps and bounds. CARQUEST Auto Parts first came on board with SMS as a
track sponsor during the 1985 season. Today, CARQUEST Auto Parts is
Stafford’s largest corporate partner. CARQUEST, and its nearly 4,000 stores
nationwide, have been instrumental in returning the Modified Tour to
Stafford along with bringing the ISMA Supermodifieds to Stafford with the
open wheel CARQUEST Extreme Tuesday event. CARQUEST Auto Parts is currently
the title sponsor of the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, the CARQUEST Fall
Final Weekend, CARQUEST Dealer Night, CARQUEST Extreme Tuesday, and new for
the 2008 season, the CARQUEST SK 150.
“We’re happy to have CARQUEST Auto Parts back as a track partner for the
2008 season,” said Stafford CEO and General Manager Mark Arute. “We’ve
certainly been blessed to have the long association with CARQUEST that we’ve
had over the past 22 years. The track, the competitors, and the fans all
benefit from CARQUEST’s involvement. CARQUEST is helping us bring back the
SK 150 this season, which is yet another premier event in what has become a
long line of premier events that CARQUEST has brought to the SMS calendar.”
CARQUEST Auto Parts began in 1974 with 100 auto parts stores. They have
since grown to nearly 4,000 stores nationwide, and through their growth they
have remained committed to providing auto parts and services of the highest
quality and greatest value to its customers.
The 37th annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST will kick off
the 2008 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season at Stafford April 25-27.
Tickets for “The Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are now on sale at
the Stafford Motor Speedway box office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for
adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, $38.00 for
reserved seats, and free for children ages 5 & under. Tickets are good for
admission to the Saturday April 26, and Sunday, April 27 portions of the
Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, with the Friday, April 25 practice session open the
public free of charge.
For more information about CARQUEST Auto Parts Stores or Tech-Net
Professional Auto Service, go to www.CARQUEST.com.
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Tucson Raceway Park- Project Blue Oval

January 3, 2008

During the recently completed 20th Annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando Florida this innovative project came together. We first made contact with Ford Racing in regards to their M-6007-D347SR Sealed Oval Track Crate Engine approval for competition in the Late Model Stock Class at Tucson Raceway Park. It was determined that to further the development of our Crate Engine option program it was imperative that all the available oval track sealed engine kits produced in North America be properly evaluated to ensure parity in the program. Tucson Raceway Park had many competitors competing in 2007 with the GM Crate Engine but not one Ford or Dodge powerplant. After further research it was determined that the Dodge program has been shelved but the Ford program is alive and well with not one, but three engine options to choose from. With Ford Racing’s support we decided to construct a new car built to standards set forth in the Tucson Raceway Park 2008 Competition Guidelines. We are setting out to prove that anyone could assemble a car with over the counter cost conscious parts and be competitive with today's $40,000.00 Super Late Model or $60,000.00 Tour Car.
When this concept unfolded uncharted territory was sure to be crossed. First off, a track owner, promoter and innovative rules maker gathering the industries finest manufacturers and distributors to assemble this kind of project is truly got to be a first!

The concept is as follows:
Create a build sheet with details of parts required based on the 2008 TRP rulebook.
Meet with the industries finest to plan and acquire the best parts for the project.
Set about creating a budget to fund and complete this project
Assemble the car ready for competition in 6 weeks time
Win on opening night February 23, 2008!
Just by chance two Loyal supporters of Tucson Raceway Park were at PRI looking at all the new widgets the Industry had to offer and we got together on this project. With nothing more than a hand shake and a man’s word the project took shape. Scott Rueschenberg will fund the project and drive the car while Paul Banghart of GAT Racing in Tucson Arizona will build the project from start to finish. Scott has in his resume many years of North American Late Model Stock experience. He ran during the 07 season at TRP both an open motor powered Late Model and the same car powered by a GM Crate Engine to one # 1 qualifier, multiple Heat race and Dash wins and one second place feature finish. Banghart’s fabrication and tuning skills are just what is needed for the project as the GAT Racing House car became Arizona’s first 2007 Whelen All-American Series State Champion at the hands of Hereford Arizona’s Joe Paladenic.

As of this writing the following company's have come on board to unselfishly support the project.
Ford Racing, Lefthander Chassis Company, AFCO, Five Star Bodies, Fire Bottle, Fuel Safe, RCI,
Longacre Racing, Red Line Synthetic Oil and Larry’s Engine and Marine.

As of today the Chassis has arrived at GAT Racing and the Engine kit at Jim Click Ford in Tucson. During the first week of the New Year the engine will arrive at Larry’s Engine and Marine for a complete dissection and dyno analysis to insure it will meet the quality standards needed to perform under the rigors of short track racing and insure it does not have a performance advantage over the GM alternative. Keeping the playing field even amongst all the possible engine formulas is what has allowed TRP’s rules package to succeed!
Stay tuned for the evaluation and Race Results!

STAFFORD SPEEDWAY WORKING WITH JOHNSON CHASSIS ON NEW LATE MODEL METRIC CHASSIS PROJECT

(Stafford Springs, CT)---Stafford Motor Speedway has embarked on a project
in conjunction with Johnson Chassis of Concord, NC that will replace aging
Late Model GM Metric Chassis with a tube Late Model chassis that will be
built to the exact specifications and dimensions as the original GM Metric
Chassis.
With over 500,000 GM Metric Chassis currently racing throughout North
America and chassis becoming harder and harder to obtain, Stafford Motor
Speedway took a proactive approach to come up with a solution that would not
only aid competitors in finding chassis, but that would also not obsolete
any of the current Late Model cars or provide a performance advantage over
the current GM Metric Chassis cars.
“Over the course of the past several years it became apparent to us that the
GM Metric Chassis was becoming more and more difficult to find,” said SMS
CEO/GM Mark Arute. “It was jeopardizing the future of our Late Model
division. We were forced to find an alternative chassis that would not make
the existing metric chassis obsolete. Our tech staff began to research how
we could come up with a solution to the chassis problem without obsolescing
our current competitors’ cars. After talking with several Late Model
builders in the area, we got a call from Andy Johnson of Johnson Chassis and
he expressed interest in the project.”
Over the summer of 2007, Johnson Chassis, working together with the SMS Tech
Staff, came up with a solution to the problem. The objective of the
SMS/Johnson Chassis project is to provide competitors with a replacement
chassis, not an improved chassis. The Late Model chassis project consists
of low cost tubular replacements, which are being prototyped to establish
material weights and specifications that will meet all factory weights and
dimensions. The new frame will accept all factory stock components and
optional tubular replacement components.
“We’re excited about this new car that we’re working on with Andy in that
the new chassis and its working parts will seamlessly integrate with the
current Metric GM Chassis without the benefit of a performance advantage,”
continued Arute. “This new chassis will allow our Late Model and Limited
Late Model competitors to be able to race competitively on an even playing
field with their current equipment and not force our teams to replace their
entire cars to reap a performance advantage.”
Jim Peterson is a member of the team that is working on the construction of
the new Tubular GM Metric Chassis. Peterson will also serve as the test
driver of the new car in a test session at Stafford Motor Speedway that will
take place sometime before the season opening CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring
Sizzler on April 25-27.
Johnson Chassis currently has some parts available. Johnson Chassis can be
reached via email at aj@johnsonchassis.com for price and availability. A
full catalog will be available in early 2008 when the prototype chassis has
been completed. For more information about the new Tubular GM Metric
Chassis, visit www.johnsonchassis.com, or contact the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at 860-684-2783, or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com.
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