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Post by thunder98 on May 28, 2019 0:23:50 GMT -5
With Nascar celebrating their golden anniversary, the history of the ASRC is also celebrated as they commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original sanctioning body's first race which took place on April 20th, 1968. Other major headlines going into the 1998 season is that Dodge is back with an Avenger that was three seasons in the making. When it was announced that the Chrysler Lebaron wouldn't be an eligible body for the 1995 season, work began in Detroit to get Dodge back in the series for the first time since the 1980s that was within Nascar's rulebook. Unfortunately for them, it was easier said than done. When they were within the confines, the car handled poorly and was slow. When they weren't within the confines, even by the slightest bit, it was a dangerously fast car. From January 1995 through October 1997, Dodge worked and worked until they had an Avenger they were happy with, and one that Nascar approved of. Sammy Moore will be the flagship driver in his #6, glad to run under the Chrysler brand again. Moore hopes to rebound in 1998 after finishing 12th in points last season with a best finish of 2nd at Martinsville after the Trent Blanchard controversy that awarded then-rookie Blaine Freeman his first and only win so far.  The second Dodge driver is 21-year old Shawn Fontaine of Fenton, Missouri, who has served as the test driver for Dodge during the development of the new Avenger while his father worked at the Chrysler assembly plant in town. But don't let that lead you to think that Shawn is running on his father's money. Originally starting in go-karts at the age of 5, Shawn worked his way up to late models by 14 and has become a prominent name at I-70 Speedway. Fontaine is one of four rookies in the field for the 1998 season.  The third and final Dodge team comes as a surprise in the form of Keith Norton, who finished 23rd in points last season, failed to qualify at Rougemont, and had a best finish of 11th at Bowman-Gray. Norton, who served as his own primary mechanic last season, hopes that the support from Dodge will make his sophomore season a better one as not only does he have a new car, but also a new paint scheme with CB Concrete Pumping returning to the 00.  Dodge is going all-in on their return to the Southeast Series and as a result will use mainly Mopar parts, hence the lack of contingency decals on the Avengers. Depending on how this season goes, we may see more teams switch to the Dodge brand in 1999. But with that said, let's look at what has transpired during the division's short silly season. The 1997 Southeast Series season was 22 races long and 1998 sees a schedule shake-up with now 25 races being run. While the season still starts at Walt Disney World and ends at Five Flags, here are the major changes to the schedule: - The Independence Day weekend race will take place at Lanier rather than Volusia.
- Volusia now serves as the second race of the year as part of Florida's Speedweeks.
- Richmond and Rougemont are removed from the schedule.
- New venues include IRP, Homestead-Miami, Greenville-Pickens, Road Atlanta, and Charlotte.
- Homestead and Charlotte mark the first 1.5 mile tracks on the circuit since 1994.
- Both North Wilkesboro dates are retained for 1998.
- 1998 debuts the Summer Nights Showdown where in a stretch of six races (Bowman-Gray, Southern National, Bristol, Myrtle Beach, IRP, and Louisville), the three drivers who have the best average finish will receive cash bonuses. The best earns $40K, second gets $25K, and third gets $12.5K.
- In the event of an entry list outnumbering track capacity, qualifying dash races will be held to determine the remainder of the field just like last year. After the fifth race of the year, the top 20 in points will be locked in. For the first five races, last year's driver's points will be used from 1997.
Let's move on to silly season from the driver's standpoint. 1998 will bring about the debut of the new Ford Taurus, which six drivers will be replacing their Thunderbird noses with. Those six drivers are Ron Snyder, Trent Blanchard, Robby Anderson, Kurt Collins, Jason Sullivan, and Chad Moon. After leading the series with nine DNFs last season, four more than the next driver, Leroy Gardner won't be sporting the new Taurus nose, but rather "new" Thunderbird noses he bought off Sammy Moore when Moore switched to Dodge. Gardner had been running the early 1996 model Thunderbird nose and Moore's was classified as the 1997 model. One small sponsorship tidbit to mention is that Grand Piano & Furniture, the primary sponsor of Neil Charles's #17 Pontiac, has changed their name to Grand Home Furnishings. Several drivers are making the switch to part-time schedules in 1998: - Vince Stevens, who made headlines after leading 85 laps in last year's All-American 400 at Nashville, will only run in events where he won't have to worry about failing to qualify, despite only DNQing once in 1997 at Rougemont and DNFing only once at North Wilkesboro in the spring, finishing 21st. Stevens finished 21st in points last season with a best finish of 9th at North Wilkesboro in the fall.
- Greg Partridge will look to focus more as the chief mechanic of the Goodwrench garage at H&H Chevrolet, the Kershaw, South Carolina dealership that has sponsored his #25 Chevrolet his whole career. Partridge will run around ten races beginning with the season opener after finishing 29th in points last year with a best finish of 10th at North Wilkesboro last fall while failing to qualify three times and DNFing four times.
- The Gentle Giant, John Kendrick only plans on running seven races in 1998; the five Florida races, Road Atlanta, and Nashville as his focus turns more to promoting mental health awareness as an ambassador for Nascar. Kendrick finished 26th in points last season with a best finish of 7th at North Wilkesboro last fall while failing to qualify for two races and DNFing four others.
Next on the driver's silly season agenda pertains to the ASA drivers who occasionally flex their muscles in this series. While Gary St.Amant, Bob Senneker, and Mike Eddy return to the series for four races (Walt Disney World, North Wilkesboro I, Charlotte, and Nashville), Kevin Cywinski will not return as he moves on to the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series. Introducing the fourth ASA regular for 1998; 43-year old Green Bay, Wisconsin native Scott Hansen driving for Ken Schrader. Since Alan Dudley already holds the #52 (like Damian Washington held the #1 from Cywinski), Hansen will race the #15.  Now let's look at returning drivers from last season sporting new colors, starting with 1997 Rookie of the Year, Derek Hawkins. Hawkins managed to strike a deal with the automotive engineering program at The University of Southern Miss after a sizable donation was made by Southern Miss alumni and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, and will don the school's colors on his Pontiac beginning in 1998. Favre has expressed interest in becoming a partial owner of a Nascar team much like fellow quarterback Dan Marino, who has paired with Bill Elliott to field the #13 Ford driven by Jerry Nadeau.  After going sponsorless since narrowly missing the 1992 series championship, Ford Quality Care will come aboard the #55 Ford Taurus of Robby Anderson. Anderson says it feels nostaglic to run a blue and white car just as his father Doug did throughout his career.  Finally, we come to the last section of driver's silly season; meeting the remaining three contenders for this year's Rookie of the Year honors. First is 20-year old Grant Culpepper of Concord, North Carolina. Though a gearhead mechanic much like Keith Norton, Culpepper was a promising prospect running Legends cars. Grant came across buying his car in a police auction last October. But who did the car belong to, you may ask? Clyde Houston, of course! When it seemed the #3 team went silent at the end of August, it turned out that Houston was arrested for being part of a local methamphetamine ring and sentenced to sixteen years in prison for his role in distributing product throughout 1997, according to the Concord Police Department. Back to Culpepper, once he saw the overall condition of the car, he tore it down and practically rebuilt it from the ground up beginning in mid-October. He was about halfway done near Thanksgiving when his father Rick managed to get him a dedicated spot in a Winston Cup garage in town with all the tools he would ever need to finish the build in time for preseason testing in January. Whose garage, you may ask? Turns out Rick Culpepper specialized in aerodynamics for the newest Winston Cup team looking to make a splash in 1998; Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Rick formerly worked at Richard Childress Racing from 1989-1997 and when the seven-time champion announced he would take his team cup racing in 1998, he wanted Culpepper to work for his team. With the car completed, the intimidating bossman went one step further and helped get Grant a sponsor for the season in the form of Waffle House. The only advice he gave Grant before the season starts was this; "Drive it like ya stole it, but bring it back in one piece."  Our next rookie and number three of the class is another next-generation driver; 21-year old Colin Howard of Lancaster, Kentucky, the son of ASRC alumni Eric Howard. Though Colin traveled a lot with his father throughout the later stages of his career, Colin didn't get his start in racing until he was 14, running street stocks around Kentucky and Tennessee. Thinking he's good enough to move to the Southeast Series, Eric called in a favor to his longtime sponsors Save-A-Lot and Rite Aid, who agreed to sponsor Colin's car for 1998 in a paint scheme similar to the one Eric ran at the end of his career when he retired after the 1996 season at the age of 53.  We briefly met our final rookie at the end of last season as the son of the recently-retired Roger Fowler, the Southeast Series' most successful driver. 20-year old James Roger "J.R." Fowler of Goodlettsville, Tennessee will take over his father's famous #99 Dollar General Chevrolet and hope to find success just like defending series champion Tim Foster, Jr., who took over for his father Tim Sr. in 1994. J.R.'s car will be sporting an all new black and yellow paint scheme, a break in the usual Banana Boat that Roger was known to run for many years until his final race last season where he ran an inverse scheme at Five Flags. J.R. likes the Banana Boat, don't get him wrong, but he feels like that should be synonymous with his father, yet has stated that if he's in contention for the championship at the end of the season, he'll be more than glad to bring the Banana Boat out of the harbor.  With all of that out of the way, below is the season schedule.  |
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Post by thunder98 on May 28, 2019 0:58:52 GMT -5
Before the Southeast Series season gets underway, there were a couple of other series-related stories, driverwise at least. FOSTER TO RUN PART-TIME TRUCKS IN 1998By Peter Douglas/NASCAR.com - January 9th, 1998LOUISVILLE, KY - There's no doubt that Tim Foster, Jr. dominated the second half of the 1997 NASCAR All Pro Southeast Series season en route to a series championship over the now-retired Roger Fowler and it seems that a lot of eyes have taken notice of the 24-year old. Citgo and Meijer have been so impressed that they will help fund a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series effort for Foster to run on a part-time basis this upcoming season beginning January 18th at Walt Disney World Speedway for the Chevy Trucks Challenge, one week before the All Pro Southeast Series kicks off in Lake Buena Vista. Foster will run a total of seven races with Citgo sponsoring five events and Meijer sponsoring two. Six of the seven races take place on companion weekends with the All Pro Southeast and Craftsman Truck series, which include Walt Disney World, Bristol, IRP, Heartland Park, Memphis, and his home track in Louisville as well as Phoenix between the All-American 400 at Nashville and the Naturally Fresh Foods 200 at Langley. Reports say that if these seven races go well for Foster, he could become a full-time rookie on the Craftsman Truck circuit in 1999. Foster on his budding future: "It's amazing at how far our hard work is taking us and I can't wait to start this next chapter in my career. Citgo and Meijer have been behind me since we won at home last year and we're ready to do some testing." The trucks and equipment bought by Foster's team were originally from Darrell Waltrip's truck team, who with Rich Bickle finished the 1997 Craftsman Truck Series season with four poles, three wins, and a runner-up points finish to Jack Sprague.   FOWLER TO RUN ONE-OFF at WDWBy Peter Douglas/NASCAR.com - January 10th, 1998GOODLETTSVILLE, TN - In addition to the news of Tim Foster, Jr. competing part time, championship rival and the seven-time champion of the All Pro Southeast Series Roger Fowler will run the season opening Chevy Trucks Challenge at Walt Disney World as a send-off by longtime sponsor Dollar General. Fowler has run several races in NASCAR's Winston Cup and Busch Grand National Series throughout the 70s and 80s, but has never made a start in the Craftsman Truck Series. Fowler's last race in any of NASCAR's top three series was the 1989 All Pro 300 at Charlotte where he finished fourth behind brothers Michael and Darrell Waltrip and race-winner Rob Moroso. Fowler on this opportunity: "We're just out there to have ourselves some fun one last time before I know I'm hanging my helmet up for good. These trucks look like a blast to drive and I'm gonna love getting to mix it up with Tim [Foster, Jr.] one more time." Foster's reaction: "Roger and I had a great points battle last season and I'm glad I got to race against him. Maybe we'll be able to teach these truck drivers a thing or two." Fowler's truck comes from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and is the truck that Steve Park started 4th with at Phoenix last season, which was a backup truck for 1996 series champion Ron Hornaday. Because Roush Racing is entering Chuck Bown in the #99 Exide Ford, Fowler will be running the #9.  No guarantees that this will be updated on a constant basis. |
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Post by thunder98 on Dec 8, 2019 23:50:18 GMT -5
SAID CLAIMS WDW OPENER
By Peter Douglas/NASCAR.com - January 19th, 1998
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL - NASCAR's Craftsman Truck division kicked off what is bound to be an amazing golden anniversary for the sanctioning body with an amazing weekend at Walt Disney World just outside of Orlando for the second running of the Chevy Trucks Challenge. Fans piled into the stands for qualifying day as an astonishing 48 trucks attempted to qualify for 38 starting spots which showed that competition was so fierce that only one Winston Cup driver managed to qualify, that being Ernie Irvan who hardly got into the field in 33rd, later finishing 19th. Noteworthy names who failed to qualify include Joe Nemechek, Michael Waltrip, Mike Skinner, Bobby Hamilton, Brett Bodine, and Wayne Anderson, a standout late model driver.
The field would be led to green by former seven-time NASCAR All Pro Southeast Series champion Roger Fowler, who entered this race initially as a one-off just for fun and would lead the first 20 laps before Jack Sprague passed Fowler and went on to lead 21 laps. Fowler would go on to finish second and Sprague would be relegated to sixth after being involved in the first caution of the race on lap 40 where Doug George's #26 truck (running 30th at the time) cut down a right front tire coming out of turn one and was run over by Randy Tolsma's #61 truck. The #7 of Barry Bodine, the #31 of former ASA Champion and last year's All-American 400 winner Kevin Cywinski, and the #10 of Lonnie Rush, Jr. would end up being involved in a second and third incident after the yellow flag had originally waved. Rush would come up on Cywinski's truck and would turn the 10 truck up into the path of Barry Bodine, who hit Rush's passenger side door and sent the Rush truck on its roof and collecting Tolsma before sliding on his roof until the entrance of turn two and rolling twice, landing on all four wheels. Rush got out under his own power relatively unscathed apart from some small scratches and bruises.
Rush following the incident; "It's always scary when you end up on your roof but luckily I wasn't hit by anyone so it made things not so bad in the end, even though we're left with a wrecked truck."
The flip occurred in front of leader Jack Sprague, who had not taken the caution flag yet whereas the rest of the field did, having a near eight second lead at the time. Sprague got through on the bottom but coming out of the corner, the damaged 7 truck of Barry Bodine came down across Sprague's front end and sent both trucks into the armco barrier. Sprague suffered light damage to the driver side door and was irate at Bodine for his lack of truck control. "Daddy's boy didn't need to be out there, plain and simple." Sprague was quoted saying after the race, Barry being the son of Winston Cup veteran Geoffrey Bodine.
Sprague's repairs would drop the defending series champion back to ninth on the restart while road course specialist Boris Said inherited the lead and wouldn't relinquish it en route to his first career victory, even after a one lap dash after the second caution waved when Rich Bickle spun coming off turn three. Roger Fowler, Jimmy Hensley, Stacy Compton, and Jay Sauter rounded out the top five. "I thought Roger would've passed us for sure on that restart, the guy had a great truck but I guess it's about being in the right place at the right time." Said stated in victory lane.
Another headline going into this race was the debut of defending NASCAR All Pro Southeast Series champion Tim Foster, Jr. in his #4 CITGO/Meijer Chevrolet. After starting fourth, he ran third for most of the first half of the race before falling back and finishing seventh. "It was definitely a learning experience this weekend. Roger [Fowler] really helped me out during practice and told me how I should run the track in a truck like this instead of our southeast cars. We've got about a five month wait until my next race in Bristol but hopefully we can squeeze some testing in there." Foster would say to reporters as his next scheduled race is the Loadhandler 200 at Bristol on June 20th, the day after the Southeast Series' event; the Dollar General 200 on the 19th.
As stated earlier, Roger Fowler originally only entered this race for fun and only planned on running this race before settling into retirement and helping guide the career of his son, Southeast Series rookie J.R. Fowler, but seeing as how he thoroughly enjoyed running this race, Fowler announced he will also run the Loadhandler 200 at Bristol in June along with the Federated Auto Parts 250 at the Nashville Fairgrounds in August, a stone's throw from his home in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.
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Post by thunder98 on Dec 9, 2019 1:44:38 GMT -5
Race 1: Five Star Bodies 150 at Walt Disney World Speedway; Lake Buena Vista; Florida, January 23rd, 1998 MOON EDGES SENNEKER FOR WINBy Nick Johnson/NASCAR.com - January 24th, 1998LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL - Some will say that the key to winning races is to put a whole event together with consistency off the truck and masterful execution of passes and dealing with lapped traffic, the latter being Chad Moon's guide to victory as the 21-year old tracked down and passed ASA veteran Bob Senneker on the outside coming to the white flag en route to his third career victory, leading only three of the 150 laps run. Last year's winner Richie Howard would start from the pole and lead a race-high 84 laps before being forced into the pits from second place with a tire going down with 30 laps to go forced him to finish 27th, one lap down. The field was comprised of 41 cars all taking advantage of the free entry fee offered by Walt Disney World as part of their five-year agreement with the Southeast Series to help encourage larger fields of cars since the series first began going to the track in 1996, mere months after the track first opened in November 1995. In this field were four ASA drivers competing for bragging rights and as a tune-up for their upcoming season where we saw the return of Mike Eddy and Bob Senneker in their cars from last season, a new Chevrolet Monte Carlo from Gary St.Amant, and a new ASA regular in the form of Scott Hansen driving for NASCAR Winston Cup Veteran Ken Schrader. Senneker was the best qualifier of the ASA regulars in sixth, followed by Eddy in eighth, St.Amant in ninth, and Hansen in 18th. Senneker would also be the best finisher amongst the ASA drivers in second with Eddy fourth, St.Amant ninth, and Hansen back in 30th, one lap down. Hansen was running 17th when he was forced into the pits on lap 22 with a left rear tire going down, dropping as low as 40th. "After we had to change that tire, we just treated the rest of this race like one big test session. We've got a handful more races in this car to look forward to and I hope we'll be able to perform better." Hansen would say after the race. The caution would wave four times during the race (one being the halfway caution on lap 75), the first coming on lap 38 when Ron Snyder's #2 car got into the left rear of Peter Murphy's lapped #64 car, moving him down into defending champion Tim Foster, Jr.'s #4 car before spinning the #64 out in turn three. Foster would end up 14th, Murphy 33rd, and Snyder 39th after being involved in the final caution on lap 92. The second caution came on lap 49 when Snyder tagged the left rear of Blake Roosevelt's #37 car coming out of turn one, sending him sliding down the straightaway and tagging the inlet where one of the rollbacks are parked. In the same area as the first caution coming off turn two that Snyder got into Murphy, rookie drivers Shawn Fontaine (#50), J.R. Fowler (#99), and Grant Culpepper (#09) were three wide when Fowler's car came up into Fontaine and was pushed down in front of Culpepper, sending the Dollar General Chevrolet spinning in turn three. Culpepper's car came back up on the track, tagged the leftt rear of Troy Pearson's #05 car and gave Snyder nowhere to go, causing him to plow into the back of Culpepper. Pearson's car would slide up and collect Gary Campbell's #22 car. Pearson would somewhat recover and finish 18th while Fowler finished 22nd, Culpepper 23rd, and Campbell 38th. In this race one year ago, three rookies finished in the top ten with Richie Howard winning, race-winner Chad Moon in third, and eventual Rookie of the Year Derek Hawkins finishing tenth. However this year, no rookies finished in the top ten, the best finisher being Shawn Fontaine in 11th in his new Dodge Avenger. J.R. Fowler would finish 22nd, Grant Culpepper in 23rd, and Colin Howard, son of longtime Southeast Series veteran Eric Howard, finished 37th after a camshaft went south on lap 111. As for Chrysler's return to the series for the first time since 1994, the three Dodge Avengers all came home in one piece with Sammy Moore leading the way with an eighth place finish, Shawn Fontaine in 11th, and Keith Norton in 20th. Norton was Dodge's best qualifier in 12th, followed by Moore in 14th, and Fontaine in 15th. With the opening race of the season completed, Chad Moon leads the point standings by three points over Kurt Collins, five points over Ryan Fisher, six points over Neil Charles, and seven points over Trent Blanchard in 5th. Defending champion Tim Foster, Jr. is 11th, fourteen points back. The All Pro Southeast Series will be back in action in two weeks at the Volusia County Speedway for the Volusia County 200 on February 8th as part of Florida Speedweeks preparing for the running of NASCAR's biggest race; the 40th Annual Daytona 500. TNN will bring fans the action of the Southeast Series race at 3:30PM eastern to cap off a packed day of racing including the ARCA FirstPlus Financial 200 and the Bud Shootout. Lap LeadersRichie Howard - 84 Bob Senneker - 63 Chad Moon - 3 Contingency AwardsBud Pole Award: Richie Howard (29.116 sec/123.644 mph) Safety Kleen Front Runner (Most Laps Led): Richie Howard (84 of 150 laps) Gatorade Hard Charger (Most Positions Gained): Blaine Freeman (+16, Started 29th, Finished 13th) Jiffy Lube Hot Lap (Best Lap Time):Gary St. Amant (29.631 sec/121.495 mph) Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: Shawn Fontaine (Finished 11th) Race 1 Results.html (17.78 KB) Race 1 Points.html (25.05 KB) |
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Post by thunder98 on Dec 9, 2019 22:53:21 GMT -5
Race 2: Volusia County 200 at Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Florida, February 8th, 1998 MOORE BRINGS DODGE/CHRYSLER BACK TO VICTORY LANEBy Nick Johnson/NASCAR.com - February 9th, 1998BARBERVILLE, FL - After 1,185 days of waiting, Chrysler finally finds victory lane once again in the All Pro Southeast Series as Sammy Moore triumphed over Ryan Fisher with a pass on lap 157 and leading the remaining laps to bring the checkered flag back to the Chrysler brand, being the last driver to do so after winning the Winn-Dixie 150 at Atlanta in November of 1994, Chrysler's second-to-last race before this 1998 season began. Moore started 17th and didn't take long before running in and around the top five throughout the afternoon along with Fisher who started back in 24th. "I didn't think it was gonna be this short of a wait to win, but by golly we did it!" Moore said in victory lane under cloudy skies that rolled in throughout the event after starting under clear blue skies. Rookie J.R. Fowler led the field to green with defending champion Tim Foster, Jr. to his outside, later finishing fifth and eighth respectively as cars jostled for position throughout the entire race in front of a sold-out crowd. The caution only waved three times during the event, first waving on lap 48 when rookie Shawn Fontaine's ignition failed on the #50 Dodge, causing him to stall on the backstretch after running tenth at the time after starting 11th, relegating him to a last place finish. The second caution later waved on lap 96 and would serve as the halfway caution as Leroy Gardner lost a piston on his #28 Ford and came to a stop going into turn three while running 16th, leaving him to finish a disappointing 30th after starting seventh. The final caution came on lap 102 when Derek Hawkins, trying to serve a penalty for passing on the inside before the start-finish line after restarting 7th, was spun in turn four by Keith Norton. Hawkins would lose his brakes shortly thereafter and was forced to drop out of the race, finishing 29th after starting 26th. It seemed that mechanical issues outweighed crashes during the course of the race compared to last July's race here where John Kendrick's suspension failed 130 laps into the race whereas five drivers had issues in 157 laps of racing. Apart from Fontaine, Gardner, and Hawkins, rookie Grant Culpepper dropped a valve on lap 77 while running 24th (finishing 31st) and Zach O'Malley would suffer camshaft failure on lap 157 while running 21st (finishing 29th). Several drivers had better runs today than they did at Walt Disney World Speedway two weeks ago, perhaps none better than Robby Anderson as the 31-year old second-generation driver from Westwood, Louisiana finished fourth after leading the most laps of anybody with 87. "We've had fast cars in both races, but it's a matter of keeping everything in one piece." The 1992 series champion stated as another driver whose performance today was a much-needed pick-me-up would be Richie Howard as he finished seventh after finishing 27th in the season opener. "A consistent 200 laps is what we needed today and that's exactly what we got. Just wish we could've led a lap or two." Howard stated following the race. The rookie class didn't have much to cheer about today following strong starts by J.R. Fowler and Shawn Fontaine as three of the four drivers finished 26th or worse; Colin Howard in 26th, Culpepper in 31st, and Fontaine finishing last in 32nd, though Culpepper and Fontaine both suffered from mechanical woes while Fowler would finish fifth. After two races, the championship points standings had a bit of a shake-up as Ryan Fisher has taken over the points lead by only two points over race-winner Sammy Moore, leaving Chad Moon and Kurt Collins tied for third only six points back, and Neil Charles fifth just eleven points back while defending-champion Tim Foster, Jr. rose up to a tie with Trent Blanchard for seventh in points, sixteen points behind Fisher. It'll be a near three-week break for the Southeast series as the tour moves on to Lakeland, Florida's USA International Speedway for the Sunshine Rotors 200 on Saturday, February 28th where Chad Moon will look to defend his victory from last year, the first of his career. Speedvision will carry the coverage starting at noon eastern. Lap LeadersRobby Anderson - 87 Sammy Moore - 44 Ryan Fisher - 44 Troy Pearson - 22 J.R. Fowler - 2 Becky Conway - 1 Contingency Awards
Bud Pole Award: J.R. Fowler (19.239 sec/93.56 mph) Safety Kleen Front Runner (Most Laps Led): Robby Anderson (87 of 200 laps) Gatorade Hard Charger (Most Positions Gained): Ryan Fisher (+22, Started 24th, Finished 2nd) Jiffy Lube Hot Lap (Best Lap Time): Trent Blanchard (18.3 sec/98.361 mph) Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: J.R. Fowler (Finished 5th) Race 2 Results.html (14.27 KB) Race 2 Points.html (25.07 KB) |
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Post by thunder98 on Dec 12, 2019 4:56:46 GMT -5
Race 3: Sunshine Rotors 200 at USA International Speedway; Lakeland, Florida; February 28th, 1998 HOWARD DOMINATES, MOORE SNAKEBITBy Nick Johnson/NASCAR.com - March 1st, 1998LAKELAND, FL - Coming to the one-to-go with 13 laps remaining under a late race caution, Sammy Moore had a shot to win back-to-back races before suddenly coming into the pits with a slow-leaking tire that handed the lead to Richie Howard who went on to lead the final 13 laps en route to his third career victory while holding off Ryan Fisher, rookie Shawn Fontaine, and Jimbo Bailey. Howard dominated the first half of the race while Moore dominated most of the second, the only other driver to lead a lap was rookie Colin Howard, who led five laps after getting fuel only on the halfway caution. He got another yellow, got tires, and later finished 10th while running around the top five when he was involved in the final yellow of the day. Moore on the decision to come in: "It sucks, plain and simple. We were that close to two-in-a-row at a track that's been good to us and Dodge gave us a damn great car. But I felt something wasn't right and it was either come in, change the tire, and get what I can, or stay out, risk blowing the tire, and taking the field out with me. Pretty obvious choice, don't you think?" Moore would finish 13th, where he started after finishing 4th here one year ago. Howard in victory lane: "After getting snakebit in Orlando, we finally got one going our way and after the whoopin' we put on these guys in the first half of the race, you'd have to pry this trophy outta my cold, dead hands." The rookie class had a huge rebound Saturday afternoon as all four of them ran inside the top twelve with twenty laps to go. Unfortunately, Grant Culpepper suffered a mechanical problem coming across the line in 11th spot that would relegate him to a 27th place finish. Shawn Fontaine would be the race's leading rookie in third, polesitter J.R. Fowler would finish fifth, and Colin Howard would finish tenth. "I've heard of bad luck, but three straight finishes outside the top twenty after promising runs the last two races is really gut-wrenching. All we can do is just get ready for the next race and hope for the best." Culpepper said after the race. The caution waved four times during the 200-lap race, the first being the halfway caution at lap 100. The second caution came out on lap 114 as lapped cars Ernie Bryant and Barry Peterson collided in turn one, collecting Vince Stevens and Becky Conway. The third caution waved on lap 132 when Gary Campbell spun Neil Charles in turn four, collecting Alan Dudley, Zach O'Malley, and Caleb McDonald. The final caution waved on lap 184 when Vince Stevens got into the left rear of Colin Howard's car (running 6th), came down on Leroy Gardner's car (running 7th), and sent the #28 Ford into the #44 Chevrolet. Howard continued on while Gardner fell out of the race, finishing 30th. Gardner and Howard were both critical of Stevens, who was four laps down in 29th. "You got sixth through tenth running together and this jackass with no shot at winning takes away a near top-five finish for a rookie that worked his ass off today. No room for BS like that." Gardner said after the race, in which both he and Howard confronted Stevens, who apologized for his loose racecar, thinking some oil must have gotten on his tires trying to avoid the lap 132 caution. Other driver notes: - Chad Moon's chances of defending his victory from last season came to an end on lap 94 when a tire began going flat. Missing the pit entrance, Moon had to nurse his car around and pit under green just shy of the halfway caution, relegating him to a 29th place finish, five laps down.
- 1996 series champion Damian Washington earned his first top-ten finish since last year's All-American 400 at Nashville with an eighth place finish in Lakeland, rebounding from finishing 16th last time out in Volusia.
- Caleb McDonald achieved his best career finish Saturday with a 12th place finish, exactly where he qualified. His previous best finish was 14th at Bristol in 1996 and his best career starting spot is 9th at Bristol last year.
Ryan Fisher continues to hold the points lead following his runner-up finish with Kurt Collins second in the standings eleven points back, Sammy Moore falling to third in points twelve points back, race-winner Richie Howard jumped from a tie for 11th up to fourth just 14 points back, and 1994 series champion Jimbo Bailey jumps from ninth to fifth in points only 19 points back. Defending champion Tim Foster, Jr. jumps up a couple of spots to seventh in points, 23 points behind while J.R. Fowler leads the rookies in sixth, 21 points behind Fisher. With his problems today, Chad Moon fell from third in points down to 12th, 33 points back. The southeast series will finally venture out of the Sunshine State with peaches on the horizon as the series visits Road Atlanta after a two-year break from the Georgia road course. TNN will bring the coverage of the Jiffy Lube 200 on Saturday, March 7th, at 1:30PM eastern time. Lap LeadersRichie Howard - 114 Sammy Moore - 81 Colin Howard - 5 Contingency AwardsBud Pole Award: J.R. Fowler (21.474 sec/125.734 mph) Safety Kleen Front Runner (Most Laps Led): Richie Howard (114 of 200 laps) Gatorade Hard Charger (Most Positions Gained): Jimbo Bailey (+18, Started 22nd, Finished 4th) Jiffy Lube Hot Lap (Best Lap Time): Ryan Fisher (21.411 sec/126.104 mph) Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: Shawn Fontaine (Finished 3rd) Race 3 Results.html (15.47 KB) Race 3 Points.html (25.08 KB) |
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Post by thunder98 on Dec 13, 2019 3:22:45 GMT -5
Race 4: Jiffy Lube 200 at Road Atlanta; Braselton, Georgia; March 7th, 1998 HAWKINS EMERGES VICTORIOUS FOR FIRST WINBy Nick Johnson/NASCAR.com - March 8th, 1998BRASELTON, GA - The All Pro Southeast series made their return to Road Atlanta for the first time since 1995 and the fans were treated to an amazing road course race as 1997's rookie of the year Derek Hawkins played pit strategy perfectly and claimed his first career victory after starting 32nd, one-upping his best career finish of second from last year's All-American 400 at Nashville. "I know I said we gotta lose some before we can win some, but it's un-freakin-believable that we actually won this thing!" An elated Hawkins said in victory lane, celebrating with his team including the hard-working students from the University of Southern Mississippi's automotive department that made the trip and the man that made the partnership possible; Southern Miss alumni and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who made a sizable donation to his alma mater to give Hawkins a greater chance at victory and give the students a more hands-on experience. Because of varying pit strategy throughout the race, it meant that drivers were shuffling positions each and every lap. But ultimately the strategy of 'slow and steady' truly won the race as everybody on the podium came from 32nd or worse with race-winner Derek Hawkins starting 32nd, runner-up Richie Howard starting 35th, and third-place Ron Snyder starting 33rd. In fact, only two top-ten finishers started in the top ten; fifth-place finisher Tim Foster, Jr. (started 3rd) and ninth-place finisher Gary Campbell (started 7th). Both Howard and Snyder stated after the race that both cars were set up with longer runs in mind where a race like this would happen. The first half of the race was dominated by front-row starters Shawn Fontaine and Becky Conway, who led the first 28 laps of the race before Tim Foster, Jr. led the next 19 laps, Trent Blanchard led one lap, and Derek Hawkins led the final two after Blanchard hit pit road. As stated earlier, the Southeast series returned to Road Atlanta for the first time since 1995, a two-year hiatus caused by conflicts of interest between track promoters and series officials, so a whopping 13 of the 36 drivers in the field never once turned a lap on this track, which prompted officials to hold longer practice sessions for drivers to earn more experience on the track. The rookie class for the most part seemed to have adapted nicely to the course with most of their finishes showing otherwise as everybody played the strategy game. Grant Culpepper was the best-finishing rookie in eighth, Colin Howard finished 12th, J.R. Fowler finished 15th, and polesitter Shawn Fontaine finished 19th. The caution only came out once for the halfway break at lap 25. Because of the long runs on a road course, it caused problems for those competing on a smaller budget as they found themselves at the bottom of the running order. Other race notes: - Chad Moon's bad luck continues from last race in Lakeland as he finished 23rd after starting fifth, being bit by bad strategy.
- Caleb McDonald once again bested his career best finish with a strong seventh-place finish after starting 21st.
With his runner-up finish today, Richie Howard takes over the points lead by one over Ryan Fisher with defending-champion Tim Foster, Jr. sitting third only eleven points back, Sammy Moore 14 points back in fourth, and Kurt Collins 16 points back in fifth. Race-winner Derek Hawkins moves up from 17th to 10th just 28 points behind Howard and Chad Moon continues to slide down the standings as he now sits 17th, a whopping 40 points back after being third in points after the second race of the season in Volusia. Next week is a weekend that's been just over three years in the making as the Southeast series finally returns to a mile and a half track as Homestead-Miami will host the Pennzoil 100 on Saturday, March 14th. Series officials will invite veteran drivers for a two-day test during the week to help prepare for the series' return to speedway ovals and to determine if engines need to be restricted or not. Officials say they will invite drivers who competed during the 1994 season, the most recent season the Southeast series ran on speedway ovals. ESPN2 will bring the coverage of the Pennzoil 100 starting at 1:00PM eastern time. Lap LeadersTim Foster, Jr. - 19 Shawn Fontaine - 19 Becky Conway - 9 Derek Hawkins - 2 Trent Blanchard - 1 Contingency AwardsBud Pole Award: Shawn Fontaine (1:27.236/104.819 mph) Safety Kleen Front Runner (Most Laps Led): Tim Foster, Jr. & Shawn Fontaine (19 of 50 laps) Gatorade Hard Charger (Most Positions Gained): Richie Howard (+32, Started 35th, Finished 2nd) Jiffy Lube Hot Lap (Best Lap Time): Tim Foster, Jr. (1:31.663/99.757 mph) Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: Grant Culpepper (Finished 8th) Race 4 Results.html (15.79 KB) Race 4 Points.html (25.1 KB) |
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Post by thunder98 on Dec 18, 2019 10:20:41 GMT -5
NASCAR HOLDS TWO-DAY TEST IN HOMESTEAD
By Nick Johnson/NASCAR.com - March 11th, 1998
HOMESTEAD, FL - In preparation for the NASCAR All Pro Southeast Series' return to speedway ovals for the first time since the 1994 season, NASCAR officials invited veteran drivers to the Homestead-Miami Speedway to conduct a two-day test to see if cars are safe enough to race without restriction or vice versa. The initial change to put restrictions on the engines came as a result of River Callahan's fiery but non-fatal crash during the 1994 Champion Spark Plugs 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway where Callahan would suffer severe burns, a collapsed lung, and a severely broken left leg that would end up shorter than his right. The accident made fans and teams question the safety of the car the series ran from 1990 until the end of the 1994 season. But after seeing how much safer the cars were following the spring race at North Wilkesboro last season which saw ASA driver Bob Senneker go head-on into the turn one wall without injury and series veteran Ron Snyder go head-on into the pit wall and only suffering broken ribs, NASCAR deemed the car safe enough to run on speedway ovals once more.
NASCAR invited drivers who competed at the speedway ovals back in 1994 that still compete on the tour today and out of the 20 that are still racing, 13 of them participated in the test including the likes of Troy Pearson, Jimbo Bailey, Neil Charles, Ryan Fisher, and defending series champion Tim Foster, Jr., who was a rookie back in 1994 along with Gary Campbell. Also in attendance for the test were former drivers Roger Fowler, Tim Foster, Sr., and current director of series operations Dean Goodman. Over the course of the Monday and Tuesday tests, drivers tested solo and in a pack working with different tire compounds from Goodyear as well as aerodynamic and engine packages until officials and drivers were happy with what they had come up with in preparation for this weekend's Pennzoil 100. Drivers have said that they wanted to have a package that provided a good mix of speed and maneuverability that also allows for passing, which they hope fans will approve of come race day. ESPN2 will bring the coverage of the Pennzoil 100 starting at 1:00PM eastern time on Saturday, March 14th.
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Post by thunder98 on Dec 18, 2019 13:32:41 GMT -5
Race 5: Pennzoil 100 at Homestead-Miami Speedway; Homestead, Florida; March 14th, 1998 ROOKIE FONTAINE EARNS FIRST WIN IN SERIES RETURN TO SPEEDWAYSBy Nick Johnson/NASCAR.com - March 15th, 1998HOMESTEAD, FL - It took five races but a rookie has finally won a race in this All Pro Southeast Series season as Shawn Fontaine took the checkered flag in front of a sold-out crowd for the series' return to speedway ovals for the first time since November of 1994. Not only do we have back-to-back first-time winners but Dodge now has two wins in this early portion of the season, being the only manufacturer to win multiple races. It was really a rookie's day out as fellow rookie Grant Culpepper started on pole and led the first 31 laps until Shawn Fontaine took the lead just before the halfway caution. Culpepper's car lost its handling as the green flag run went on. Everybody elected to only take right side tires during the race's lone pit stop and Fontaine led a majority of the second half of the race as Tim Foster, Jr. led lap 37. "Last week was a bit of a bummer after having a great car and starting on pole, but if starting second means we win then I'll gladly do that any week!" Fontaine would say in victory lane. "This team's morale went up a few notches after Road Atlanta and I think the confidence we're building here feels about as good as a win only it doesn't come with a trophy." Grant Culpepper stated after finishing 4th behind race-winner Fontaine, runner-up Jimbo Bailey, and defending champion Tim Foster, Jr. The action throughout the field was just as drivers hoped for after testing during the week as there were constant battles for position on the track, showing NASCAR that this speedway package will serve the series well when they return to Charlotte Motor Speedway this coming May. The caution only waved twice over the speedway for the halfway caution at lap 33 and on lap 54 when Florida drivers John Kendrick and Adam Coleman got together in turn one. The halfway caution was extended due to Leroy Gardner losing a camshaft whilst running sixth, already his third DNF of the season which is tied with Barry Peterson for the most in the series. Gardner had two DNFs after five races a year ago and wound up with the most (9) of anybody last season. Other drivers having problems include Richie Howard who suffered from right side shock issues, forcing him to pit from 14th place on lap 18 and relegating him to a 32nd place finish two laps down from the leaders and Ryan Fisher who suffered from electrical problems with three laps to go while running 11th, leaving him to finish 31st. Barry Peterson dropped a valve on lap 17 and finished 36th while Blake Roosevelt suffered terminal suspension issues on lap 32 and failed to finish, ending up 35th. As stated earlier, it was a rookie's day out as three rookies finished in the top ten with Shawn Fontaine winning, Grant Culpepper in fourth, and J.R. Fowler in tenth while Colin Howard wound up 19th after running around 15th for most of the race. With both Richie Howard and Ryan Fisher having problems in Homestead, Tim Foster, Jr. picks up where he left off in 1997 as he takes the lead in the points standings by only eight points over 1994 series champion Jimbo Bailey who has been having an excellent start to this season after finishing 19th in points a year ago. Bailey has two top-fives and three top-tens through five races just as he did last year, only at this time a year ago he was 13th in points. Bailey looks to return to the winner circle for the first time since 1996 after going winless a year ago with a best finish of third at Richmond and Bristol. Trent Blanchard once again finds himself in the championship hunt after finishing second to Damian Washington in 1996 and third to Tim Foster, Jr. in 1997 as the 1992 rookie of the year is third in points just ten points back. Speaking of 1992, the 1992 series champion Robby Anderson finds himself in a tie for fourth in the points with 1990's rookie of the year Kurt Collins, both drivers 16 points behind Foster. The All Pro Southeast Series will have an off weekend before the series makes their annual spring trip to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway for the Craftsman 200 on Saturday, March 28th. With the ASA series also having an off week, that means we'll see the return of Mike Eddy, Bob Senneker, Gary St.Amant, and Scott Hansen. Gary St.Amant finished 15th in this race last year while Bob Senneker finished 34th after an early head-on crash in turn one as Trent Blanchard came from 25th starting spot to win the race in dominating fashion, leading 130 of 200 laps. Gary Campbell won the fall race from 8th starting spot so we'll see if that Coca-Cola Pontiac can pull out another win. We'll see if Blanchard can defend his win against the ASA regulars when TNN brings the coverage starting at 12:30pm eastern time. Lap LeadersShawn Fontaine - 35 Grant Culpepper - 31 Tim Foster, Jr. - 1 Contingency AwardsBud Pole Award: Grant Culpepper (36.464 sec/148.091 mph) Safety Kleen Front Runner (Most Laps Led): Shawn Fontaine (35 of 67 laps) Gatorade Hard Charger (Most Positions Gained): Robby Anderson (+15, Started 22nd, Finished 7th) Jiffy Lube Hot Lap (Best Lap Time): Jason Sullivan (36.202 sec/149.163 mph) Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: Shawn Fontaine (Finished 1st) Race ResultsPoints Standings |
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Post by thunder98 on Jan 2, 2020 22:04:10 GMT -5
Race 6: Craftsman 200 at North Wilkesboro Speedway; Wilkesboro, North Carolina, March 28th, 1998 WASHINGTON SNAPS 31-RACE LOSING STREAKBy Nick Johnson/NASCAR.com - March 29th, 1998WILKESBORO, NC - After a miserable title defense season that ended with a 16th-place points finish and a best finish of third, Damian Washington finally returned to victory lane as the Craftsman 200 finished under caution. Washington took the lead on lap 154 and led the remaining 47 laps to take his first All Pro Southeast series victory since October 1996 at Concord during his championship season. Gary St. Amant led the field to green and led 133 laps before falling back to fifth. Washington and his team were visibly ecstatic upon entering victory lane as the group seems to have bounced back from their slump one year ago. "1997 was a real bummer for us that just dragged on and on especially at Rougemont, but they say winnin' is the best cure, right? I knew if we could just get around Gary [St. Amant] then we'd have a shot at running away with it." Washington said in victory lane. Jimbo Bailey finished second after leading seven laps as the 1994 champion shows a return to form, Ryan Fisher finishes a quiet third, Leroy Gardner made his way through the field from 31st starting spot to finish fourth, and Gary St. Amant rounds out the top five. "We didn't protect the bottom on that restart like we should've and I give Damian all the credit in the world for taking that opportunity like he did. I know the kid had a rough year last year, but he's got the makings of a great racer in the future." A dejected St. Amant would say after the race after dominating the event from the pole. As for the remaining ASA regulars in the race, Bob Senneker had a terrific rebound at North Wilkesboro compared to last season when he only lasted five laps in the spring. Says Senneker after the race, "When we made it to six laps, we all let out a little cheer for the hell of it. Our car wasn't as good off the truck as it was in last year's race and that's to be expected, but eighth place sounds pretty good to me, all things considered." Scott Hansen also had a pretty decent race as he finished in 11th spot after starting 27th, the worst of the four ASA drivers. As for Mike Eddy who qualified fifth and was one of St. Amant's biggest challengers in the first half of the race, fell outside of the top twenty at the halfway caution and wasn't able to make his way through the field from that far back, being relegated to a 17th-place finish after qualifying fifth. "Our car just didn't handle well that deep in the pack and wasn't easy to get the power down and pass somebody. Pretty unfortunate but we'll just get back to our usual business and see where things go from there." Eddy would say post-race. Caution Report presented by Mr. Goodwrench1. Lap 81 - Ron Snyder slides up the slick track into Blake Roosevelt in turn four, catching the 37's left front, and spun down the frontstretch from 28th place. 2. Lap 91 - In a similar accident to Bob Senneker going head-on into the turn one wall, Vince Stevens hooked the right rear of Alan Dudley's car and sent the 52 into the wall, breaking the barrier and getting the car stuck, forcing officials to red flag the race to repair the section of wall and catchfence. 3. Lap 100 - Halfway yellow. 4. Lap 147 - Third-place driver Jason Sullivan slides into the lapped car of rookie Colin Howard, sending both cars into the inside wall and the 44 spinning back across the track. 5. Lap 155 - Rookie Grant Culpepper is three-wide with Mike Palmer in the middle and Barry Peterson up top. Palmer slides up into Peterson and spins his Chevrolet, getting hit in the driver side by Keith Norton's Dodge at 100 mph and sending the car onto two wheels for a moment as oncoming drivers had trouble stopping. Ernie Bryant would hit Keith Norton in the driver side door at 53 mph, sending Norton on his two wheels for a moment in turn three. The left front of Scotty Hayes's #33 Chevrolet was shaven clean off upon hitting the pit entrance as his car whipped around the came to rest against the outside wall. Colin Howard's car did the same thing and was rear-ended by Blake Roosevelt, sending the radiator of the #44 flying into the turn and resting on the apron. Roosevelt meanwhile hit the end of the pit road wall with the right side and came to a dead stop. All three hit at 85 mph and as the crowd fell silent after recalling Ron Snyder's head-on crash last spring, the track erupted in cheers as the drivers were able to get out of their cars under their own power, including Bryant whose car came to a stop after hitting Norton. Both Palmer and Norton were able to drive away and finish the race. The race would be red-flagged a second time to clean up the entrance to turn three. 6. Lap 196 - Richie Howard drops a valve while running 16th and comes to a stop on the track, ending the race under caution. With four devastating crashes between the two North Wilkesboro spring races, fans and drivers are left wondering just how much longer can the series run at the historic track without changes to the cars to slow them down. Compared to last year, cars were running about a half second slower and several safety enhancements have been made to the cars such as safety foam around the roll cages to absorb hits, the new Head and Neck Support device, and shock absorbers hidden under the nose and rear of the car to help with impacts. "Although we've made great strides in keeping our drivers safe over the past few years, we cannot stop now after seeing what these past two Wilkesboro spring races have shown us. We need to work with Goodyear and create a tire that grips to the track better, doesn't wear as badly, and gives the drivers a bit more control over acceleration and braking. We could probably go about modifying the cars to make them go a little slower also. We were lucky nobody got hurt like Rob [Snyder] did but we can't just stand by and wait for something worse to happen." Quoted from series director and former series champion Dean Goodman. The results of both accidents put a dent in the plans of some these drivers as Dudley, Stevens, Palmer, Hayes, Bryant, and Roosevelt operate on tighter budgets, odds are we may not see them race for a couple of events. Luckily though, all drivers were able to either continue in the race or get out under their own power. Bryant, Hayes, Howard, and Roosevelt were all checked and released from the Wake Forest Medical Center in nearby Winston-Salem where Ron Snyder went following his crash one year ago. Jimbo Bailey took the points lead back from Tim Foster, Jr. after the defending champion finished 14th and now trails by five points. Ryan Fisher made a huge leap from a tie for eighth to third as he sits 13 points behind Bailey while rookie J.R. Fowler climbs from sixth to fourth only 14 points back and Kurt Collins holds onto the fifth spot still 16 points behind. Race winner Damian Washington finds himself 11th in points now only 34 points behind. After a race filled with beating, banging, and carnage from start to finish, the series has an off weekend before going to Hickory Motor Speedway for the Lowes Food 200 under the lights this year on April 10th. Jason Sullivan will look to defend his win at Hickory last year after finishing 21st at Wilkesboro. TNN will bring the coverage starting at 7:00pm eastern time. Contingency AwardsBud Pole Award: Gary St. Amant (20.404 sec/110.273 mph) Safety Kleen Front Runner: Gary St. Amant (133 of 200 laps) Gatorade Hard Charger: Leroy Gardner (+27, Started 31st, Finished 4th) Jiffy Lube Hot Lap: Gary St. Amant (20.493 sec/109.794 mph) Raybesto’s Rookie of the Race: J.R. Fowler (Finished 6th) Race ResultsPoints Standings |
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