2008 Bob Reed - Elkins Speedway

Rain forces Cancellation of Friday night's racing at the Elkins Speedway

By Bob Reed

Kerens, WV. 5/9/2008. Rains thoughout the week soaked the facility which forced WIN Promotions to cancel Friday nights scheduled racing at the Elkins Speedway.

The Semi Late Special scheduled for this week will be worked in sometime in the future so keep checking our website.

The next scheduled event at the Elkins Speedway is Friday night, May 16th, and will consist of an AMRA modified special paying $600 to the winner. All other classes will have regular racing.

Also remember the new track phone number on race day is 304-636-3339.

For further information check the Elkins Speedway website at www.elkinsmotorspeedway.com.

April 20, 2008

Paul Wilmoth Jr wins LM opener at the Elkins Speedway

By Bob Reed

Kerens, WV. 4/18/2008. On opening night at the Elkins Speedway Paul Wilmoth Jr, Clarksburg, passed leader Butch McGill on a lap 21 restart and led the final 9 laps to win the “Spring Fling 30” and its $1500 prize.

After the redraw Joe Loudin who had finished 2nd in the 2nd heat and Dusty Hamrick who finished 3rd in the 1st head started on the front row while Wilmoth who finished 2nd behind McGill in the 1st heat started 8th and McGill started 3rd.

At the drop of the green Loudin, Hamrick and McGill led the field while Wilmoth was in 7th. The first 3 remained this way with Wilmoth picking off a car a lap. On a lap 6 restart for a tangle between Birch Hare and Tim Senic in turn 2 Wilmoth moved around Billy Holbert for 4th. He immediately began closing the gap to McGill and working to get around him.

Loudin and Hamrick at this point held a 4 or 5 car length lead over McGill and Wilmoth with Holbert, Shawn Poling and Charlie George another 4 or 5 car lengths back leading the rest of the field. They remained this way until lap13 when Loudin broke an axle going though turn 1 and spun. Hamrick in trying to avoid him went off the top and apparently broke a radiator as steam flew out of the #55. Loudin’s #5 caught on fire and brought out a red flag and the fire department.

McGill was now the leader followed by Paul Wilmoth, Holbert, Poling, George and Steve Wilmoth. When the green flew Wilmoth began working McGill hard. Every lap he got under McGill. One lap he dove under him going into turn one and the next lap he did the same in turn 3 but could never make the pass as McGill held his line and never made a slip. Finally on lap 21 brother Steve Wilmoth brought out the final caution of the night as he spun off the top of turn 3 & 4 while battling George and Poling for position.
This was what Paul Wilmoth needed. When the green flew he laid back and got a run going down the front straight and dove under McGill, slid up in front of him in turn 2 for the lead and the race was over. He sped off to a 5 or 6 car length lead which he maintained over the final 9 laps for the win. McGill was a solid 2nd followed by Holbert, George and Poling. McGill and George won the heats.

Notes: 15 cars in the pits. All 15 started the feature with 10 running after 30 laps. 5 cautions slowed the action. Wilmoth was the Hard Charger as he started 8th and won. So much for not being able to pass at Elkins!!!!!!!!! One new car was Josh Coffman while Brad Harris and Billy Brown moved up from SL.

Notes: Paul Wilmoth had some week. Tuesday night he went to the WoO Show at Lernerville and got wrecked in hotlaps. The car needed a rear clip. Wednesday he completely disassembled the rear of the car and cut off the rear clip. Thursday he took it to the Rocket Shop and they welded on a new rear clip. Thursday evening his crew reinstalled all the rear suspension, rearend, gas tank and all the body work. Just to come to Elkins. The way the car ran it didn’t look like it had ever been damaged. This was Wilmoth’s 2nd win in two outings this year as he won the Tyler County opener two weeks ago.

In J&M Grafix SL action Chad Green drew the pole position on the redraw and took off at the drop of the green flag. Green looked like a sure winner for 3 laps but on lap 4 going through turn 1 & 2 he looped the car and ended his good run.
At this point outside polesitter Kevin Keene, Belington assumed the lead and held off Chad Hardesty over the final 16 laps for the win. At the finish Keene led Hardesty, Sonny Conley, Jeff Maxwell and Shane Hitt. Heats to Keene and Maxwell.

Notes: 12 cars in the pits with 10 starting the feature. Only 6 finished. Hard charger was Conley who started 9th and finished 3rd, a gain of 6 spots. New cars tonight were the 2 of Shane Hitt, the 8A of Anthony Arbogast (from PS), the 77 of Larry Hoover (from 4 Cyl) and the 18 of T.J. Salango.

Vic Vandergrift, Fairmont won the Miller’s Used Cars AMRA Modified Feature on the first lap as he got a good start from his 6th starting spot and led every lap for his first win in 6 years at Elkins. 4th starting Dave Defibaugh got trapped behind a car on the start and all he could do was chase Vandergrift for 15 laps. With only one caution on lap 1 these two never slowed and were the class of the field as only Tom Sigler and Mike Murphy were on the same lap at the checkered. Heats to Vandergrift and Dave Defibaugh.

Notes: 12 cars in the pits with 9 starting the feature. Hard charger was Vandergrift who started 6th and won. He passed 5 all on the first lap. One new car was the 10 of Robin Ours. Rod Lanham changed his number from 13 to 7.

Notes: Louie Krushansky had a new car. In his heat he got in a tangle and the right rear quarter panel was damaged. In the feature he only ran 1 lap and retired with mechanical problems. Not a very good debut.

Spec Yocum led all 15 laps of the PS feature for the win. Dusty Swecker was the show. He was attempting to make a pass for the lead on lap 3 when he spun and went to the tail. He then spent the next 7 laps getting back to second. By this time Yocum had almost a straight lead and Swecker began closing it in chunks. He got up to Yocum on the final couple of laps but could never get close to make a pass as he either ran into lapped cars on slipped up. At the checkered Yocum led Swecker, John Maxwell, Johnny Singleton and Kenny Vest. Heats to Yocum and Randy Bohan.

Notes: 18 cars in the pits with 14 starting the feature. Only 8 running after 15 laps. One new car, the 26 of Brian Blake. Samantha Rogers has changed her number from 12R to 9R.

From his 3rd starting spot Kenny Rowback won the 4 Cyl Feature by leading all 12 laps. For the first 6 laps Steve Sisler and Rick Kesner chased him until they tangled in turn 2 which sent Kesner pitside. This put Joe Mullenax on his tail but Mullenax had nothing for Rowback as he held on for the win over Mullenax, newcomer Dickie Tharp, Zac Williams and Steve Sisler.

Notes: Only 10 cars in the pits with 9 starting the feature. Only 6 finished. New cars: the 3 of Dickie Tharp and the 5 of Daniel Connors. Steve Sisler is now in the 7 while Alan Sisler is in the 6.

Zac Kimbrew led every lap of the Mini Wedge feature to win over newcomer Scott Perine, last years points champion Garret Paugh, Ryan Watson and James Nelson. Heats to Megan Davis and Zak Kimbrew.

Next week at the Elkins Speedway is regular racing in all classes. For further information check our website @ www.elkinsmotorspeedway.com.

SUMMARY

BUDWEISER LM – SPRING FLING 30 – Paul Wilmoth Jr, Butch McGill, Billy Holbert, Charley George, Shawn Poling, Tim Senic, Steve Booth, Skip Hare, Brad Harris, Steve Wilmoth, Josh Coffman, Joe Loudin, Dusty Hamrick, Brad Hudson, Billy Brown.
Ht 1 – McGill, Paul Wilmoth, Hamrick, Holbert, Hare, Senic, Harris, Brown.
Ht 2 – George, Loudin, Hudson, Poling, Coffman, Booth, Steve Wilmoth.

J&M GRAFIX SL – Feature – Kevin Keene, Cody Hardesty, Sonny Conley, Jeff Maxwell, Shane Hitt, Chad Green, Anthony Arbogast, John Tallman, Larry Hoover, Derrick Blake. DNS – T.J.Salango, Tom Harris.
Ht 1 – Keene, Arbogast, Hardesty, Salango, Conley, Tallman.
Ht 2 – Maxwell, Green, Hitt, Hoover, Harris, Blake.

MILLER’S USED CARS AMRA MODIFIEDS – Feature – Vic Vandergrift, Dave Defibaugh, Tom Sigler, Mike Murphy, Rod Lanham, Joe Cox, Robin Ours, J.R. Messenger, Louie Krushansky. DNS – Jason Defibaugh, Sam Henderson, Steve Wilmoth.
Ht 1 – Vandergrift, Murphy, Jason Defibaugh, Krushansky, Lanham, Sigler.
Ht 2 – Dave Defibaugh, Ours, Cox, Henderson, Messenger, Wilmoth.

PURE STOCK – Feature – Spec Yocum, Dusty Swecker, John Maxwell, Johnny Singleton, Kenny Vest, John Ford, John Isner, Samantha Rogers, Jimbo Owens, Brian Blake, Randy Bohan, Ted Nice, Robin Maxon, Brandon Kerr. DNS - Dustin Isner, Teresa Vaughn, Robert Isner, Ricky Vest.
Ht 1 – Yocum, Maxwell, Ricky Vest, Kenny Vest, Dustin Isner, Blake, Rogers, Vaughn, Robert Isner.
Ht 2 – Bohan, Swecker, Singleton, Owens, Ford, John Isner, Nice, Maxon, Kerr.

4 CYL – Feature – Kenny Rowback, Joe Mullenax, Dickie Tharp, Zac Williams, Steve Sisler, Alan Sisler, Rick Kesner, Travis Mullenax, Nick Nash. DNS - Daniel Connors.
Ht 1 – Rowback, Kesner, Travis Mullenax, Joe Mullenax, Nash.
Ht 2 – Tharp, Steve Sisler, Williams, Alan Sisler, Connors.

MINI WEDGES – Feature – Zak Kimbrew, Scott Perine, Garret Paugh, Ryan Watson, James Nelson, Elliott Newlon, Kolbe Kimbrew, Cody Carpenter, Kaylee Kocum.
Ht 1 – Megan Davis, Perine, Newlon, Kolbe Kimbrew, Yocum.
Ht 2 – Zak Kimbrew, Paugh, Nelson, Carpenter, Watson.

Rains force cancellation of the opener at the Elkins Speedway

By Bob Reed

Kerens, WV. 4/11/2008. Rains shortly after the gates opened forced promoters to cancel all events scheduled for Friday night April 11th.

The opener for the Speedway including the 30 lap Spring Fling for LM paying $1500 plus regular racing in all other classes will now be held Friday April 18th.

For further information check the track website @ www.elkinsmotorspeedway.com. Also take note of the new raceday track phone number 304-636-3339.

Rachael Corley selected as Ms Elkins Speedway Photos

By Bob Reed

3/15/2008. Kerens, WV. The first ever Pagaent to select a Ms Elkins Speedway and a Tiny Miss Elkins Speedway was held at the Leading Creek Volunteer Fire Department Building in Kerens Saturday morning April 15th.

Only Stephanie Yocum and Rachael Corley vied for the honor to be the first ever Ms Elkins Speedway with Rachael Corley being selected by the judges.

The Tiny Miss Elkins Speedway contest had three entrants with Adryan Graham being selected by the judges over Courtney Eskew and Alexis Serback.

Both winners will appear at the track and at sponsors throughout the 2008 racing season.

All entry fees were donated to the SPCA while all admission fees to the building went to the Fire Department.

The next event on the Speedway schedule is a car show at the Tygart Valley Mall (Ace Hardware Parking Lot) in Elkins from 11AM to 2PM Saturday March 22nd.

Racing is scheduled to open the next Friday night, March 29th with practice for a divisions and also a swap meet.

For more information check out the Elkins Speedway website @ www.elkinsmotorspeedway.com.

Elkins Speedway Tentative Schedule For 2008 Released

By Bob Reed

2/17/2008. Kerens, WV. The 2008 Elkins Speedway Tentative Schedule has been announced with 8 nights of extra money for LM, 2 for LLM, 2 for AMRA Mods, 1 for SS and 2 for 4 cyl.

Before the racing starts on April 4th, several events have been scheduled. On Saturday March 15th at the Leading Creek Volunteer Fire Hall a Ms Elkins Speedway and a Lil’ Ms Elkins Speedway Pageants will be held.

Then on Saturday March 22nd a car show featuring cars that run at the Elkins Speedway will be held at the Elkins Wal-Mart. For details on both of these events check out the Elkins website at www.elkinsmotorspeedway.com.

The racing season starts off on March 29th with a practice day and a swap meet. If you have anything that you want to sell or trade bring it that day.

The highlights of the season for the Late Models are 4 visits of the Independent Racing Series with the final time being a two night affair on September 19th & 20th. Every night pays $5000 to the winner except the final night of the 20th which pays $7000. Also on the schedule are the non-sanctioned Chuck Gear Memorial and the R.H. Armstrong Memorial with each paysing$5000 to the winner. There is also a $1500 to win 2008 Elkins Speedway Tentative Schedule Announced
show scheduled in early May for the LMs.

The LLMs have one $600 to win and one $1000 to win show scheduled while the AMRA modifieds have 2 $1000 to win shows. A couple of $400 to win shows for the 4 Cyl and 1 for the SS complete the extra money shows scheduled at this time.

Bicycle races on August 1st for the kids are scheduled plus, a Powder Puff race for the ladies; a Monster Truck show and an autograph night for the drivers are also on the schedule.

One highlight of the schedule is a visit by former NASCAR driver Rodney Combs on Friday June 27th. Rodney will be driving a car painted like his old #5 that he drove when he lived in Lost Creek back in the 70’s & 80’s and competed locally. More details will be forthcoming.

2008 Schedule

(All Dates are subject to change)

MARCH

March 29th- practice day and swap meet (anything for sale)

APRIL

April 4th- Opening night- LM, LLM, E. Mod, SS, 4cy, Mini Wedge

April 11th- Grand Opening ...Spring Fling LM 30 laps with $1500 to win, LLM, E. Mod, SS, 4cy, mini wedge

April 18th- Reg Night- LM, LLM, E. Mod, SS (double points and 400 to win), 4cy, Mini wedge

April 25th- Reg Night- LM, LLM, E. Mod, SS, 4cy, Mini wedge

MAY

May 2nd- IRS $5000 to win LM, $400 to start, E. Mods, SS, 4cy, Mini wedge

May 9th- LM, (LLM.. Double points 30 laps with 600 to win), E. Mods, SS, 4cy, Mini wedge

May 16th- Reg Show, LM, LLM, E. Mods (double points 25 laps 600 to win, SS, 4cy, Mini wedge

May 23rd- Reg Show, AMRA Modifies ($1000 to WIN), LM, LLM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy, Mini Wedge

May 30th- SMART series non- point race for LLM, KOM rules apply also, LM, SS, 4cy, E. Mods, (4cy double points for 4cy $400 to Win)

JUNE

June 6th- Monster Truck, Reg show LM, LLM, E. Mods, 4cy, SS, Mini wedge

June 13th- Reg Show, LM, LLM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy, Mini wedge

June 20th- IRS race for LM $5000 to win, LLM, SS, 4cy, Mini wedge

FIREWORKS

June 27th- Reg Show LM, LLM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy, Mini wedge, POWDER

PUFF for ladies, SS cars only with a limit of the first 15 to sign-up,

and sign-up date will be announced

JULY

July 5th SATURDAY..$5000 to win Chuck Gear Memorial for LM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy and Mini wedge

July 11th- Reg Shoe with LM, double for LLM, 40 laps with $600 to win, E. Mods, 4cy, SS, and Mini wedge

July 18th- Reg Show with LM, LLM, E. Mods/ARMA 30 laps double points $1000 to win) SS, 4cy, and Mini wedge

July 25th- IRS- $5000 to win $400 to start LM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy and Mini wedge

AUGUST

August 1st- KIDS NIGHT with bike race, Reg Show, LM, LLM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy, and Mini Wedge

August 8th- Reg Show, LM, LLM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy (double points and $400 to win), and Mini wedge

August 15th- R.H. Armstrong Memorial race for LM$ 5000 to win, $400 for green, LLM, SS, 4cy, and Mini wedge

August 22nd- Reg Show, LM, LLM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy, and Mini wedge

August 29th SMART series for LLM, KOM rules apply, non points race, and $1000 to win, LM, SS, 4cy, and Mini wedge

SEPTEMBER

Sept 5th-6th- NO RACES!

Sept 13th- SATURDAY – warm-up 4 racing at 4:45,Reg Show, LM, LLM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy, and Mini wedge

Sept 19th-20th IRS WEEKEND $5000 to win Friday, and $7000 to win Sat, LLM, E. Mods, SS, 4cy, and Mini wedge Last Race of season

All Late Model shows are 25 Laps unless noted

All LLM shows are 20 Laps unless noted

All E. Mods shows are 18 laps unless noted

All SS shows are 15 laps unless noted

All 4cy shows are 12 laps unless noted

Death of Mary Jane Wilson

By Bob Reed

2/17/2008. Bridgeport, WV. Central West Virginia lost a devoted member of the racing community on Thursday February 14th when Mary Jane Wilson passed away after a brief illness.

Mary Jane was the mother of late model drivers Jim Wilson of Frazier’s Bottom, WV and Frank Wilson of Pennsoro. She also was the grandmother of LM driver and ARCA truck driver Frank Wilson Jr and AMRA modified driver Dotson Michael “Bird” Wilson.

Mary Jane in her younger days also won several “powder puff’ races at the Pennsboro Speedway and the Jackson County Speedway.

She could always be seen in her later years in Frank’s hauler at the races. Frank would park so that his mother could set in the front seat and see the track.

Mary Jane was also one of the stockholders of the now closed Pennsboro Speedway.

I myself will always remember her for the many times that she corresponded with me over the years. She was always one to speak her piece.