By: Linda M. Horn
FTS News Editor
The warm afternoon temperatures, followed by cool night air and clear skies were made better only by the sound of roaring engines around the dirt oval at Fast Trax Speedway Saturday night. Jerry and Laura Smith have the opening night jitters behind them now, and race fans got a great show from the 50+ drivers who made the trip to the Chatham track.
Conversations with many of the drivers all included the same statement, "I'm glad to be back at Fast Trax!" Among the many familiar faces were also some new names who made their debute appearance on dirt Saturday night.
Among the drivers making their first dirt track race was Bryan Baker (442) in the Pure Stock/Cruiser class. Not only did Baker run a great race against veteran racer, Bill "Cornbread" Teague, but he also captured his very first Feature win on dirt Saturday night.
A new class at Fast Trax Speedway is the Stockers (front wheel drive). It was a great race with only four cars, but Smith is confident that this class will grow quickly because of the lack of expense that is required to participate in the Stocker class. Taking the first win in the Stocker class at Fast Trax was Rodney Ates (4) of Chatham with Robert Griffith (90) of Jonesboro grabbing a close 2nd place finish.
The Street Stock class lacked its normal large number of cars, but the six of them that were there had a great time and Michael Gaffney (18G) easily grabbed the Feature win. Some Street Stock drivers were not able to make it Saturday night because of prior obligations but plan to be back Oct. 4th to help entertain the race fans.
The largest class of the night encountered a few cautions but when all was said and done, the checkered flag fell in the Sport Mod class to give Timmy Culp (c8) yet another Feature win in his racing career. Timmy led all but 6 laps of the 20 lap race. Choudrant's Scott Duke led laps 11 through 16, but Culp moved back out front leaving Duke in 2nd and Dougie Murphrey in 3rd at the finish.
Sport Mods might have had the most cars, but the Modifieds had the best speeds as they made their way around the track. A 20 lap race with 5 caution delays and only one driver being able to stay in the lead lap after lap. The battle in the Modified class was close at times between the 1st and 2nd place drivers, but Lee Patton (JP5) of Quitman held his own and maintained the lead to take another 2008 win at Fast Trax Speedway. Taking 2nd place was Timmy Culp (c8) who was pulling double duty Saturday night changing from the Sport Mod to the Modified. The 3rd place finisher in the Modified class was Chris Huckaby (D6), who started 12th in the Feature.
The Parking Lot Drag was also a great show. Smith has stated that this will be a weekly part of the racing action at Fast Trax. There were 5 entrants Saturday night. With no entry fee and a chance at winning $25 and the thrill of being part of the racing action this is sure to grow each week with more fans taking part.
Fast Trax will be running Saturday, October 4th with Stockers, Pure Stock/Cruisers, Street Stock, Sport Mods, Modifieds, Hot Stocks and Late Models as well as the Parking Lot Drags. The Annual Spooky 50 will be held on Saturday, October 11th. We are looking forward to a great turn out in the Late Model class on Oct. 4th, with a couple of added surprise drivers for you as well. Get there early to get a good seat!