ROSSBURG, Ohio — In an all-Illinois battle royale, Brandon Sheppard maintained his preliminary-race superiority at Eldora Speedway for a $10,000 victory in Friday's opening 25-lapper for the Dream XXII presented by Ferris Mowers.
The New Berlin, Ill., driver regained the lead from Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., on the 15th lap and pulled away to win by 2.608 seconds over his fellow Prairie State drivers and podium members Erb and Bobby Pierce of Oakwood. Hall of Famer Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., was fourth and 11th-starting Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., rounded out the top five.
Sheppard, also a winner in one of Thursday’s twin prelims to pick up $5,000, won his fourth consecutive major-race prelim at Eldora going back to last year's World 100.
“We had an awesome car again tonight. I think we made a pretty good call on tires,” Sheppard said. “I think we were the only one out there on the tire combination that we have, so I’ve got to thank my crew chief Randall Edwards ... and everybody that helps on this thing. This XR1 Rocket was on point again tonight. We’re looking forward to tomorrow for sure.”
Polesitter Chris Brown of Spring, Texas, tried to crash the Illinois party by leading the first three laps, but Sheppard’s lap-four slide job sent him to the front exiting turn four with Erb eventually settling into the second spot.
Erb turned up the wick near the race’s midpoint, and after a lap-13 yellow, he ran side-by-side with Sheppard before inching ahead to lead lap 14. But Sheppard kept rolling on the high side and swept back into the lead and edged away as Erb couldn’t keep up.
“I didn’t know really how good I was going to be on the bottom because I had a little harder tire on the left rear,” Sheppard said. “I knew I just had to get my speed going and get my momentum going up on top. I seen that we were kind of a little bit better than (Erb) on the long runs because we’d be side-by-side for a minute and then I’d start pulling him little bit.
“We’re going to have to make the right tire call. Our car’s really good on the top. It really helps to start these races on the front row, we don’t have to pass guys. I think we’ve got a good enough car to where we can pass some guys, but the thing about this place is, it takes a long time to pass a guy. You’ve got to work them a little bit and figure out where they’re messing up at and take advantage of that. That’s going to be the biggest thing, hopefully start up front and just hold them off.”
Erb said his tire choice didn’t help his chances when the last 11 laps ran caution-free.
“We had a good car tonight. We were just a little soft on tires,” Erb said. “He was a little harder and that’s what helped him on those longer greens, he started inching away a little bit. We had a good car, rolling right through that middle, we didn’t have to get up there and bounce off that wall. We’ll just keep tuning a little bit more and hopefully be good.”
Pierce joined the Illinois party but never got close enough to take a crack at the lead.
“We need to find a little bit more. The track was really nice tonight and it kind of fit my driving style with the top being there, and you could even go to the middle, too,” said Pierce, who was caught up in a late-race wreck in a Thursday 25-lapper. “We just need to get a little faster for tomorrow. Hopefully it’s slick track, because our big motor got hurt the other day. We’re down to this and we’ll just see what we’ve got’t .”
The 25-lapper was slowed by three cautions, one of which turned into a red flag after eight laps complete Frank Heckenast Jr. — an Illinois driver who didn’t have such a good night — got the worst end of a four-wide battle on the frontstretch. His No. 99jr slid nose-first into the inside-wall Hunt Brothers Pizza billboard 50 yards before the turn-one entrance. His car was done for the weeekend, but he wasn’t hurt.
The first caution appeared on the eighth lap for a slowing Rodney Sanders and Shanon Buckingham drew a lap-14 yellow.
Points accrued in Friday’s racing will be added to Thursday’s points, setting up the heat race lineups for Saturday’s action that precedes the weekend-capping $100,000-to-win main event.
Editor's note: It was announced June 20 that five drivers (Scott Bloomquist, Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Owens, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Gregg Satterlee were stripped of Dream weekend finishes and purses after tire samples failed to meet manufacturer benchmarks.
Preliminary results and notes:
Odd consolation race
Overall fast qualifier Chris Madden went past polesitter Ryan King on the third lap and cruised to a 12-lap victory in the odd consolation race. A lap-nine restart got wild in a scramble for the final three spots with King falling back from third as Jimmy Owens — scheduled to start fourth but was late to the grid and starting on the last row — roared into contention. Tyler Bruening worked his way to second with Michael Chilton in third and Owens, after a couple of tense moments with Scott James, got the final transfer spot. Nick Latham finished fifth and James sixth.
Finish (top four transfer): Chris Madden, Tyler Bruening, Michael Chilton, Jimmy Owens, Nick Latham, Scott James, Tim Manville, Ryan King, Brian Ligon, Austin Rettig, Jerry Bowersock, Billy Moyer Jr., Charles LaPlant, Robby Hensley., G.R. Smith.
Odds heat notes
Chris Madden didn’t bask in the glory of setting fast time for very long. On the opening lap of the first heat he slid high and cracked the turn-one wall, inflicting right-rear bodywork damage that caused him to quickly plummet backward and fail to transfer. … Heat three winner Brian Shirley bypassed a post-race interview with the pay-per-view video crew because his Bob Cullen-owned car’s engine was overheating and needed cooling at his trailer. He said the motor climbed to 230 degrees — not a dangerous level, but high enough that he didn’t want to take any chance with an Andy Durham-built piece in just its second night out. … Heat five victor Dennis Erb Jr. also experienced overheating woes and quickly returned to his hauler after weighing in after the race. … Just when G.R. Smith thought his Eldora fortunes might be rising — he launched from the seventh starting spot to fourth in two laps of the third heat — his car suddenly shut off on the backstretch and he limped into the pit area. “The car was good,” Smith said. “Something’s causing the car to cut off. We broke a driveshaft yesterday and it wiped out the starter and electrical system, and we’ve been chasing everything it hurt. Right now we’re chasing the ground wires.” … Billy Moyer Jr.’s bout with the turn-four wall on the final lap of the seventh heat — contact that knocked him from a transfer spot — left his car’s rear deck with extensive damage.
Odd consolation race
(12 laps; top four transfer)
Row 1: King, Chilton
Row 2: Bruening, Owens
Row 3: Madden, Hensley
Row 4: James, Zeigler
Row 5: Latham, Ligon
Row 6: Manville, Moyer Jr.
Row 7: Bowersock, Smith
Row 8: LaPlant, Rettig
Fourth heat
Polesitter Casey Roberts fought off a flurry of contenders on a wild first lap, hanging on all 10 laps for a victory over Chris Brown. Darrell Lanigan got third Shane Clanton advanced four positions to finish fourth. Mike Mataragas got the final transfer spot when Mason Zeigler got into the wall in turns one and two with two laps remaining. Billy Moyer Jr. got into the wall in turn four heading for the checkers when trying to overhaul Mataragas. Third-starting Jimmy Owens slipped out of the groove entering turn one on the first lap and never recovered, finishing sixth.
Finish (top five transfer): Casey Roberts, Chris Brown, Darrell Lanigan, Shane Clanton, Mike Mataragas, Jimmy Owens, Mason Zeigler, Billy Moyer Jr, Austin Rettig.
Third heat
Taking the lead when polesitter Shanon Buckingham washed high off turn two on the first lap, Dennis Erb Jr. raced to victory in the 10-lapper. Fifth-starting Dale McDowell moved quickly up to second but lost the spot on the final lap to Thursday prelim winner Brandon Sheppard, who rallied back into contention after surviving contact with the turn-one wall early. McDowell was third with Brandon Overton and Buckingham filling the final two transfer spots in the caution-free heat.
Finish (top five transfer): Dennis Erb Jr., Brandon Sheppard, Dale McDowell, Brandon Overton, Shanon Buckingham, Tyler Bruening, Scott James, Tim Manville, Charles LaPlant.
Second heat
Fourth-starting Brian Shirley split the front-row starters with a great start and raced to a 10-lap victory in a car with a hot engine. Crew members tended to Shirley's car immediately after the race. Fellow second-row starter Billy Moyer kept up with Shirley in finishing second while front-row starters Steve Casebotl and Jason Feger were further back in third and fourth. Mike Benedum started eighth and picked up three positions to get the final transfer spot. G.R. Smith slowed and pulled out on the third lap while Kentucky drivers Robby Hensley and Michael Chilton, heat race winners Thursday, failed to menace. The lone yellow appeared when the first start was called back.
Finish (top five transfer): Brian Shirley, Billy Moyer, Steve Casebolt, Jason Feger, Mike Benedum, Michael Chilton, Robby Hensley, Brian Ligon, G.R. Smith.
First heat
In a race-long battle between Illinois drivers, polesitter Frank Heckenast Jr. held off Bobby Pierce to win the first heat while overall fast qualifier Chris Madden got into the wall early and never contended. Another Midwestern, Indiana's Devin Gilpin, was further back in third while fellow Hoosier Kent Robinson was fourth and Rodney Sanders getting the final transfer spot over tail-starting Ryan King. Madden finished seventh in the nine-car heat.
Finish (top five transfer): Frank Heckenast Jr, Bobby Pierce, Devin Gilpin, Kent Robinson, Rodney Sanders, Ryan King, Chris Madden, Nick Latham, Jerry Bowersock.
Odd pre-heat notes
Chris Madden said picking a good number for his position in the qualifying line helped propel him to his overall fast-time honors. He’s still working on finding speed on a track with rough spots like Eldora has developed this weekend. “When the racetrack is smooth the package that we’ve been using is excellent,” said Madden, who has never won at Eldora. “We’re working on it (for rougher conditions).” … Tim Manville recorded a solid 11th-place finish from the 20th starting in Thursday’s first preliminary feature, but he’s handicapping himself in the Dream points with subpar qualifying efforts. He was well back in tonight’s time-trials results. “The car was good in the feature but we’re just missing something in qualifying,” he said of his one-week-old Rocket XR1, which he debuted last Friday night with a second-place finish to Billy Moyer at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. “This car is all new to us, though, so we’re still figuring it out.” … Former Dream and World 100 winner Shane Clanton was surprisingly off the pace in time trials, clocking it at 63rd-fastest among 72 entries. “We were just terrible,” said Clanton, who will start eighth in a heat race. “I hit the wall last night and I think something’s bent that I ain’t caught yet.” … Austin Rettig suffered the worst fate in qualifying, smacking the wall between turns three and four and failing to record an official time. His car sustained significant right-front suspension damage along with bent right-rear bodywork.
Odd heat lineups
(10 laps; top five transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Frank Heckenast Jr., Rodney Sanders
Row 2: Bobby Pierce, Chris Madden
Row 3: Devin Gilpin, Nick Latham
Row 4: Kent Robinson, Jerry Bowersock
Row 5: Ryan King
Second heat
Row 1: Jason Feger, Steve Casebolt
Row 2: Billy Moyer, Brian Shirley
Row 3: Michael Chilton, Robby Hensley
Row 4: G.R. Smith, Mike Benedum
Row 5: Brian Ligon
Third heat
Row 1: Shanon Buckingham, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 2: Brandon Sheppard, Brandon Overton
Row 3: Dale McDowell, Scott James
Row 4: Tim Manville, Tyler Bruening
Row 5: Charles LaPlant
Fourth heat
Row 1: Casey Roberts, Mason Zeigler
Row 2: Jimmy Owens, Chris Brown
Row 3: Darrell Lanigan, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 4: Mike Mataragas, Shane Clanton
Row 5: Austin Rettig
Qualifying
Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., topped 72 entries Friday in the second night of preliminaries for Eldora Speedway’s Dream XXII presented by Ferris Mowers, earning 200 points in the race’s new format. Madden tripped the clock at 16.208 seconds at the half-mile oval.
Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., was second quickest followed by Thursday’s quick qualifier Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Brandon Overton of Appling, Ga., were fourth and fifth.
Madden will start outside the second row of the first heat race according to the four-car inversion for the heats. The top five drivers from each 10-lap heat will transfer to the main event along with four drivers from each consolation race. There’s an eight-car inversion for the $10,000-to-win, 25-lap main events.
Qualifying note: Austin Rettig, on his 22nd birthday, got into the wall on his first qualifying lap, damaging the right-front of his No. 94.
More pre-race notes
Brandon Sheppard picked up a bruise to go with his victory in Thursday night’s first 25-lap preliminary feature. He absorbed a blow to his shoulder from a flying clod of clay during the race, leaving him with some soreness. “That cushion was just chunking up and stuff was flying at you when you got to lapped traffic,” said Sheppard, whose crew chief, Randall Edwards, reported that clay smashed into Sheppard’s spoiler with such force last night that a new spoiler had to be installed for tonight’s action. … Bob Pierce said his son, Bobby, will be behind the wheel of the same car he damaged in last night’s second feature when he hit Steve Casebolt’s slowing machine. A new rear end was installed in the mount and the rear deck from Pierce’s primary car, which was sidelined by engine trouble in Thursday’s hot laps, was transferred to the second vehicle. … Casebolt’s team also was busy after Thursday’s program replacing the rearend and rear suspension on his Rocket XR1. … Rodney Sanders made an engine change following Thursday night’s action, but it was not because he experienced motor problems. He had a freshened, more powerful Clements engine delivered to him in the pits on Thursday and he decided to bolt it in for the remainder of the weekend. … Scott Bloomquist had quite the Thursday night. Not only did he blow a left-rear tire in hot laps (damaging his bodywork and suspension), miss qualifying making repairs, fail to transfer in a heat race and then finish one lap down in a B-main because he wasn’t on the track to take the green flag, but he also borrowed tools from his pitside neighbor Jason Feger because he did not have his toolbox in his trailer. Feger said Bloomquist has access to his equipment tonight after Bloomquist’s crewman, Cody Mallory, arrived with the team’s toolbox this afternoon. … Eddie Carrier Jr.’s Rocket XR1 is back together after it was damaged when he hit Rusty Schlenk’s machine in turn four during Thursday’s first heat. “We actually didn’t have as much damage as we thought,” said Carrier’s father, Eddie Sr. The impact with Schlenk bent up the right-front suspension and nose on Carrier’s car and even ripped off its air cleaner, but his team had the car patched up enough to take a few B-main laps to accumulate some points and finished the repair job today. … Texan Chris Brown had to fix the right-front suspension and rear deck of his car after he slapped the wall between turns three and four while running in the top 10 of Thursday’s second feature. “I think the car was better than I was,” Brown quipped.
Pre-race notes
Hot laps are scheduled for 6 p.m., but because of extra track prep with rain earlier in the day, practice will likely be delayed at least a few minutes. … The official car count is 72 for the second consecutive night, it’ll actually be 71 cars because Duane Chamberlain of Richmond, Ind., has elected not to compete. Bothered by a neck injury that’s caused headaches the last few weeks, he’s going to get checked out again by a doctor after competing Friday night. … Matt Miller of Whitehouse, Ohio, isn’t in action after a hard turn-three crash in Thursday’s heats, while Tim Lance of Brimfield is a new entry. His No. 48 was hauled to Eldora by fellow Illinois driver Jason Feger.
Time trials
(Unoffical; better of two laps)
Driver (car no.), hometown, time
- Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 16.208
- Don O’Neal (5) Martinsville, Ind., 16.266
- Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 16.356
- Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va., 16.371
- Brandon Overton (76), Appling, Ga., 16.379
- Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa., 16.389
- Chris Brown (21B), Spring, Texas, 16.402
- Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 16.406
- Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 16.443
- Jonathan Davenport (6), Blairsville, Ga., 16.452
- Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 16.493
- Jared Landers (777), Batesville, Ark., 16.494
- Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill., 16.495
- Wendell Wallace (6m), Batesville, Ark., 16.568
- Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 16.573
- Jon Henry (15), Ada, Ohio, 16.600
- Rodney Sanders (20), Happy, Texas, 16.605
- Jeep Van Wormer (55), Pinconning, Mich., 16.630
- Steve Casebolt (c9), Richmond, Ind., 16.639
- Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., 16.656
- Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 16.671
- Austin Smith (11a), Cedartown, Ga., 16.673
- Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 16.674
- Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., 16.696
- Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 16.701
- Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan., 16.719
- Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 16.723
- Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 16.731
- Shanon Buckingham (50), Morristown, Tenn., 16.738
- Ricky Thornton Jr. (33x), Chandler, Ariz., 16.739
- Casey Roberts (101), Toccoa, Ga., 16.783
- Jeff Babcock (7B), Wayne, Ohio, 16.792
- Devin Gilpin (1G), Columbus, Ind., 16.792
- Earl Pearson Jr. (1), Jacksonville, Fla., 16.792
- Michael Chilton (97), Salvisa, Ky., 16.794
- Kody Evans (4G), Camden, Ohio, 16.795
- Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga. , 16.807
- Devin Moran (99m), Dresden, Ohio, 16.811
- Darrell Lanigan (15), Union, Ky., 16.838
- Mike Mataragas (1m), Dekalb, Ill., 16.847
- Nick Latham (31), Winchester, Ohio, 16.874
- Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 16.881
- Steve Francis (15), Ashland, Ky., 16.898
- Robby Hensley (21H), Walton, Ky., 16.902
- Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C., 16.908
- Scott James (15), Bright, Ind., 16.944
- Terry Phillips (75), Springfield, Ill., 16.973
- Billy Moyer Jr. (21jr), Batesville, Ark., 16.979
- Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, 16.983
- Kent Robinson (7r), Bloomington, Ind., 16.985
- Eddie Carrier Jr. (28), Salt Rock, W.Va., 16.995
- G.R. Smith (22*), Cornelius, N.C., 16.996
- T.J. Reaid (41), Acworth, Ga., 16.997
- Tim Manville (33), Highland, Ill., 17.010
- Tim Lance (48), Brimfield, Ill., 17.015
- Rusty Schlenk (11), McClure, Ohio, 17.018
- Jerry Bowersock (95j), Wapakoneta, Ohio, 17.142
- Doug Sanders (42), McAdenville, N.C., 17.145
- Mike Benedum (1B), Bristol, W.Va., 17.150
- Jason Jameson (12), Lawrenceburg, Ind., 17.168
- Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 17.227
- Jay Johnson (93), West Burlington, Iowa, 17.268
- Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga., 17.276
- Jason Noll (51), Peoria, Ariz., 17.382
- Ryan King (1G), Seymour, Tenn., 17.384
- Gavin Landers (77), Batesville, Ark., 17.510
- Brian Ligon (4), Augusta, Ga., 17.549
- Dustin Nobbe (5N), Batesville, Ind., 17.562
- Charles LaPlant (3c), East Prairie, Mo., 17.697
- Bryant Dickinson (5*), Ionia, Mich., 18.789
- Duane Chamberlain (20c), Richmond, Ind., no time
- Austin Rettig (94), Sikeston, Mo., no time
Weekend points
Unofficial points through Thursday for Dream XXII presented by Ferris Mowers preliminaries that will set Saturday's heat lineups at Eldora Speedway; ties not in any particular order; points accrued from time trials (200 points to fast time, 198 for second, 196 for third, etc.), heat races (100, 97, 94, 92, etc.) and features (250, 246, 242, 238, etc.):
Driver (car no.), hometown - points
- Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va. - 537
- Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark. - 535
- Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill. - 527
- Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y. - 524
- Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn. - 521
- Jon Henry (15), Ada, Ohio - 518
- Ricky Thornton Jr. (33x), Chandler, Ariz. - 518
- Jonathan Davenport (6), Blairsville, Ga. - 508
- Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga. - 506
- Steve Francis (15), Ashland, Ky. - 492
- Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn. - 492
- Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill. - 491
- Jeff Babcock (7B), Wayne, Ohio - 482
- Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill. - 482
- Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa - 476
- Darrell Lanigan (15), Union, Ky. - 472
- Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga. - 472
- Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C. - 468
- Terry Phillips (75), Springfield, Ill. - 455
- Michael Chilton (97), Salvisa, Ky. - 446
- Billy Moyer Jr. (21jr), Batesville, Ark. - 444
- Steve Casebolt (c9), Richmond, Ind. - 441
- Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill. - 432
- Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa - 430
- Robby Hensley (21H), Walton, Ky. - 430
- Jerry Bowersock (95j), Wapakoneta, Ohio - 428
- Devin Moran (99m), Dresden, Ohio - 420
- Jared Landers (777), Batesville, Ark. - 420
- Devin Gilpin (1G), Columbus, Ind. - 416
- Kent Robinson (7r), Bloomington, Ind. - 414
- Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill. - 410
- Scott James (15), Bright, Ind. - 408
- Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan. - 406
- Wendell Wallace (6m), Batesville, Ark. - 402
- Eddie Carrier Jr. (28), Salt Rock, W.Va. - 400
- Brandon Overton (76), Appling, Ga. - 396
- Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill. - 394
- Tim Manville (33), Highland, Ill. - 392
- Shanon Buckingham (50), Morristown, Tenn. - 390
- Chris Brown (21B), Spring, Texas - 389
- Don O’Neal (5) Martinsville, Ind. - 388
- Matt Miller (3), Whitehouse, Ohio - 380
- Austin Smith (11a), Cedartown, Ga. - 368
- Duane Chamberlain (20c), Richmond, Ind. - 368
- Mike Benedum (1B), Bristol, W.Va. - 366
- Nick Latham (31), Winchester, Ohio - 362
- Kody Evans (4G), Camden, Ohio - 358
- Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa. - 358
- Dustin Nobbe (5N), Batesville, Ind. - 354
- Rusty Schlenk (11), McClure, Ohio - 354
- T.J. Reaid (41), Acworth, Ga. - 354
- Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C. - 352
- Ryan King (1G), Seymour, Tenn. - 344
- Earl Pearson Jr. (1), Jacksonville, Fla. - 344
- Casey Roberts (101), Toccoa, Ga. - 338
- Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill. - 334
- Jason Jameson (12), Lawrenceburg, Ind. - 326
- Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa. - 326
- Jeep Van Wormer (55), Pinconning, Mich. - 324
- Gavin Landers (77), Batesville, Ark. - 322
- Rodney Sanders (20), Happy, Texas - 320
- Jason Noll (51), Peoria, Ariz. - 318
- Mike Mataragas (1m), Dekalb, Ill. - 316
- Jay Johnson (93), West Burlington, Iowa - 312
- Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis. - 310
- Austin Rettig (94), Sikeston, Mo. - 306
- Doug Sanders (42), McAdenville, N.C. - 300
- Brian Ligon (4), Augusta, Ga. - 298
- Charles LaPlant (3c), East Prairie, Mo. - 288
- Bryant Dickerson (5*), Ionia, Mich. - 258
- Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn. - 206
- G.R. Smith (22*), Cornelius, N.C. - 198
Friday’s schedule
11 a.m.: Grandstand cleared and secured for grand opening
Noon: All admission gates/suites/concessions open
Noon: Turn-three pit gate opens
Noon: Technical inspection for Late Models
5 p.m.: Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m.: Hot laps
8 p.m.: Racing begins
• Eight alternating odd-even heat races (10 laps; top five transfer)
• Odd consolation race (12 laps; top four transfers)
• Even consolation race (12 laps; top four transfers)
• Odd main event (25 laps)
• Even main event (25 laps)
