National notebook
Notes: Younger McCarter off to a hot '21 start
Mack McCarter had two podium runs at Volusia. (Brian McLeod/Dirt Scenes)
Pierce McCarter is the reigning champion of the Crate Racin' USA Winter Shootout Series, and while he's not defending his title, younger brother Mack McCarter is filling his shoes nicely. The younger McCarter had two standout performances at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., both of which resulted in second-place finishes during the Sunshine Nationals at the D-shaped track.
The Sevierville, Tenn., raced impressively from 19th to second on the opening night of the weekend, and closed the series (after the second night was rained out) with a 20th-to-third journey that resulted in another runner-up placing when apparent winner Michael Page was disqualified, moving McCarter up to a second-place finish.
While he missed the season-opening Ice Bowl at Talladega Short Track and now sits far behind the top four drivers who are battling for the points championship, McCarter will head for East Bay Raceway Park with a level of anticipation that has him excited to arrive, especially based on those two Volusia performances. While the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is racing this week at East Bay, the tricky Gibsonton, Fla., track will host Winter Shootout events Feb. 4-6.
“I haven’t raced there in five or six years, and when I did we had older equipment than we do now, so I’m really looking forward to those three races,” McCarter said. “You never want to sound too confident or too cocky, but I feel like we’ve hit a really good groove with this car, and considering we passed so many cars at Volusia both nights against the large number of cars that were racing all weekend, we have to believe we’ve got a car capable of getting the job done.”
McCarter set out to purchase a spring smasher, discovered the car for sale, and decided to purchase it. It’s a Chip Vineyard Racing (CVR) machine, and McCarter has had some good runs in the past with the Tennessee-based chassis builder’s equipment.
“I haven’t been racing much, because we bought a liquor store in Newport, Tenn., during the summer of 2019, and that has kept us busy and away from our racing,” McCarter said. “We just ain’t had the time. So when that settled down a bit, we had this car but we’ve only run it six times. We’ve finished five of those six races, and it’s never been outside the top two.”
That will have McCarter admittedly licking his chops as the bright lights of Tampa, Fla., appear through the front windshield of his car hauler on the way to the famed Clay by the Bay, and the Sevierville, Tenn., driver is prepared for the stiff competition that will likely show up for the three-race weekend.
“There’s definitely been some heavy competition this year, and especially during the Sunshine Nationals,” McCarter said. “We had 55-56 cars there the first night, and then 60-plus for the last race. We’ve all got pretty much the same motors in the crate division, and it’s tough to make the shows, let alone to pass the amount of cars we did during the weekend. Honestly, I think it’s actually tougher to run these races than it is to win in the Super Late Model division. We’re gonna go down there and give it a rip, and see what we can do.” — Brian McLeod
REED CHASING MLRA ROOKIE TITLE: Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill., has thrown his helmet into the ring for the Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association's Sunoco-sponsored Rookie of the Year chase. The 34-year-old driver for Shawano, Wis.-based Jeff Curtin Racing has a best career finish of seventh in a handful of career MLRA starts. Reed has more than 35 career Late Model victories, including one apiece on the Deery Brothers Summer Series and DIRTcar's Big 10 Series. He was Quincy (Ill.) Raceway's 2011 Late Model champion and DIRTcar's 2015 Midwest champ. Reed will pilot a Rocket Chassis powered by a Triple R Performance Race Engine with Jarrid Curtin, Jeff's son, serving as crew chief. "As I look at my racing career," Reed said, "I want to be able to look back and say hey, this is one thing that we tackled one year, and hopefully it will grow from there."
TEXARKANA TRACK IMPROVEMENTS: Texarkana (Ark.) 67 Speedway's new Limited Late Model division will follow rules for the Southern Outlaw Late Model Series. Several improvements have been planned at the Bill Whisenant-owned track that will be operated by Dennis Gardner and Chris Greene. "It has been many years since the speedway has gotten some serious work done on it and we decided now was the time," Gardner told the Texarkana Gazette. "We are doing just about everything. New stands, new concessions, new bathrooms, including ones down in the pit area. New lights and fencing, the works. It is going to be an almost completely new facility when we are done." The season opener is scheduled for Feb. 26 with regular season events scheduled for Fridays from mid-March to late August.
HERSHEY'S ENGINES ACQUIRED: Longtime racing supporter and Winchester (Va.) Speedway owner Greg Gunter has acquired Greencastle, Pa.-based Hershey's Racing Engines. Gunter's longtime friend and Hershey's founder Curt Hershey died last summer at the age of 58 and Gunter hopes to continue to "grow the legacy Curtis Hershey started so many years ago," according to a press release. Hershey's son, Joey, and other employees will continue operations of the engine builder that, along with Dirt Late Model powerplants, builds custom race engine for sprint cars, modifieds, street rods, dragsters and road racers.
NEW TULSA OVAL: The Sooner Late Model Series has June 4 and Aug. 27 dates at the new Tulsa (Okla.) Speedway, the quarter-mile layout built just north of the existing Tulsa Raceway Park drag strip. TRP owners Todd Martin and Keith Haney repurposed an old mud bog track for the oval that is scheduled to host 30 nights of racing in 2021. Tim Cunningham will manage the track that opens with March 5 practice and will host a variety of open-wheel and stock car divisions. For more information, visit tulsaspeedway.com. — John Rittenoure
WISSOTA NOTES: WISSOTA's online licensing is open at myracepass.com. ... WISSOTA board member Mark Geer of New London, Wis., died Jan. 3 after a battle with Covid-19. He was 51. ... Pat and Patsy Willis have sold Hoosier Tire North to Blake Follmer and Scott Willis, who have long been involved with the Rogers, Minn.-based dealership.
CRATE RACIN' USA MINISERIES: This season's Crate Racin' USA schedule includes a special grouping of races tabbed the E-Z-Go Challenge $100,000+ Challenge that pay at least $10,000-to-win with the miniseries paying $5,000 to the points champion. Upcoming miniseries events are scheduled for March 19-20 at Modoc (S.C.) Raceway and May 14-15 at Boothill Speedway in Greenwood, La. Both races pay $10,000-to-win. Other races are scheduled for Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C., Thunderhill Raceway Park in Summertown, Tenn., Cochran (Ga.) Motor Speedway, Deep South Speedway in Loxley, Ala., and Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn.
ODDS AND ENDS: Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., will pay a minimum of $2,000-to-win for all 2021 Super Late Model events and Crates have been boosted to $800-to-win (up from $500). ... The American All-Star Series presented by PPM has dropped "Crate" from its name in a rebranding for 2021. ...The Texas-based Southern Touring Late Model Series will be DIRTcar-sanctioned in 2021, amending the tour's tire rules. DIRTcar licenses will be required for competition and the season opener is scheduled for May 14 at Lubbock's West Texas Raceway. ...The new Mid-East Challenge organization has posted a $25,000 bonus to any driver who can win all three touring divisions (602 Crate Late Model, 602 modified and street stock) on April 16 at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, N.C. The 602 Crate event pays $1,200-to-win ... Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex in Markleysburg, Pa. is mourning the Jan. 3 death of longtime fan John Collins, who cheered on his nephew Kevin Collins and other drivers. He was 80. ... Sugar Creek Raceway in Blue Ridge, Ga., popped up on the United Championship Racing Alliance schedule for May 1 and July 31. The track most recently operated as Blue Ridge Motorsports Park in 2019.
