National notebook
Notes: Papich hot heading toward MLRA opener
Jason Papich (heathlawsonphotos.com)
Coming off his best-ever stretch of winter racing, there's no better time for Jason Papich to be looking for first career Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association victory.
The 42-year-old Nipomo, Calif., driver, who scored a pair of top-five finishes at Arizona's Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout, is expected to be among drivers in action for April 9-10's eighth annual Lucas Oil MLRA Spring Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. That's the site of his best career MLRA finish of second in the tour's Oct. 10, 2000, event at the showplace oval.
“We always run pretty good, knock on wood, at Wheatland," Papich said. "I have raced there probably more than I have anywhere else in the Midwest and the track always seems to kind of come to a certain similar condition almost every time we race there, so I am able to read the track pretty well."
MLRA's season-opening weekend pays $5,000- and $10,000-to-win purses — upgrades from the original payouts — and starts a busy stretch of racing for the Missouri-based tour. With the recent addition of a $5,000-to-win event on Tuesday, April 13, at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., MLRA regulars are set to compete in seven events over nine days at five racetracks in three states.
The tour's mid-April action takes drivers to Lucas Oil Speedway, I-80, Stuart (Iowa) Speedway, Davenport (Iowa) Speedway and concludes at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, with the $10,555-to-win Slocum 50 before tour regulars take a month-long break.
Of course any MLRA competition for Papich, the owner-manager of Papich Construction and Sierra Pacific Materials, requires travel from the West Coast and support from crew chief Tim Douglas and Robby Schmidt, who prepare the equipment of Papich and California teammate Tony Toste in a Camdenton, Mo., race shop that serves as Midwestern base of operations.
“When I leave the track my brain is 100 percent off of racing until we come back pretty much, so we rely heavily on these guys," Papich said. "I am all about the business that helps pay for this when I am not here.”
Papich returns to racing mode for the weekends, jumping on airplanes to join the team at the racetrack.
“It’s variable based on where we are racing, it’s sometimes challenging in certain rural areas,” Papich said. “We might have to fly out the day before, often times we try to fly out the day of but that’s been another thing affected by Covid, where flights are more limited and then there is always the variability of weather along the way that makes it interesting.
“On Sundays (heading home) it’s an early flight out, gaining a couple hours going west and trying to spend the rest of the Sunday with the family and then tending to the business right up until the last minute when we have to fly out to the next race.”
Papich, who had four top-10 finishes in his final five MLRA starts of 2020, hopes to continue that momentum along with his success at FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway, where he finished tied for fourth in Wild West Shootout miniseries points with a best finish of third on Jan. 13. He's got his Longhorn Chassis dialed in.
“We were trying a lot of stuff last year early on and unfortunately we just kept going backwards,” Papich said. “We finally decided to bite the bullet and make a change last year around the Show-Me (100) and got us a Longhorn. We were really fast the last couple of races and had some good qualifying spots. We took that info and got another new Longhorn, made some additional improvements to it, and I think we showed pretty well with it in Arizona." — Billy Rock
LONGTIME ILLINOIS TEAM PLANS HIATUS: One of the longest continually operating Dirt Late Model teams in Illinois plans to take the 2021 season off. Team owner Ray Neltner Jr. told DirtonDirt.com he doesn't plan to field his No. 75 for Billy Drake this season, citing a variety of factors including the lack of crew help and his burnout factor for the team launched by his father in 1967. "Things can always change but as of right now, it's darn near into the race season and I haven't done anything (to prepare the car)," Neltner said. Besides Drake, who has driven for the team since 2012, the team has also fielded cars for Jim Strube, Al Terrell, Mike Cothron, Bob Dominacki, Ray Guss Sr., Billy Tuckwell, Brian Harris and Hall of Famer Ray Guss Jr. The team won a feature event at Peoria every year but one from 1973-2020, including Drake's tour-opening 2018 DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory.
MISSISSIPPI TRACK CO-FOUNDER DIES: Lyndon Rushing, who co-founded the fledgling Outlaw Speedway in Perkinston, Miss., with his son Zach Rushing, died March 10 in Gulfport, Miss. The elder Rushing, who previously co-owned and operated South Mississippi Speedway in Pass Christian, Miss., was 60. As a tribute to Rushing, the new Outlaw oval renamed March 13's season-opening event the Lyndon Rushing Memorial Frostbite 50. Undercard divisions were completed, but the event's $5,000-to-win Crate Late Model feature was halted by fog and will be rescheduled.
TRI-STATE MODIFIES POINTS CHASE: The Repairable Vehicles.com Tri-State Series has announced the points championship will be tabulated among a driver's best 18 finishes from the 27-race schedule. The series had previously considered running a number of non-points events, but settled on the best-18 format by the suggestion of driver Brad Vogt. The series also announced several races paying more than the standard $1,000-to-win with 10 $1,500-to-win races and a $2,000-to-win event Sept. 14 at Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa. The winning purse for May 31's Ben Nothdurft Memorial at Huset's Speedway in Brandon, S.D., hasn't been announced.
ATTICA BOOSTS WEEKLY PURSE: Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park, which plans to open its season March 20, has added $895 to its weekly Super Late Model purses for 2021, the track announced. The additional purse money was added for finishers fifth on back with start money upgraded to $200 from $160 in recent seasons. “We are able to do this thanks to the support of our great fans and marketing partners," said Rex LeJeune, Attica's director of operations. "It’s our way of showing our appreciation for the support these race teams give us every week.” Attica's schedule includes $2,000-to-win events on June 11, Sept. 3 and Sept. 10, along with a $3,000-to-win event on May 7. Propane.com and the Dirt Nerds Podcast sponsor the track's Late Model division.
STEEL BLOCK OPENER HONORS HERRICK: April 17's season-opening event on the Steel Block Late Model Series will pay $2,025 for the 11th annual Pat Herrick Memorial at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va. The event honors the late driver of the No. 25 who was the first Late Model feature winner in Tyler County history. The event will also serve as a qualifying event for Sept. 3's $5,000-to-win Hillbilly 50 at Tyler County, also a SBLMS event.
RUSH BOOSTS TOUR POINTS FUND: The Pace Performance RUSH Late Model Series, which recently added sponsorship from Flynn's Tire & Auto Service, has announced and upgraded total purse of $43,000 for the Crate Late Model tour. The champion of the 23-race tour will receive $12,000 with a guaranteed payout to the top 10 drivers in series points. The series will also pay $1,000 to tour members 11-15 in points if they have competed in 75 percent of series events, and $500 to tour members in positions 16-20 that meet the same standard. The series opens April 14 at Delaware International Speedway for the first of four Battle of the Bay events, all paying at least $3,000-to-win.
PRI TRADE SHOW SET FOR 2021: The Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, cancelled by Covid-19 in 2020, is making plans to return to an in-person event in 2021. Visit performanceracing.com/tradeshow for exhibit information for the event at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. “The racing industry is resilient and continues to push forward, and PRI very much reflects that spirit,” said PRI president Dr. Jamie Meyer said in a news release. “Our job is to help the entire community thrive, and No. 1 on that list is bringing the industry together under one roof for an in-person PRI Show to get back to the business of racing and discover all the latest parts, equipment, technology and solutions.”
NO BUYER YET FOR QUINCY RACEWAY: With efforts failing to find a buyer that plans to continue operations at Quincy (Ill.) Raceway, track owner Paul Holtschlag told Herald-Whig reporter Steve Eighinger that he's in the early stages of putting the property up for auction. “I want to see racing continue in Quincy — it’s such a tradition here — but I do not have the time to devote to the operation of the track,” Holtschlag said in a news story. The track had operated from 1975-2019 before its pandemic-forced closure in 2020 that saw two-year Quincy promoter Jason Goble leave to operate Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Mo. Holtschlag said the property, which appraised for $325,000 in 2012, would go on the auction block if a buyer for the Albert Scott-founded track doesn't materialize.
ODDS AND ENDS: The American All-Star Series has shifted its event at Beckley (W.Va.) Motorsports Park to May 8; it was originally scheduled for July 17. ... Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway has scheduled six Super Late Model events for 2021, including the $4,100-to-win Durboraw Tribute on Aug. 14 to honor late Nathan Durboraw, the track's eight-time Super Late Model champion who died in November. ... Harris (N.C.) Speedway cancelled March 13's schedule season opener and will now open the season with a $3,000-to-win City Chevrolet Thunder Series event for 602 Crate Late Models on March 20. ... Town & Country Disposal has added a nightly $50 Hard Luck Award for Repairable Vehicles.com Tri-State Series events. ... The Bi-State Late Model Battle has posted a minimum $15,000 points fund for 2021's races between Highland (Ill.) Speedway and Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo. Highland hosts the first two miniseries races April 3-April 10 with I-55's first event on April 17. ... Cedar Lake Speedway is mourning the March 11 death of former hometown racer Chuck Nutzmann of New Richmond, Wis. He was 82.
Correction: Fixes BiState Late Model Battle dates.
