Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: From calf-roping to manhandling cars
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt managing editor
Sid Scarbrough (Davis Dirt Photograph)
You can’t say Sid Scarbrough doesn’t know how to win tight races.
Whether it’s beating the clock while calf-roping at a rodeo, winning an election as a county official by a single vote or steering his Crate Late Model to a narrow victory at the dirt track, the Florence, Miss., resident knows how to get it done.
What Scarbrough hopes to get done at the racetrack this year is to capture the overall Crate Racin’ USA championship in a division he’s competed in most of the last 18 seasons after wrapping up a lengthy rodeo career.
"I would like to before I end my career, because I'm 53, and it'd be nice,” Scarbrough said. “I won several track championships, but it'd be nice to say I won that, too.”
With five victories between two tracks in 2025, Scarbrough holds the midseason points lead for the 604 Crate Late Models, but he’s in a tight battle with several standout drivers including fellow Mississippians Ben Davis of Poplarville and Shannon Lee of Lumberton, a multitime CRUSA champion.
As much as the competition, Scarbrough’s chances might depend on if he’s able to race as much as he’ll need in the second half of the season. His business of building and operating assisted living facilities keeps him busy along with duties as a Rankin County supervisor, a post he narrowly won in a 2023 runoff election. He also owns rental properties and has family commitments, including attending this fall's high school football games to watch his 15-year-old son Parker, a defensive end and tailback.
“I've always raced, but I've always put the family first too, depending on when I went and how I went,” Scarbrough said. “This possibly might be the year (for a CRUSA title run), but it just depends on what I’ve got going on with my kids and my grandkids.”
Scarbrough got a late start in racing, primarily because he was focused on rodeos as a youngster through his mid-30s. He finished seventh nationally in a 1988 rodeo for high school students in Pueblo, Colo., went on to compete at Western Oklahoma State College and continued calf-roping for many years, sometimes at as many as 70 rodeos annually.
"I traveled all over. I’ve been from Chicago, out east, out west to Wyoming, you know, been all over traveling doing that,” Scarbrough said, “and just kind of got tired of traveling and got older and it's kind of physical on you. And I just decided to kind of step back a little bit on it.”
But not long after scaling back, he found another way to spend his leisure time after spectating at Simpson County Motorsports Park in D’Lo, Miss.
"I kind of felt like I was getting too old to rodeo, so I picked up another hobby. I didn't know a thing in the world about it, about a race car. Me and a buddy of mine went to a race and we watched it,” Scarbrough said.
Within a week, he purchased his own GRT Race Car, and with the help of the racing Cliburn family that lives just a mile from his home, started his Crate Late Model career. Since then, Scarbrough has been a regular at many tracks including Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, a quarter-mile oval once operated by Don Cliburn.
He owns multiple track championships at Jackson and Hattiesburg Speedway and estimates he’s won more than 50 feature races. His career-richest victory came in November with a $4,000 triumph in the Jambalaya 100 at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss.
In switching to racing from rodeos, Scarbrough initially thought things would be less physical, but occasional rough racetracks remind him of his previous hobby.
"I thought it was gonna be easier. I was getting too old to rodeo, but I don't know, on these tracks, it's about the same,” Scarbrough said with a chuckle.
He sees other comparisons to his calf-roping days, when he’d hustle his horse out of the gate, lasso the calf, dismount to flank it, throw it on the ground and tie it up. A good time was seven seconds — about half the time it takes to go around the average Mississippi bullring.
With calf-roping and racing, “both of them (require) quick thinking,” Scarbrough said. “You have to react to every situation. You have to be quick to react, you know, whether you're in the roping pen or on the racetrack. Everything is kind of instinct and reaction time.”
That instinct and anticipation is one of his strengths behind the wheel, Scarbrough said.
“My biggest thing I think is being able to read what's in front of me and staying out of trouble,” he said. “As I'm racing, knowing what to do in each, situation. To me, that’s kind of where I feel like I'm better at. You know, sometimes just kind of reading and watching in front of me, racing in front of me, and kind of reading what's going on in front of you and then making your decision from there.”
The rodeo life is also similar to racing in that it required travel to far-flung venues with different surfaces and configurations.
“It’s kind of like racetracks. Every arena you go to is different, so it kind of depends on the set up,” he said. The “surface is different and the shape of the pen (or) arena that you perform in is different. Just kind of like at racetracks. You know, you go to one track, it's more oblong. You go to one that’s kind of a paper clip or hairpin, some of them a circle. It’s same way in the rodeo. Every town you go to, it's different sizes, it depends on what building or colosseum you're in.”
With his busy schedule, Scarbrough is grateful to have supporters who help keep his racing equipment ready to go.
“I've got good people that keeps the car up during the week,” Scarborough’s said. “You definitely gotta have, in today's racing, you gotta have somebody to help. I've got a couple of guys, two or three guys, and if I tear up something, they're over here and putting a body on and getting it ready and go with me. It kind of makes it a lot easier on my end, because if it wasn't for them” he couldn’t race.
His sons Scooter (who still competes in rodeo competitions) and Parker help along with many crew members, and Scarbrough thanks "my wife (for) putting up with me all the time.”
Extending his five-victory season will be a challenge, he knows.
“It’s been some tight racing because there's a lot of good competition out here,” he said. “It's never easy, no matter how many’s at the track because it seems like nowadays, around here, everybody's got good drivers and everybody's got good equipment nowadays. It used to, when I first started racing, it's kind of whoever had the best equipment. But now, everybody's got good equipment.”
Regarding his own equipment, Scarbrough said things have been going well, and perhaps it can carry him to a CRUSA title.
“As far as you gotta have luck on your side (because) anything can happen, but so far everything's been going pretty well, you know, as far as stuff (not) breaking and tearing up and stuff like that,” he said. "I've been pretty fortunate with the car, staying out of trouble and just engine trouble or stuff like that, because anything can break or not let you finish the race.”
Weekly highlights
• Paul Wilmoth Jr. of Clarksburg, W.Va., winner of some of the biggest races in the history of Elkins Raceway in Kerens, W.Va., captured June 28’s Super Late Model feature for his first victory since 2019. Wilmoth, whose last victory at Elkins came in the $5,000-to-win Skidmore Memorial, outran 13th-starting Jared Hawkins. Wilmoth has made only a handful of starts since the pandemic.
• Longtime team owner and crew chief Corky Miller saw his car win for the 200th time June 28 at Lake View Motor Speedway in Nichols, S.C. Michael Batten drove the No. 32 to. a victory in the Sandra Miller Memorial.
• Winning June 29 at U.S. 30 Speedway in Columbus, Neb., Mike Wiarda of Aurora, Neb., notched his first victory since a May 15, 2010, triumph on the Malvern Bank circuit at Boone County Raceway in Albion, Neb. On Cancer Awareness Night, Wiarda dedicated the victory to Jason Keeshan, a friend from Lincoln, Neb., who died May 19 at age 51.
• Kyle Moore of Mansfield, Ohio, stretched his personal winning streak to four in a row with June 27-28 victories at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park and Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio.
• Sweeping Crate Late Model divisions (604 and 602), Jake Traylor of LaGrange, Ga., won twice June 27 at Penton (Ala.) Raceway.
• Division rookie Logan Veloz of Colona, Ill., won June 29 at East Moline (Ill.) for his sixth victory in seven starts at the quarter-mile oval.
• Winning a rare Super Late Model event at Silver Bullet Speedway in Owendale, Mich., Travis Stemler of Ionia, Mich., led the final 12 laps June 28 for a $3,000 payday and his second special event in as many weeks. Stemler has eight victories on the season.
• Scoring a two-victory weekend, Chris Jones of Neelyville, Mo., won June 27-28 at Poplar Bluff (Mo.) Motorsports Park and Crowley’s Ridge Raceway in Paragould, Ark.
First things first
Recent first-time occurrences at the dirt track:
• Winning June 28 at Elkins Raceway in Kerens, W.Va., Chandi Currence of Clarksburg, W.Va., captured her first Crate Late Model feature victory.
• Piloting his brother Jeffrey’s Dynasty Chassis, modified ace Michael Ledford of Pontiac, Ill., on June 28 captured his first Super Late Model victory at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway. Ledford took advantage of a last-corner McKay Wenger-Mike Spatola tangle to lead only the final lap.
Weekly news briefs
• Derick Quade of Mechanicsville, Md., was home recovering earlier this week from his violent rollover wreck June 28 at Winchester (Va.) Speedway during a heat race for the rained out Jimmy Spence Memorial. He was taken by ambulance to Winchester Medical Center where he was diagnosed with a concussion and released. “I'm not sure if something broke or if I just bicycled, and the right-front dug in and sent me flying,” Quade told DirtonDirt. “I got a pretty bad concussion and the car is destroyed — so some hurt feelings as well — but I'll be all right.” The $6,091-to-win Super Late Model race was rescheduled for July 13.
• Jack Vick of Owensboro, Ky., who leased the Windy Hollow Speedway dirt track from 1999-2005, died recently at 83. His passing was reported by the track.
• Ahead of July 5’s Independence 50, Cochran (Ga.) Motor Speedway has amended its Limited Late Model rules for a mixture of Southern Clash, Topless Outlaw and Crate Late Model engine combinations. Drivers using 604 crate engines can bolt on a 12-inch spoiler. See the track’s Facebook page for complete details.
• After Shawano (Wis.) Speedway has drawn just a few Late Models for recent events, track sponsor Chimney Mechanix told the track it will cover pit passes for a driver and crew member of each Late Model team for the July 5 event.
• So many Late Model have pre-registered for July 19’s Duane Mahder Memorial at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., the track has shifted one of the undercard divisions (Midwest modifieds) to the following week.
• River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., will induct its Class of 2025 into the track’s Hall of Fame on Aug. 1. Former Northern LateModel Racing Association and track champion Troy Schill will be inducted along with former hobby stock racers Pat Miller and Todd Johnson, as well as longtime fan Roger Synsky.
• Longtime Delaware International Speedway promoters and owners Charlie and Joyce Cathell on July 24 will receive the Leonard J. Sammons Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Auto Racing. They’ll be honored during Hall of Fame ceremonies at the Northeast Dirt Modified Museum on the grounds of Weedsport (N.Y.) Speedway. The ceremonies are free and open to the public.
• Hidden Hollow Speedway in Whitesburg, Ky., has pushed back its season opener two weeks to July 25. The opening program will include a $3,000-to-win touring event for the American All-Star Series presented by PPM.
• Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, N.C., will induct its Class of 2025 Hall of Famers during the July 4 intermission. John Rhyne, Mark Abernathy and Dennis Stines will be honored.
• During July 5’s Skidmore Memorial at Elkins Raceway in Kerens, W.Va., the track will honor those joining the track’s Wall of Honor. The honorees: drivers Jim McCloud, Louie Krushanksy, and Tom Simpson; team owners Tim Leggett and Elmer Fizer; historian Randy Murphy; mechanics Willie Mallow, Jim and Joe Stout; and sponsor Melvin's Transmission.
Weekly points
IMCA (Limiteds): Curtis Glover of Knoxville, Iowa, has 722 points to lead Kale Kosiski (654) and Zach Zeitner (641).
USRA (Limiteds): Lucas Peterson of Stockholm, Wis., has 2,510 points to lead Cade Nelson (2,377) and Jason McFadden (2,172).
WISSOTA (Limiteds): Tyler Peterson of Hickson, N.D., has 1,100 points to lead Chad Becker (855) and Devin Fouquette (837).
American All-Stars (Crates): Ronnie Martin Jr. of Buena Vista, Va., has 342 points to lead Justin Williams (324) and Darren Slone (312).
Crate Racin’ USA (602 Crates): Brett White of Kosciusko, Miss., has 687 points to lead Devin Whatley (627) and Brandon Lunsford (596).
Crate Racin’ USA (604 Crates): Sid Scarbrough of Florence, Miss., has 621 points to lead Ben Davis (592) and Shannon Lee (556).
RUSH (Crates): Tom Snyder Jr. of Mayport, Pa., has 1,109 points to lead Jake Wilber (1,068) and Davin Kaiser (1,062).
Ultimate (Crates): Chandi Currence of Clarksburg, W.Va., has 259 points to lead Garret Paugh (171) and Kolbe Kimbrew (164).
(Weekly points for DIRTcar, POWRi and RUSH haven’t been released)
Upcoming weekly specials
Among non-touring and independent special events coming up for Late Models at dirt tracks around the country:
Potomac Speedway, Budds Creek, Md. (July 3): The holiday special pays $4,515 for the Super Late Model winner with bonuses including a starting spot in Winchester’s Junior Boone Memorial.
Wartburg (Tenn.) Speedway (July 3): Thunder at the Burg includes a $4,000-to-win event for Limited Late Models with several other divisions in action; fireworks are planned during intermission.
ABC Raceway, Ashland, Wis. (July 3): The XR Northern Storm event (the first, after four others were cancelled) pays $1,500-to-win with NASCAR standout Ryan Newman expected to compete.
Merritt Speedway, Lake City, Mich. (July 3-5): Super Late Models are in action all three nights of the Fourth of July special, along with weekly classes. No purses see publicized.
McKean County Raceway, East Smethport, Pa. (July 4): The USMC Corp. Jason Dunham Memorial pays $10,010-to-win for the Super Late Model division with lap money, $250 to fast time and more.
Willamette Speedway, Lebanon, Ore. (July 4-5): Super Late Models are on the card both nights for the Firecracker 100 with plans for bonuses and lap money.
Dead Horse Creek, Morden, Manitoba (July 4-5): WISSOTA Late Models are in action both nights of the GVE Deere Run with $1,500- and $2,500-to-win features.
Elkins Raceway, Kerens, W.Va. (July 5): The 15th annual Skidmore Memorial pays $5,000-to-win for the Super Late Model division with the Wall of Legends ceremony part of the night’s activities.
Cochran (Ga.) Motor Speedway (July 5): Limited Late Models (with revised rules) chase a $2,500-to-win purse for the Independence 50 with $2,000-to-win for 602 Crate Late Models.
34 Raceway, West Burlington, Iowa (July 5): With free grandstand admission, LaVeine Sanitation Fan Appreciation Night includes a $1,500-to-win feature for the IMCA Late Model division.
Natural Bridge (Va.) Speedway (July 5): The Freedom 40 includes a $2,500-to-win event for Limited Late Models topping a four-division program.
Highland (Ill.) Speedway (July 5): The track’s Challenge of Champions pays $2,500-to-win for the Super Late Model division with three classes on the undercard.
201 Speedway, Sitka, Ky. (July 5): Hosting racing again for the first time in seven years, The Hatfield and McCoy special pays $3,000-to-win for the Super Late Model division (two practices have been cancelled).
Hidden Valley Speedway, Clearfield, Pa. (July 5): The rain-postponed Shawn “Sheetz” McGarvey Memorial pays $3,000-to-win for the Super Late Model division.
Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex, Markleysburg, Pa. (July 6): Super Late Models chase a $2,000 payday for the holiday weekend event; the track is also hosting a July 4 program with Crate Late Models on the card.
