Cleveland Speedway
Freezing track surface shuffles Cleveland schedule
From track reports
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (Nov. 22) — Freezing weather, and a freezing racetrack, shuffled the schedule for the Nov. 21-22 Joe Lee Johnson Memorial weekend at Cleveland Speedway. Most of Friday night's action was pushed to Saturday afternoon after attempts to make the track surface raceable proved impossible with temperatures dipping into the 20s at the third-mile oval.
Cleveland rescheduled the remainder of Friday's action to 3 p.m. Saturday, including the $2,700-to-win Joe Lee Johnson Memorial, a 27-lap race that will begin with Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga., and Dale McDowell of Rossville, Ga., on the front row. Friday's top 12 qualifiers were locked into the main event with consolation races setting the remainder of the starting field.
After the Joe Lee Johnson Memorial and a variety of prelims for local divisions, Saturday's regularly scheduled Gobbler 50 will be part of the evening activities with $5,000 going to the winner of the finale on the O'Reilly Southern All Star Series. Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, Fla., was virtually clinched his second series championship.
All-day Saturday tickets are $37. Fans holding tickets from Friday night, or those who arrive after 5 p.m., pay $20.
Notes: The first attempt to run Friday's time trials was scrubbed when the first several drivers washed up the racetrack exiting turn two. The track was reworked and qualifying was redone, but the turn-one surface began freezing, forcing the postponement. ... With a day full of racing, hot laps have been scrapped before Saturday's racing. ... Limited Late Model qualifying is first on the schedule Saturday at 3 p.m. ... Friday's action drew 32 Super Late Models. ... For the Gobbler main event, the top 10 qualifiers will be locked into the first five rows of the feature with consolation races setting the remainder of the field. The Gobbler is the third of six scheduled feature events Saturday night.
