Bristol Motor Speedway
Notes: I-5 drivers ready for tripleheader weekend
John Lowrey's two-seater helps various charities. (photofinishphotos.com)
The DIRTcar Northwest I-5 Late Model Series launches the 2009 campaign with a tripleheader weekend of racing in Oregon beginning Friday at Cottage Grove Speedway followed by the two-day Memorial Classic at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. The tour, an evolution of the I-5 Challenge Series, pays $1,500-to-win at each event.
A stout field of racers will include two-time champion Rob Mayea, of Bend, Ore., and John Duty of Portland, Ore., who already has a victory this season at Willamette Speedway.
“It's real positive for our area that we can have a sanctioned series up in our neck of the woods,” said Duty, who won May 9 at Willamette. “It's a good series, but with DIRTcar's involvement there's some merit behind it and some name recognition so we can get some more tracks. I'm really thrilled to see this come our way. I think we'll have good car counts all three days this weekend."
Mayea is geared up to begin a shot at his third series championship. “I think having DIRTcar involved is a big bonus,” Mayea said. “It makes us feel like we're part of the country as far as Dirt Late Model tour racing goes now that we're affiliated with something that's as professional as DIRTcar. ... I've been lucky enough to win the championship a few times and finish second a few times. It's neat to go traveling a little bit. We're excited to get out and travel around a little bit. The series is very doable.”
One driver who definitely wishes he was able to race this weekend is three-time series champion Trevor Glaser of Tangent, Ore. A broken arm in the first race of the year at Willamette will keep him from racing until August. Friends and family surprised Glaser this week by showing his a new Trak-Star Chassis that was ordered just after the wreck that caused his injury. — Kellen Burns and Craig Cassell
PARKER ON TOP IN LANDMARK VICTORIES: Tracks might want to beware if Lonnie Parker Jr. of El Mirage, Ariz., wins a race. Two of Parker's 2009 victories have come at Southwest tracks that announced they'd soon be closing, making him the final Late Model winner first at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Ariz., and then at Hollywood Hills Speedway in San Felipe Pueblo, N.M. The historic Manzanita closed after the property was sold to a crane company, and Casino Hollywood announced it was closing its 8-year-old track because of safety concerns with track structures. Parker's Southwest DIRTcar Racing Association victory at Manzanita came April 12 in the track's final event while he won a Rio Grande Super Late Model event at Hollywood Hills on May 3, just before the track's announced it would close following Memorial Day weekend. — From staff reports
LOWREY GIVING FANS A CHARITABLE RIDE: Veteran California driver John Lowrey of Bakersfield recently acquired a two-seater Late Model and plans to provide rides for fans to raise charity in the 2009 season. He'll sell $2 raffle tickets at select events, including Saturday's West Coast Shootout event at Bakersfield Speedway. For Saturday's race, he plans to raise money for the Veterans of Kern County as a tribute on Memorial Day weekend. "I want to do this charity deal and give back," Lowrey said. "Us racers take a lot and it's time to give back a little." — The Bakersfield Californian
ODDS AND ENDS: During the two-race Southwest DIRTcar Racing Association weekend at Canyon Speedway in Peoria, Ariz., the series plans to host a Brat Boil for all SWDRA teams and families at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Bratwurst and all the fixings will be served. ... The Colorado Late Model Association and Western Dirt Racing Association will host the first of several co-sanctioned events on May 23 at I-76 Speedway in Fort Morgan, Colo.
