Bristol Motor Speedway
North-South 100 added to Lucas Oil schedule
From series and staff reports
The North-South 100, one of the richest unsanctioned events in Dirt Late Model racing, has been added to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series schedule for 2008, the series announced. The $50,000-to-win event, tabbed the Sunoco North-South 100 presented by Lucas Oil Products, is scheduled for Aug 8-9 at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky.
The long-running event, which ran unsanctioned from 2003-2007, is the second major independent event added to the Lucas Oil schedule. The series previously announced it would sanctioned the 2008 Topless 100 at Batesville (Ark.) Motor Speedway, a $47,000-to-win event that had never been previously been part of a series.
Besides the race itself, the North-South 100 weekend traditionally features the annual inductions for the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., won last year's event and other previous winners include Hall of Fame drivers Scott Bloomquist, Donnie Moran, Rick Aukland and the late Jack Boggs.
The Lucas Oil tour also added two more 2008 events, a $7,000-to-win race on April 3 at Swainsboro (Ga.) Raceway that will open a three-race weekend, and a $20,000-to-win event on Sept. 12-13 at Jackson (Miss.) Motor Speedway. The series, which has 44 races in 16 states, opens with Feb. 4-9 events at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa, Fla. — From series reports
Wallace looking for 2008 ride
Former Dirt Track World Champion Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., is putting together new plans for a 2008 race team after Garrett Racing in Simsboro, La., announced it wouldn't field a team in 2008. Wallace, the 2000 DTWC winner, won six 2007 races in his lone season driving for Garrett Racing as a teammate to Garrett Durrett, including his third victory in the Show-Me 100 at West Plains (Mo.) Motor Speedway, a victory worth $41,000.
Team owner Don Durrett, Garrett's father, decided in late December to shut down the racing operation to invest money into another business venture.
“It was a decision that I know Big D struggled with, but with the rising costs of everything, it is hard these days to make a living racing,” Wallace said in a team press release. "He has some other business opportunities and I guess I don’t blame him for the decision that he made. While I really enjoyed driving for the Durretts, I have been busy the last couple of days putting together a plan for next year."
Besides the Show-Me 100, Wallace's six victories for Garrett Racing including $10,000 victories at Duck River Speedway in Wheel, Tenn., and Superior (Wis.) Speedway. Durrett didn't have any victories, but he made the starting fields in several high-profile events, including the $100,000-to-win Dream at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. — Ryan Delph
Other news and notes
Custom Race Engines was honored recently as the winner of the 2007 Engine Builders Challenge award on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. The Knoxville, Tenn.-based engine builder supplied powerplants for series champion Steve Francis, runner-up Chub Frank and fourth-place points finisher Shane Clanton. Francis brought Custom its seventh national dirt Late Model points championship in the last 12 years. ... Matt Miller of Waterville, Ohio, plans to run again in 2008 for Illinois-based Moring Motorsports, but he'd like to supplement his part-time ride with another car that would allow him to run the full Lucas Oil Series. "Right now I'm looking to find a part-time ride for some races on the Lucas Oil Series that are in the South," Miller said in a December news release. "I'll drive for Larry Moring Motorsports for most of the year, but he has several businesses he has to run that will not allow him to run a full series together." ... Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., earned a Dec. 29 victory in New Zealand in a car fielded by Maurice Cowling. Marlar's victory came in a Super Saloon car at Baypark Speedway in Mount Maunganui. The former Hillbilly 100 winner is scheduled to race in two more events at Baypark.
