Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: Mississippian up to speed after long layoff
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com managing editor
Eric Cooley (foto-1.net)
Eric Cooley wasn’t exactly sure what to expect in his first dirt race in five years. Climbing back into a Crate Late Model, "I knew mentally in my mind that I could do it,” but the 34-year-old Fulton, Miss., racer wondered if he’d be OK physically.
Along with putting on some extra weight since 2020, “there's always that other muscle that you don't that you use in the race car that you don't use every day, you know what I'm saying? I was more stressed out about being physically fit and being able to sit in a race car because I’ve not sit like that strapped in to do that for five years.
"I was more stressed out that I was on lap two I was going run out of air and park it in the turn-three fence. That was (the issue) more than anything, but we, we hot-lapped, and I was like ‘Oh I got this.’ ”
Did he ever.
Racing March 29 at Pine Ridge Speedway in Guntown, Miss., Cooley rolled to a heat race victory along with taking the checkered flag in the feature, and the two-time Crate Racin’ USA weekly champion's triumphant return has him looking forward to becoming a regular competitor once again.
“It was a little choppy and we bounced around a little bit,” said Cooley, atop DirtonDirt's Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends. “I was expecting Sunday to be a little sore, but I wasn't sore and it was good. I’m ready to go again, now.”
Long part of a tight-knit racing family, as a boy Cooley would assist on the crew when veteran Mississippi racer Steve Russell was piloting the family’s Cooley Transport-sponsored cars at major Super Late Model events. Soon enough he was racing himself as a teen, capturing CRUSA championships in 2009 and ’10, eventually moving into the Super Late Model ranks himself with victories on the Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series and Comp Cams Super Dirt Series.
But amid the pandemic’s upheaval, a thriving towing business and other family interests, Cooley’s racing interests waned. He remembers what would become his last outing for several years at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss., when engine problems ended his night early.
“Instead of coming home and going through everything and swapping motors and oil lines,” Cooley recalled, “we just said the heck with it and we’d race later. And later became five years.”
Cooley was productive during the break, growing the 78 Towing & Recovery business he’s been operating since he was 17. He also nurtured his relationship with fiancee Kaley Loague (they have a May 25 wedding date) and spent family time among various activities, especially with niece Ella (a cheerleader) and nephew Easton (a baseball and basketball player), the children of his sister Amber and her husband Josh Jenkins, who had long served as a crew member at the racetrack.
He spectated at the occasional dirt track, but it wasn’t until this winter he and Jenkins went to work to prepare the equipment so that, when racing didn’t conflict with the kids’ sports, they could put the No. 33 back on the track.
“We just kept pushing it off and ‘We’ll get it ready we'll race,’ and it just never, never really happened. I didn't expect it to be five years, honestly. I would’ve never really thought that we would have went a year without racing truthfully,” Cooley said. “Like that saying, 'Time gets away from you,’ and it got away from us. And five years later, we finally come back.
"I never sold anything because I knew the moment that I would sell it, I'd have to go pay double for it. And I just kept everything in our shop here and eventually one day, it would return. That’s what I was hoping.”
Those hopes came to fruition with his Pine Ridge victory the last Saturday in March, and he hopes to make as many as 20 starts this season.
"I really hadn't missed it, but once you get back in there, I guess once you (win), I was like, ‘Huh, I really did miss it a lot more than than I guess I put on,’ ” Cooley said.
Family members had missed it, too.
“They was more excited probably or as excited in being at the racetrack than I was,” Cooley said. “They was all pumped up and, of course, really pumped that we won.”
He’d started dating Loague the year before he quit racing, and she’d never see him win. So that was special, too, because she’d encouraged him to return to racing.
“She’s been mad ever since,” said Cooley, who took a trip with her to see East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla., before its recent closure. “She wants to go. She wanted me to race, to hurry up and get back in the car.”
Cooley piloted a 2017 Barry Wright Race Car that he always liked, and it performed well in his opening victory. He also has a 2018 Rocket Chassis, but he realizes that five years away from the sport is a virtual lifetime when it comes to how cars and components are built, adjusted and modified in the highly technical world of dirt racing.
“We're gonna try to get caught up,” he said. “We’re five years behind on a lot of technology. And we've got to get caught up.”
More mundane things about racing — such as wash day — remain the same.
"Even though we won (Saturday), we actually unloaded Sunday and washed. That's still the same old stuff. I didn’t miss, washing, that’s for sure,” he said, admitting that racing is “in my blood. I can't quit completely even though I quit for five years. I gotta keep one around for sure.”
He’ll plan to race regularly at Pine Ridge, Magnolia and Xtreme Speedway in Moulton, Ala., but Cooley plans to split racing with family outings.
“We do it all as a family thing altogether. That’s what we’ve always done, golly, way before I even started (racing), like in the Steve Russell days when Steve drove our car,” he said. “We’ve always done it as a family and it's what we enjoy being together, you know, Friday and Saturday nights at the racetrack. And you know, as long as there's not a sporting event (for his niece and nephew), we'll be at the racetrack.”
Cooley, who counts Norman Bryson among his biggest supporters, will focus on Crate Late Model racing, but admits he might get the itch to compete in some Super Late Model racing, too.
“We’re just excited to be back on the racetrack and it feels good to kind of know we've somewhat got it,” he said. “Not to taking anything from our local guys — Mississippi, they've always got pretty good racers around here — but we haven't lined up against some of those touring guys and the ones that go to a lot of different tracks that stays on their game a lot more. I look forward to, hopefully, towards the end of the year that we'll be able to hit a few bigger races and see if we can still line up in a bigger event.”
After his hiatus, Cooley was simply glad some fans recognized his No. 33 at Pine Ridge.
“All these people started commenting (on Facebook) and I'm like, ‘Dang, I didn't realize people even remembered me.’ Because you know, once somebody goes away, they're like ‘Who is that?’ They tend to forget, you know, that's just how we are. But I'm glad to be back and (fans) all flocked my trailer after the race and it was fun. (One said) ‘It don’t look like you missed a beat.’ Well, I missed a few, but you know.”
Weekly highlights
• Taking advantage when frontrunners Garret Stewart and Bubba Rolling tangled late, Austin Yarbrough led the last six laps for an April 5 Crate Late Model victory at All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Fla.
• Kevin Dupont of Carencro, La., who hadn’t competed regularly in the Crate Late Model division the previous four seasons, notched his first victory since 2020 on April 4 at Baton Rouge Raceway in Baker, La.
• Regaining the lead with two laps remaining, Walker Arthur of Forest, Va., captured April 5’s Limited Late Model opener at Natural Bridge (Va.) Speedway.
• Winning his first feature since 2022, former track champion Tim Busha of Boaz, Ala., won April 4’s Limited Late Model feature at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.
• Earning $1,222 in 602 Crate Late Model competition, Dale Lucas of McKenzie, Ala., captured the fourth annual Jackie Hughes Memorial at Dothan (Ala.) Motor Speedway.
• On a night when Xtreme Speedway in Moulton, Ala., made up features from March 29, Bryson Mitchell of Russellville, Ala., won three times, twice in the 602 Crate Late Model division and once in the 604 Crates.
First things first
Recent first-time occurrences at the dirt track:
• Winning April 5’s Crate Late Model feature at Tazewell (Tenn.) Speedway, Austin Atkins of Morristown, Tenn., notched his first division victory at the high-banked quarter-mile oval.
Weekly news briefs
• Two Ohio tracks which previously ran unsanctioned Super Late Models will adopt DIRTcar sanctioning for 2025, they announced. Williamsburg’s MRP Raceway Park and Millersburg’s Hilltop Speedway announced their sanctioning plans earlier this week. Drivers can register at dirtcar.com.
• Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, Ill., is seeking a tech inspector for 2025. See the track’s Facebook page for details and contact info.
• Lee County Speedway in Donnelson, Iowa, is mourning the April 1 passing of Joe Shuman, who worked the track’s pit gate and drove the victory lane van. The 72-year-old Keokuk, Iowa, resident was also a member of the Keokuk Racers Reunion and owned Shuman Racing Enterprise.
• Rob Parker, the new promoter of East Moline (Ill.) Speedway, has scheduled an informational meeting for 1 p.m. April 13 at the racetrack. Parker will answer questions and competitors can also pay for reserved pit parking positions ($100).
• Sponsorships are available for May 25’s Andy Kania Memorial at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa., the $7,600-to-win event for Super Late Models. Sponsor levels are available from $300-$1,500. Visit the track’s Facebook page to find contact information for race organizer Nikki Layton.
• Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., is seeking someone interested in becoming race-day staff member who can assist with hand-scoring. Experience isn’t required but is a plus; those interested must have legible handwriting and the ability to write quickly while tracking car numbers. Message the track’s Facebook page or email jking@florencespeedway.com.
• Moberly (Mo.) Motorsports Park is seeking donated bikes and scooters for giveaways during May 13’s Fan Appreciation Night. Visit the track’s Facebook page for information.
• After historical rainfall that will require significant repairs, Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, Ky., has postponed its first two racing weekends. The first oval track racing scheduled is the May 2 visit by the Burlile Ohio Valley Late Model Dirt Series for a $3,000-to-win event.
• The season opener at Callaway Raceway in Fulton, Mo., has been postponed to April 18 while repairs are made to the track’s frontstretch wall. Drier weather is needed to pour concrete and add bracing rods after problems with the wall were discovered during the offseason. Mid America Precast has offered time and manhours to complete the project at the Scott Lunceford-promoted track.
• Planned improvements for Hollis Speedway in Heflin, Ala., include bleacher repairs, new lighting and upgrades in communications devices for track officials, according to promoter D.J. Duke. The track ran its season opener April 5 with Limited Late Models and 602 Crate Late Models joining the action April 12. Duke took over the track’s lease in late February. “Be patient with me and I promise I will get everything going in the right direction,” Duke posted on the track’s Facebook page.
• Golden Mountain Speedway in Sparta, Tenn., which hasn’t operated since 2005, is scheduled to reopen April 11 with Limited Late Models and Crate Late Models among divisions in action. The track announced it will pay $1,000-to-win for the Limited and Crate classes.
• Facing a forecast for Friday rain, Bedford (Pa.) Speedway has move it’s five-division program, which includes Limited Late Models, to Sunday, April 13.
• The season-opening Randy Buss Icebreaker Classic scheduled for April 11 at Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie, Wis., was cancelled because of cold weather and unsuitable track conditions. The track’s new season opener is tentatively scheduled for April 18.
• Shawano (Wis.) Speedway has appealed to supporters for $200 donations to defray costs of a $31,000 resurfacing project of the half-mile fairgrounds oval, the track-overseeing Shawano Area Ag Society Racing Board announced. The $200 donation would cover the transport of one truckload of the more than 150 loads of donated clay at the half-mile oval. See the track’s Facebook page for how to donate. The track has also pushed back its opener to April 26 (the original opening date was April 12).
Weekly points
Crate Racin’ USA (602 Crates): Brett White of Kosciusko, Miss., has 246 points to lead Covy Parsons (238) and Mark McCoy (214).
Crate Racin’ USA (604 Crates): Sid Scarbrough of Florence, Miss., has 231 points to lead Ben Davis (180) and Shannon Lee (178).
Upcoming weekly specials
Among non-touring and independent special events coming up for Late Models at dirt tracks around the country:
Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway (April 10-12): The XR 602 Nationals, originally scheduled for 2024 at Ultimate Motor Speedway in Elkin, N.C., pays $50,000-to-win at Fayetteville.
Lucas Oil Speedway, Wheatland, Mo. (April 11-12): The 12th annual Spring Nationals is highlighted by $7,000- and $20,000-to-win events for independent Super Late Models.
Two Dollar Pistol Motor Speedway, Plumerville, Ark. (April 11-12): The Clash of the Titans includes Limited Late Models chasing a $2,000-to-win purse and a $500-to-win dash on opening night (the event was originally tabbed as the Leon Cloninger Memorial, but a conflict changed the race name).
Volunteer Speedway, Bulls Gap, Tenn. (April 12): The Scott Sexton Memorial Spring Thaw pays $12,000-to-win for Super Late Models; practice is scheduled for April 11.
East Alabama Motor Speedway, Phenix City, Ala. (April 12): The Jimmy Thomas Memorial is highlighted by a $10,000-to-win Super Late Model event with 604 and 602 Crate Late Models among undercard divisions.
Senoia (Ga.) Raceway (April 12): The Pollard Memorial honors the track-founding family with a $2,500-to-win feature for Limited Late Models
