The All Star Circuit of Champion Sprint Cars are here.
The traveling group was scheduled to race Friday at Williams Grove Speedway in a makeup of a rained out race from last weekend. Tonight, the group opens a two-day program at Port Royal Speedway. The pro stocks join the sprint cars tonight. Tomorrow night's show includes 358 late models.
This evening's feature pays the sprint car winner $4,000. The top four finishers are locked into Sunday night's race, which is worth $5,000 to win. Local business men Steve Stimely and Scott Best are paying additional money for fast times both evenings.
Do you realize the Keystone Cup sprint car series is just two weeks away? That's because Memorial day falls early this year on the calendar. Six tracks host Keystone Cup action: Grandview, Hagerstown, Williams Grove, Lincoln, Selinsgrove and Port Royal. Grandview starts things off on May 20. The series ends Memorial Day night at Port Royal.
Congratulations go out to Fred Rahmer on winning his 500th career win last week at Lincoln Speedway. Rahmer owns 401 sprint car wins, 99 modified victories and 164 Lincoln Speedway wins. He will be inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa, later this month.
Another team on a roll is Todd Shaffer's. Shaffer has five wins overall and ends up starting most feature races 12th at Williams Grove and Port Royal. I don't know what they are doing, but they're doing something right. I wonder if the wing rule changes are starting to help cars race again. I hope they do. No matter what, Shaffer and his team deserve congratulations.
And Keith Kauffman and his team are starting to click the last couple weeks. Kauffman finished third last week at Port Royal. I predict he will win a race soon.
In the world of NASCAR, here is one of those things that are a darn shame. Kevin Grubb, former NASCAR driver, was found dead in a motel near Richmond, Va., Wednesday. Grubb was the Nationwide driver that failed a drug test after the Richmond race in 2006. He was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR for failing drug tests and failing to report for the same.
Grubb apparently died of a self inflicted gun shot wound. What a waste of a life. Grubb was 31 years old.
Selinsgrove Speedway hosts a special 20-lap pro stock feature this evening. The 358 sprint cars, late models and roadrunners also are part of the show, which starts at 7 p.m.
Also for the 358 fans, Port Royal Speedway hosts the 358 sprint cars on May 23.
Lincoln Speedway hosts the 410 and 358 sprint cars plus thunder cars this evening. Action begins at 7:30.
No racing is scheduled tonight at Hagerstown Speedway.
The Beaver Springs Dragway hosts its annual Mothers Day show tomorrow. The program is one of the best shows every year. Car load pricing is in effect for the race.
Darlington hosts the Cup cars this evening starting at 7. Fox has TV coverage.
It is with much sadness I see General Motors has announced it will terminate production of Pontiac vehicles. I don't know what that means for local dealers yet but I hope they are allowed to continue as Chevy stores somehow. Pontiac leaves a significant mark in NASCAR racing that dates back to the first Daytona races on the beach. Tony Stewart and Joe Gibbs Racing were the last team to win a championship with a Pontiac. Rusty Wallace had some of his best success during the 1980s in these cars. Pontiac also be remembered for muscle cars like the GTO, Grand Prix, and Firebird.
Which leads me to another point to consider this week. There aren't many cars left in the junkyards to build race cars for entry-level racers. Ford, Dodge and GM have got to correct that if they want brand rivalry and people to want to buy their cars because they do well on the racetrack. It used to be, win on Sunday, buy on Monday. That doesn't hold true today.
It doesn't matter if it's NASCAR or dirt track racing. There's not any factory cars for NASCAR and very few junk yard chassis being built for short track racing. Everything is after market. it might help the big three if local racers could still buy and use some of the factory stuff for racing. Just something to think about.
Until next time, please drive safely!
Craig Rutherford writes about motorsports for The Sentinel. He is affiliated with Port Royal Speedway.
