ASALMS PR – November 4, 2009
Champions and royalty go together, at least they do at the last event of the season for the ASA Late Model Series Teams. On Saturday, November 7th at Memphis Motor Sports Park we will put on a Finale Spectacular with the top short track drivers in the country. This will be a historic event being held in Memphis, the last race ever to be put on at Memphis Motorsports before it closes its doors for good. Gates will open at 10am, racing starts at 12pm, autograph session at 1pm and at 2:30pm the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts ‘King’s Ransom 300’ Presented by Suncoast Plastering.

Steve Carlson from Sparta, Wisconsin will do all he can to hold on to the title he earned last season as ‘2008 King of Short Track’. This Midwest legend is just one of the many talented teams going for the title of king. The O’Reilly’s Auto Parts ‘King’s Ransom 300’ Presented by Suncoast Plastering will have Champions door to door in one of the most highlighted events of the season.

by Phil Burgess, National DRAGSTER Editor
Tony Schumacher, Robert Hight, Greg Anderson, and Hector Arana scored huge playoffs victories at the 24th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex, wins with huge points implications for all.

Schumacher and Hight used their wins at Texas Motorplex in Top Fuel and Funny Car, respectively, to springboard into the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series points lead as the Countdown to 1 playoffs hit the one-third mark with race two of six. Arana's win in Pro Stock Motorcycle kept him ahead of the two-wheeled pack, while former world champ Anderson moved from sixth up to third with his victory in Pro Stock.

The Top Fuel final was a continuation of the ongoing power struggle between the decade's only two world champs and a rematch of their Mac Tools U.S. Nationals final. The result turned out the same, with Schumacher leading Larry Dixon across the stripe, which was most unexpected here as no Top Fuel driver before Schumacher had won in the right lane all day. Schumacher got the win, the 60th of his career, 3.944, 312.86 to 4.23, 225.18.

ENNIS, Texas – Every time Tony Schumacher enters the gates of the famed Texas Motorplex a bit of a nostalgic feeling must sweep over his body.
All of the great drivers vividly remember their first time.

For Schumacher, his first career NHRA victory came at the sport’s first super track, during a wild and wacky 1999 season. After four runner-up finishes in ’99, and four straight runner-up finishes spread out over the three previous seasons, Schumacher must’ve been wondering if he was ever going to break through and finally get the job done.

But that lone victory in ’99, a gritty win over two-time Top Fuel world champ Scott Kalitta, provided all the momentum that the second-generation racer needed to go on and close the doors on his first series championship crown.

He had one race victory and one world championship trophy. Life was good.

At the time, he probably didn’t realize that his ’99 season was actually the launching pad for what has turned out to be a very special drag racing career. Since then, his trophy collection has grown. A lot.

By Tim Tuttle
Special for the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Todd Bodine won his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing 1.321 seconds in front of runner-up Matt Crafton in the WinStar World Casino 400.

Bodine became the first driver in the history of the series to have five victories at one track. They've all been accomplished in a Toyota for Germain Racing. It was Bodine's 17th career victory in trucks, also all with Germain.

"It's incredible to win five races at one track," Bodine said. "It's hard to win anywhere."

Bodine took the lead on the 125th of 167 laps on the 1.5-mile superspeedway and was never threatened. He had a 2.5-second lead over Crafton's ThorSport Racing Chevrolet with 25 laps to go and 2.1 with five remaining. Making sure he had enough fuel to reach the checkered flag, Bodine backed off the throttle on the final lap.

Bodine had been running third behind Ron Hornaday Jr.'s Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet and Crafton when a sequence of green-flag pit stops began on lap 98.

BELLS, Texas (May 16) – First place in the Saturday, May 23 IMCA Modified main event will be worth $1,000 at Grayson County Speedway’s North Texas Nationals special.

The winner also joins the ballot for the 2009 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Southwest Racing Specialties Southern SportMods chase an $800 top check, with all applicable IMCA points to be awarded in both sanctioned divisions.

Pit gates will open at 4 p.m. and the grandstand opens at 6 p.m. Hot laps start at 7 p.m., with the first green flag set to wave at 8 p.m.

There’s a $50 entry fee for each class and pit passes are $30.

Grandstand admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, and $5 for children shorter than the counter height, with two and under admitted free.

More information about the North Texas Nationals special is available from promoter Greg Cooper at 661 205-9933.

by David Smith, Jr.
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. -- It will be a busy month of May for the Wichita, Kansas based O'Reilly/National Championship Racing Association as five of the series six divisions have at least one event scheduled. The NCRA 360 sprint cars and the new NCRA 305 sprint car series kicks off the first of the month with the modified and new sport modifieds competing in their second of events of the year. To climax the month of May, the NCRA late models will take to the track for the first time in 2009 with a pair of events scheduled.

The NCRA 360 sprint car division kicks off their 20th season on Saturday night (May 2) at Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kansas. It will be the first of two stops on the tour at the beautiful 3/8ths mile clay oval which will be billed as the "Steve King Foundation Sprint Car Nationals." Drivers, fans and officials will then head east to the series home, 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas for a Sunday night event. Veteran Mike Peters of Wichita, Kansas comes in as the reigning champion and will be back to defend his title.

by Jeff Nun
ARDMORE, Okla. -- A USMTS Southern Series tripleheader is on tap for this weekend with a trio of West Region battles worth $2,000 to win each. A big field of cars are expected at each event where local aces have a real chance of keeping the winner's share of the purses close to home.

FRIDAY, MAY 1 - LAKE COUNTRY SPEEDWAY

On Friday, May 1, the Lake Country Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., will host the USMTS Southern Series for a second straight season. Jason Hughes picked up his first USMTS Southern Series victory of the season as 56 top-flight Modified teams duked it out in the inaugural event at Ronny Gould's speedplant. Hughes held off Jamie Burford and Steve Holzkamper in a fireworks-filled feature, then went on to capture the USMTS Southern Series championship crown.

Also on the racing card will be USRA Southern Limited Modifieds and Hobby Stocks with pit gates opening at 4:30, grandstands at 5:00, hot laps beginning at 6:30 and the first heat race slated to take the green flag at 7:00.

Racing action kicks off as pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Tums Dual Action Chevrolet, starts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday in front of thousands of fans. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/GetTALLADEGA, ALA. -- Carl Edwards was heading for Victory Lane when a nudge from rookie Brad Keselowski sent him careening into the frontstretch retaining fence to end a wild and wooly Aaron's 499 Nascar Sprint Cup race here Sunday. Edwards ended up finishing 24th.

The last-lap wreck also took veteran Ryan Newman out of the race as well. Newman had tucked in behind Edwards and pushed him towards what appeared to be a sure-fire Edwards win before the bumping incident.

Keselowski went on down the track to win his first-ever Sprint Cup race with smoke and parts from Edwards' Ford filled the air.

It was a day of costly wrecks for many of NASCAR's biggest stars but Dale Earnhardt, Jr., brought his Hendrick Chevrolet home second behind the rookie winner.

By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Eight race fans were injured on the final-lap wreck that sent the No. 99 Ford of driver Carl Edwards airborne into the catch-fence on the frontstretch at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

The incident occurred at the conclusion of the Aaron's 499 race that was won by rookie driver Brad Keselowski.

Fans were treated for what were described as mostly minor injuries from flying debris, according to NASCAR official Jim Hunter and Dr. Bobby Lewis, medical director of the track. Neither Hunter nor Lewis could say with certainty whether the pieces of debris came from Edwards' car or from the fence, which suffered considerable damage after absorbing the high-speed impact.

"After the incident that occurred on the last lap, we are treating approximately eight patients for injuries received from flying debris," Lewis said. "The injuries appear to be minor and non-life threatening. One female patient is being transported by air, because of traffic, for further evaluation and treatment. Updates will be made as available."

David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 Discount Tire Ford, celebrates his first NASCAR national racing series win Saturday in Victory Lane after capturing the checkered flag at the NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo Credit:By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
TALLADEGA, Ala.— For David Ragan, his first victory in one of NASCAR’s top three touring series took a long time coming — 196 races combined.

When it came, there was a bittersweet aspect to the win.

In a wild scramble at the finish, Ragan beat polesitter Ryan Newman to the stripe to win Saturday’s Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, but the victory came at the expense of teammate Matt Kenseth, who barrel-rolled and slid on the roof of his No. 16 Ford after contact from Ragan’s No. 6 sent him out of control on Lap 105.