ron.brown11

25 laps in Honeycutt is still running 8th. Drivers are mostly riding, but there was 1 2 car spin. Minor damage for both. It's a bit hard watching this race, as they are doing a throwback to the stars of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup series. So a lot of different paint schemes & several number changes.

I just found out that Kaden Honeycutt sits 4th in the points for the Late Model Stocks division. What's so great about that? He hasn't run all the races. He's starting 8th today. Laine Riggs is running the Harvick #62 in the race. Let's see if that car is as awesome as it was last month after winning and then getting DQ'd.

Driving for Donnie Wilson, Cole Butcher led nearly the entire race at Hickory. Kaden Kvapil finished 2nd. The points leader Katie Hettinger came home 4th. She had an 11 point lead coming into this race. I don't know their points structure per position, so not sure if Kvapil took the points lead or not, but I think she's still the leader. Unfortunately it took 24 hours to complete the race. They made 32 laps yesterday before the rains came. The top CARS Tout cars are coming up next.

As I've said on here before, whether we like NASCAR or not, we all need them. We need Indy cars, NHRA, IMSA too. Yeah, NASCAR has screwed up a lot of things over the years, bad calls, bad policy, bad cars (remember the COT), etc. But there is a massive trickle down effect by having them viable. One of the best examples I can give you is this. NASCAR knows that they really NEED local Saturday night racing/racers. That builds interest for the top 3 divisions. It also creates a pool of future drivers/crew members & sponsors. When NBC Sports Gold folded about 3 years ago, NASCAR dumped a lot of money into FloRacing. They knew that they needed to prop up the local racing scene, especially the asphalt racing scene. Prior to them doing that, FloRacing almost never showed asphalt racing, only dirt racing. Just as Josh42 said above, cross talking/selling is good for all parties. High tide raises all boats. I absolutely love it that these Cup drivers are running a lot more local stuff. That brings eyes to both, a win/win. It is also one of the ways it used to be done. Getting a big star go run a local show, brought in a large audience. That would get the locals to try and attend, or watch a Cup race. It was a fairly common practice, that NASCAR & the local track to rent a ride for said Cup star to race. I nearly got Kenny Schrader to run my mod on the Sat night, before the Cup race on Sunday @ Phoenix. Unfortunately it fell through about 2 weeks before they went to PIR. We had Ron Hornaday Jr race there numerous times in Tucson, and this was after he had been hired by Dale Earnhardt. There was about 10-12 of us mod drivers that pitted together. He pitted right there with us. Great guy! Before he got hired by Dale, he owned Victory Circle Race cars in LA (he sold it about a year after moving to the truck series). If you asked him to look at your car, he would. If he saw something that he thought needed addressed, he tell you. Not to try and sell you something, just because he wanted you to get better. He helped a lot of the locals. During the Winter Heat Series years at TRP, he kept his cars (Winston West, Southwest Tour & late models) at a local racer's shop, 2 blocks from my business. He would gladly show you his cars, and didn't mind if you took pictures/notes either. Probably the coolest thing that I ever saw him do was this. He was driving a super late model, that belonged to a local racer. In the main he was leading. Another local racer, unprovoked, just flat wrecked Ron going into turn 3. Knocked the front clip to the left about 2'. Big hit. Of course the track announcer wanted to interview Ron after that. Most every driver would bad mouth the driver that just wrecked them. Ron didn't. Because he respected racing at the local level so much, he told the announcer that it was his fault, because he hadn't properly secured the steering wheel, and it came off. Now this is a driver that's already racing in the truck series. Do you think he's forgotten how to install the steering wheel? It gets better too. I knew the driver that loaned Ron his car for that night. He told me that Ron said that if he'd bring it to his shop in LA, he'd clip it for him, no charge. The only thing that he asked, was to not tell anyone what he was doing. That's how much he respects the local racer, and how much he knows that big and small time racing needs each other. It has been incredibly popular on just about every racing site, to bash what Brian France did to damage NASCAR. And I agree with about 98% of that. But Brain France will always be a love/hate thing for me. I saw what he did for local Saturday night racing in person, at Tucson Raceway Park. When ISC took over the lease there from the Fairgrounds, they pumped in about $4 million into the facility, and changed it from dirt to asphalt. All of the local sentiment was " nobody will come see asphalt racing in AZ. It's a dirt racing state". I went opening night as a fan in the stands. It was standing room only, not enough parking, food or restrooms. They only had a 2 station ticket booth, and a 1 station pit entrance booth. Brian France stood on the front stretch with a mic in hand. He promised that would not ever happen again. Seven days later there was twice as much parking. The ticket booth now sported 10 windows. The pit window now could serve 4 at a time. He brought in more than 50 port a potties, until they got 2 new restroom buildings completed (that was finished 3 weeks later). He had 2 brand new aluminum bleacher sections installed in the turn 1 area the next week . He brought in 5-6 food vendors until they could get a fairly large food service area finished (2 weeks later), and they added an open flame mesquite wood grilling area. To this day, the 2 best chicken sandwiches I've ever had at a racetrack were the Jalapeño one at SAS, and the mesquite chicken sandwich at TRP. For a local Saturday night track, TRP was a show palace. The changes that occurred there over a 4 week span was incredible. I have no idea how much money they spent after opening night, but not was a lot. I agree that as Josh42 said above, that the racing product, and for the most part how they manage race day, is getting better. I think that they are having more trouble overcoming people's mindsets then they are with the racing product itself. If they fix their short track program, that will go along way to make the overall racing a success. There are a lot of really smart people in the garage area, it shouldn't be a problem. However, the biggest stumbling block to fixing the short track problems, may reside in the NASCAR offices. They've always had a problem with admitting that they may have caused the problem. Some of the things have to do with the design of the new car. If they can get past their own egos, it shouldn't be that big of an issue. As I said, there are a lot of smart people there in the garage area.

Atwell got as high as 8th, but finished 10th, 1 lap down. I rechecked Evergreen's website, and Chris was listed as the driver & 3rd place finisher in Friday's Pro Late Model feature. Preston Peltier won the super 150 lapper on Sat. He started 18th (had a mechanical issue in his heat". He took the lead 40 laps into the race, and never lost it. The driver I was most impressed with was a guy named Haddon Plybon. He finished in the top 3 in Friday's racing, and had the chance for an extra $5000 if he started shotgun on the field and won. He nearly did it, but ended up 3rd. Peltier is from Colorado, but should move to Monroe. It almost seems as though he races there every week. Almost unstoppable there in supers.

At lap 75 of 150, Atwell is running 12th.

I'm just getting to see the Sat races from Evergreen Speedway, and the super late models are running first tonight, before the Pro Late model race. Last night during the Pro Late Model race, they said that Chris Davidson ran that and finished 3rd. Today, in the super race, a guy from FL named Mike Atwell is driving the Davidson Electric car. So either Atwell is running the super & Chris is running the Pro, they announced the wrong driver in the Pro last night. I'll update this as I get more info either tonight or tomorrow.

I hadn't read anywhere that Chris Davidson was going to Evergreen Speedway up in Monroe, WA.He started pretty deep in the field. He finished the 100 lapper in in a strong 3rd. Nice race Chris!! I don't know if he's running on Sat, but if he does I hope he wins..

I agree 24nomo. However this was not a CARS race. This is the first race for the VA Tri-Race series (not the exact name, as it escapes me right now). The next race will be at Langley, and the final race will be at Martinsville. There they will crown the race winner & the 3 race series champion. As I've said on here before, the CARS Series, with all the new Cup/team ownership involvement, is the hope for asphalt racing in America. Their lead series is the Late Model Stock Car series, and the second is the Pro Late Model series. They also have, but it has been weak & lightly promoted, is their Super Late Model series. My hope is that with the SRL expanding from their west coast home base, and having strong fields, the CARS Tour might start trying to beef up their own Supers program. As the SRL is now sanctioning races on the west coast, in Alabama, Michigan, and unfortunately the rained out/cancelled race at I-44 Speedway. Maybe the CARS tour will take advantage of hosting races, that some of these current Supers, that are racing shows under the SRL banner, will attend. There are still a lot of Supers out there in this country, they just need rules that are consistent, that will allow them to go racing without having to rebuild their cars, depending on which series they want to race with. All of the SRL races have Mr Ricky Brooks as the head of tech. He's the same guy that runs tech for the Snowball Derby. The rules are the rules, and they are enforced. I love that the rules apply to all, regardless of the driver/owner's name. The CARS Tour showed that last week when the DQd Harvick's #62 car. I hate that they had to do that, but it's better for the sport.

Well I finally got a chance to sit down and watch the SoBo 200 last night. It must be the week for DQing the winners. Carson Kvapil (driving Dale Jr's #8) got DQd for having a left rear shock that wasn't "to code". They weren't done yet with the DQs. Third place finisher Landon Huffman was also DQd. His was pretty flagrant too. Both axle tubes were cambered, and the left spring & rear shock assembly were not in compliance. Dale Jr said that the shock that they ran had not been approved by the sanctioning body, and accepted the DQ. The race winner officially is Bobby McCarty. That's 2 in a row for him. An interesting side note, the Huffman car that was DQd, was the car McCarty had driven for the last few years. Neither McCarty or the car owner ever explained why they split. They had won quite a few races, and I think 2 championships together. The SoBo 200 was the first race this season that car even looked competitive. I hope the reason wasn't just the illegal stuff. Huffman is the second driver for that car this season. I can't think of the first driver's name right now, but he ran a season or two in the Xfinity series a few years ago.

If I had the money to start a race team, Kaden Honeycutt is the person I would try to hire. I've never seen him race in person, but it seems that he can drive just about anything and be very competitive. I've said this on here before, I really hope some well funded/connected team will give him a shot at at least an Xfinity ride. Really glad he was there at HMS to race for a TX win!

Landon Huffman, a pretty damn good racer in his own right, made a really smart observation about last night's race. And it didn't have anything to do with the #62 car that Riggs drove. He said "The best racecar driver of this generation had to race his tail off to run inside the top 10 last night at Caraway in solid equipment". His comment was talking about how stout the fields are now for the CARS Tour series in general. He was also referring to Kyle Larson's run. I agree, up to a point. Larson drove the crap out of that car, the same car that Dale Jr drove at Wilksboro. Unfortunately Kyle really smacked the wall hard with the right rear tire, very early in the race. I don't think Landon saw that, as he was ahead of Kyle at the time. I honestly didn't think that car would make the whole race because of that hit. Since the CARS Tour was bought out by the NASCAR guys, the fields have gotten bigger, and the competition has gotten stiffer. Both are good for the sport.

You were right Rodney. He was DQ'd for an oversized sway bar, at the mounting point. I couldn't find it anywhere else, until I went to the start of the story, FloRacing. I read Rodney Childers comments to admitting that is was a mistake. He said he owns that, but went into why there was no advantage. The diameter of the sway bar determines the amount of twist it can/can't make. The size of the end mounts won't change that. The bar will twist at its weakest portion, regardless of the diameter of the mount. The question that I have is, did they run the same sway bar mounts when Harvick ran the car at Wilksboro? If they did, why did they not catch it then? If it was the same mount, were they afraid to DQ Harvick? I'm certain that they pre-race teched all cars, and would be surprised that Childers would bother changing out the entire sway bar mounts. I hope that Harvick lets Riggs run the car again. I want to know if that car is as good with the correct mounts installed. That car was on rails last night, all night. On a brighter note, Jared Fryar wins!!

Caraway's website also says that Riggs was the winner.

I went to the CARS Tour website, and they're still saying that Riggs won. I googled again, simply asking to see if he had been disqualified. There were no articles/conversations stating so. So my guess is the he did win the race. Plus, I think that it would be terribly embarrassing for Harvick & Childers to do so. What does that say when a part owner in the series, who is a NASCAR Cup championship driver & championship crew chief, having to cheat to win in a single A racing series?? I know that it would really piss me off as a fan, and can't see what they would think the positives would be from cheating. It would also cancel out all the good that has come to asphalt short track racing. I sure hope that they didn't do that. They're my last/best hope for asphalt racing in TX. If I find out anything else I will post it.

I don't know Rodney, but I'll try and find out.

Here is the top the top 10 as I caught them. First: Car 63 Layne Riggs in Harvick's #62 Ford Mustang; Second: Car #14 Jared Fryar in his Ford Mustang; Third: car #8 Carson Kvapil in his JR Motorsports Camaro; Forth: Car 24 Mason Diaz in his Ford Mustang; With: Car 10 Kaden Honeycutt in his Ford Mustang; Sixth: Bobby McCorty in his #6 Ford Mustang; Seventh: Car 03 Brendan Queen in his Toyota: Eighth is #77 Connor Hall in his Toyota Ninth; Is Kyle Larson in his JR Motorsports car # 5 Camaro. Chad McCumby finished 10th in his #16 Ford Mustang. Three cars that really impressed me: Riggs driving a new car to him, and winning the race. Mason Diaz started in 24th, and drove it to finish 4th. That's a lot of passing.. Bobby McCarty started about 8th, but was sent to the rear (30th) for spinning a car out (and that was a questionable call by the officials). Bobby passed the most cars (25), to get to 6th. And he did it cleanly. It was a really good showing for the Ford drivers tonight, as they finished 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th & 10th. Thankfully nobody got hurt in the 2-3 spins that happened. The whole night was a good show of all involved.

Riggs took the lead with 57 laps to go. Kaden drops to 6th, and Larson is 10th. He's driving the same car that Dale Jr drove at Wilksboro. Riggs' crew chief stated that Layne says that this is the best car he's ever driven. I guess, Rodney Childers spent a year building it for Harvick. They're under a comp yellow with 27 laps to go. Queen is 4th.

At lap 75 under yellow, Kaden is 5th. Fryar is running a strong 3rd, Larson is 11th. Queen is 4th.

40 laps in, Kaden is up to 8th. Riggs is really strong, running 2nd in Harvick's car.

Mayfield didn't last long, dropped off the track after just 15 laps. Kaden is up to 12th, 18 laps in. Larson is now 15th, as they are under yellow for a single car spin.

Some interesting things from the starting line up for the CARS tour late models. Jeremy Mayfield is in it, starting 31st. I can't remember the last time I saw his name in a race. Kyle Larson is making his CARS debut, starting 16th. Kaden Honeycutt didn't have a good qualifying run, clocking in 17th. Lanye Riggs qualified 3rd in Kevin Harvick's #62 car. This is only the second time that car has been on track, as Harvick ran it at the North Wilksboro race. Fryar will start 4th, and Brendan Queen starts 6th. Should be a good race! Kayden Kvapil won the Pro Late model race earlier, and Katie Hettinger finished second in the opening night 100 lapper. Hettinger was holding the series point lead prior to the start of the race. I don't know if Kvapil passed her tonight, but it is a very tight points race. I'm telling you, Katie Hettinger is a name to keep your eye on. She's a driver!

As much as I was disappointed for how bad Kaden's night went, the finish more than made up for it. I'm a big fan of Brendan "Butterbean" Queen, from Hampton, VA. I expect that he will get to either the truck of Xfinity series pretty soon. He lead all but about 5 laps (the last 5 laps), when Carson Kvapil got up to him. They raced 3 straight laps side by side, and as they say, rubbing is racing. And not the kind of rubbing that puts one or both into the wall. But with 2 laps to go, Bobby McCarty dove underneath both of them coming off turn two, and again nobody is crashing!! McCarty beats Butterbean at the line by 9 thousanths of a second. Again, nobody crashed!! It took me 10 minutes to stop clapping, it was that good. To show how really excited I was about the finish, I spent the next 10 minutes explaining it to my wife! That was a great race, with an even better finish.

Kaden qualified 3rd at Dominion for the CARS Tour race. Was running 3rd, 19 laps in, and something broke. What a shame, as it looked like he had a good car again tonight.

Outstanding!! I truly think that there is hope for asphalt racing in TX. Wishing you all nothing but the best Rodney!