NASCAR is back in Houston

[TheLegend96]

Heres a story I pulled off of the NASCAR regional site. Notice the new concessions????? Sounds like Houston has made the correct moves to be the top notch motorsports park in Texas.

 

 

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 3, 2004) – The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series takes a Westward swing on May 8, with the inaugural running of the Leak Sealer 150 at Houston (Tex.) Motorsports Park. The race marks the Southeast Series’ first visit to the state of Texas, and NASCAR’s first visit to the city of Houston since 1971.

 

While drivers from eight different states are scheduled to compete in the 150-lap event, a trio of Texas drivers is hoping to reach the Winner’s Circle on their home turf.

 

Robert Richardson, of McKinney, Tex., and Chris Davidson, of Pearland, Tex., are both competing full-time in the Southeast Series this season. Joining them at Houston – and making his first appearance in the Southeast Series – will be Adkins, Tex. driver Brandon Bendele, a two-time NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series regional champion at San Antonio (Tex.) Speedway.

 

Richardson, who is currently ranked second in the Auto Meter rookie of the year standings, says Southeast Series teams should expect an exciting race.

 

“You can race two wide at Houston, it’s a good track to race on,” said Richardson, who has competed on the track in Late Models and Legends cars.

 

The track features a dog-leg, or tri-oval, shaped turn on the backstretch, a unique layout among short tracks on the Southeast Series schedule.

 

“You’ve got a lot of room to work with, especially on the back stretch,” said Richardson. “Sometimes, you can get three-wide on the back stretch before you go into turn three.

 

“I’m glad that Houston has a Southeast Series race. Everybody’s going to go out there and say ‘wow, look at this place!’ They’ve even got new concession stands (operated by Sonic Drive-in Restaurants), and a personalized garage that sells parts and everything else if you need it. It’s a really fun track. It’s one of the nicer facilities, next to Texas Motor Speedway, in the state of Texas.”

 

In just two races this season, Richardson’s record has included a top-10 finish at Music City Motorplex in Nashville, followed by an unfortunate 17th-place result at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Still, Richardson says he’s ready to race up front and looks forward to Houston as a chance to shine.

 

“We’ve shown that we can run with these guys,” said Richardson. “We’re looking forward to Houston because it’s our home track. We’re looking forward to showing these [southeast Series] boys how to race on it.”

 

About the Series … The Southeast Series is one of four series which comprise the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division. Established in 2003 by consolidating the rules and car specifications of four different NASCAR series, the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division also includes the Midwest Series, Northwest Series and Southwest Series. All four series use identical Late Model-style race cars. NASCAR stars Rick Crawford, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Jason Keller, Matt Kenseth, David Reutimann and Scott Riggs all competed in the Southeast Series before advancing their careers into NASCAR’s national series.

 

NASCAR Returns to Houston … Saturday’s Leak Sealer 150 marks NASCAR’s first visit to Houston since June 23, 1971, when the NASCAR Grand National Division (now NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series) raced at the former Meyer Speedway. Bobby Allison won the Space City 300 ahead of James Hylton and Houston native Walter Ballard. Elmo Langley and H.B. Bailey rounded out the top-five, while Richard Petty finished seventh that day. Meyer Speedway closed in 1979.

 

Fast Facts

 

What: Leak Sealer 150 (Race No. 3 of 12 in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series)

 

Where: Houston Motorsports Park, Houston, Tex.

 

When: 8:30 p.m. Central Time (approx.), Sat., May 8, 2004

 

Track layout: 3/8-mile tri-oval.

 

Race length: 150 laps/56.25 miles.

 

Posted awards: $69,092.

 

2003 winner: Inaugural Event.

 

2003 polesitter: Inaugural Event.

 

Top 10 in points: 1. Jason Hogan 350, 2. Erik Darnell 325, 3. A.J. Frank 292, 4. J.R. Norris 289, 5. Jeff Fultz 265, 6. Allen Karnes 265, 7. Johnny Brazier 264, 8. Cecil Chunn 263, 9. Chris Davidson 259, 10. John Wilkinson III 257

 

Pre-race schedule (all times local): 9:00 a.m. Registration begins, 1:00-3:00 p.m. Practice, 6:00 p.m. Time Trials.

[servadv]

I HAVE SEEN EVERY ROMCO RACE AT HOUSTON.I HAVE NOT SEEN THAT THREE WIDE RACING HE IS TALKING ABOUT.I SAW BRADLY PASS ON THE OUTSIDE FOR THE WIN.BUT NO SIDE BY OR THREE WIDE RACING.

[Chuckman]

Dog-leg Tri-oval at Houston am I missing something.

I must be going to the wrong track in Houston.

[TheLegend96]

Heres a pic Chuckman.

[Chuckman]

No wonder I keep getting into the turn 4 wall.

[Kevin35251]

They put down a sealer and some kind of traction treatment in both lanes a couple of weeks ago, which has been ran in by local cars the past few weeks. I think it might be pretty good racing.

[TWADESFAN]

what makes you think its going to be good racing?

[TheLegend96]

Heres a pic of the backstretch.

[TheLegend96]

Heres a pic of turn 1 and 2. I took these pics on the 4th. Looks as thought the sealer is there to stay for this weekend. No rain in the forcast and it might even stay like that until the ROMCO race on the 15th. I agree with Kevin, there will be some great racing. Great track, great racers and great fans......makes for a great racing.

[TheLegend96]

Sorry forgot to attach the pic

[TheLegend96]

Davidson driving to the front in NASCAR Southeast Series

 

 

By EMILY DAVIS

Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

 

It didn't take long for Chris Davidson to figure out what he wanted to do for the rest of his life -- actually, it only took a couple of trips around the track in his dad's late-model race car when he was 15.

 

Now, 12 years later, Davidson is one of the top rookies on the NASCAR Elite Division Southeast Series tour and is making a name for himself among the circuit's veteran drivers.

 

And as the Pearland native makes the final tweaks on his super late-model Chevrolet Monte Carlo in preparation for today's Southeast Series race at Houston Motorsports Park -- the series' first visit to Houston -- Davidson's fellow drivers admit the local favorite speeding around the track in the No. 41 car could be the guy to beat.

 

"It's always fun for everyone to come to a new track," 2002 Southeast Series champion Jeff Fultz said. "And it's going to be a learning curve for everyone except Chris Davidson. He'll come in already knowing the ins and outs of the track because it's his home track, and he has a lot of experience on it."

 

Still, while the decision to go into professional racing was easy to make, it took years for Davidson to gain the experience he needed to earn his fellow drivers' respect.

 

After getting miles under his belt driving late-model cars at San Antonio Speedway, Davidson was able to make the jump to the NASCAR Southeast Series with relative ease.

 

After a rough 18th-place finish in his debut on April 17 at Music City Motorplex in Nashville, Tenn., he finished sixth the following week at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway -- earning $1,000 and moving to No. 9 in the points standings, No. 3 among rookie drivers.

 

Now heading into the third race of the season, Davidson knows he has a lot more to focus on than just finishing each run.

 

"To be a top-five car, every race is something that we really have to work on getting," said Davidson, who graduated from Pearland High School in 1996. "There's no way you're going to get out there and win every race. But a goal of getting in the top five will get the wins going."

 

With each race, Davidson said he learns a little more about the sport he loves. But when he can't root out a solution to his problems on the track, he doesn't have to look far for help.

 

"My dad (Greg) is always there, always," said Davidson, whose wife and three children also travel to his races every weekend. "He's provided me with a wealth of knowledge. And even if he doesn't have the answer himself, he'll point me in the direction I need to go to find it."

 

Davidson isn't the only rookie Texan making a name for himself on the circuit. Current rookie points runner-up Robert Richardson, a McKinney native, raced late-model and legends cars at Houston Motorsports before joining the NASCAR series this season.

 

Richardson passed up Craftsman Truck offers from Texas Motor Speedway to finish his degree at SMU and he expects his career to take off now that finals are over and graduation is only days away.

 

"I'd say Chris and I are the two major forces (today)," Richardson said. "It's not necessarily considered my home track, but I have a ton of experience on it, just like Chris. So it's no longer a rookie thing for us. That's not a factor.

 

"The other drivers see that we have the experience and have been in some good equipment, so we'll be able to get out there and make a great run."

 

And it's that reputation -- one of experience and dedication -- that has the Southeast Series competition level on the rise.

 

"I talk to our rookie class each year," Fultz said. "And I try to give them advice on how to run and just tips so they don't have to learn things the hard way. But I'd say this rookie class is one of the most talented we've had in awhile."

 

So as the drivers take to the track tonight, they admit it's not just another race.

 

"This is the race that will be what tells the tale of how the season will go for us," Davidson said. "We've learned a ton in these first two races, but to get out and take home the trophy on your home track, well, that's just really important. So this is a big one.

 

"Not to add any pressure or anything, though."