The action and excitement has been building all season long, and now the biggest race weekend of the 2023 race season has arrived at Grandview Speedway, known as the Freedom 76 weekend.

Grandview Speedway would also like to thank all of the great businesses and fans who have stepped up to post bonus awards or sponsor laps for the Freedom 76 and Freedom 38 championship races this weekend!

The Freedom 76 weekend begins this Friday, September 15 with the 10^th annual Freedom 38 Sportsman Championship race, along with qualifying events, plus practice time for Modified drivers wishing to participate in the Freedom 76.

Friday’s program will be known as Fans for Five Friday as management has rolled back the grandstand admission to just $5, while children ages 9 and under will be free of charge.

On Friday, pit gates open at 3 pm with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm. drivers meeting at 5:30 pm. with the pill draw following the drivers meeting. Warmups are at 6:15 pm. and racing at 7:30 pm. Pit admission on Friday is $40, and no license is required. There is no rain date for the Friday event.

Prior to the racing action on Friday will be the weekly Low Down and Dirty Meet and Greet. This week’s drivers include Modified drivers Jeff Strunk and Justin Grim, along with Sportsman drivers Ronnie Solomon and Talan Carter. The Meet and Greet is held in the main gate area starting at 4:45 pm. This will be the final Low Down and Dirty Meet and Greet, as Whippy and Da Rev Pastor Don will be retiring after this week’s event!

On Saturday, September 16, the 53^rd annual Freedom 76 will be run for the 358 Modifieds. The program will include qualifying heats, consolation races, Low Down and Dirty cash dash, along with the Schaeffer Racing Minuteman 20 leading to the 76-lap championship feature.

Pit gates open at 9 am for inspections, fans will be able to enter the Grandstand areas between 9 am. and 12 Noon to reserve seats with blankets, grandstand ticket windows open at 3 pm. pill draw for position is at 4:30 pm. with the drivers meeting at 5 pm. warm-ups are at 6 pm. with racing starting at 7 pm.

Adult Grandstand tickets on Saturday will be $40, while students ages 10-15 with ID are $20, with children ages 9 and under admitted for free. Pit admission will be $45, and no license is required. There will be no advanced tickets sold for this event, and the rain date is Saturday, September 23.

Prior to the racing on Saturday, SDS Photography will be hosting an autograph session featuring drivers Logan Watt, Kaitlyn Bailey, Adrianna Delliponti, and Molly Struss from 3 pm. until 4 pm. at the SDS photo booth in the grandstand area.

The Freedom 38 for the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman was first contested in 2014, and was won by that season’s track champion Jared Umbenhauer. The following season in 2015 the win was scored by that season’s point runner-up Craig Whitmoyer.

The 2016 contest was the only event so far that was won by an outsider, as New Jersey’s Brandon Grosso scored the win, followed by long time Grandview regular Ryan Beltz picking up a checkered flag in the 2017 event.

The 2018 running saw Modified regular Kevin Hirthler scoring his first 38er victory in a race that would run the entire distance without a caution. Hirthler would follow it up with another win two years later in the 2020 event, making him the only two-time winner of the end of season Championship race.

The 2019 race would see that season’s track champion Brad Brightbill put a cap on his great season, scoring the 38er win, which would be his fifth win of the year. The 2021 version would see Grandview’s 2016 Sportsman track champion Jordan Henn score the victory.

The 2022 version would see Ryan Grim pick up the win in a race that saw then invader and now 2023 Track Champion Logan Watt finish a close second place. Brett Gilmore, Cole Stangle, and Kyle Smith completed the top five finishers.

Lap sponsorships have been collected from generous fans and local businesses that have totaled over $3000 for drivers leading laps in the Freedom 76. In addition, over $4200 in bonus money has been posted for the big race, bringing the total to over $7200 in lap and bonus money for drivers running the Freedom 76.

Lap money will be paid to the drivers leading the laps in the Freedom 76, along with several extra special awards to include:

FEATURE WINNER’S BONUS - $1000 - From NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series

FEATURE WINNER’S BONUS - $1000 - From NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series if winner has competed in all Saturday NASCAR point races at Grandview Speedway during 2023 racing season.

LOW DOWN & DIRTY CASH DASH - $1276 – Sponsored by the Low, Down & Dirty Radio program for qualifying heat winners and guaranteed starters.

HARD CHARGER - $661 From Bobby Gunther-Walsh and his sponsors – The following sponsors have contributed to the Hard Charger Award – Res Q Natural Supplements, Just Born Candies makers of Mike & Ike candies, Hot Tamales, and those famous marshmallow Peeps. The driver advancing the most positions in the Freedom 76 from their scheduled starting spot to their finishing position receives the Hard Charger Award.

BOB HILBERT SPORTSWEAR CUSTOM WINNER’S JACKET – To the Freedom 76 Feature Winner from Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Boyertown, Pa.

LYNN HIMES GREAT EFFORT AWARD – $100 Sponsored by T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment & the Perkins Family (presented to the highest finishing driver NOT in the top 10 in Grandview Points) in memory of Carole Lynn Himes, a long-time familiar face at Grandview Speedway

TRACK OFFICIALS HARD LUCK AWARD - $225 Free Engine re-sealing for 2024 season from Grandview track officials (must be within 50-mile radius)

GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING PERSONS FOR THE BONUSES FOR THE 10th ANNUAL FREEDOM 38 SPORTSMAN CHAMPIONSHIP……..

FEATURE WINNER’S BONUS – LISA’S LANDSCAPING - $500 From Lisa’s Landscaping, Hatfield, Pa.

FEATURE WINNER’S BONUS - $500 From NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series

FEATURE WINNER’S BONUS - $500 From NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series if winner has competed in all Saturday NASCAR point races at Grandview Speedway during 2023 racing season.

BOB HILBERT SPORTSWEAR CUSTOM WINNER’S JACKET – To the Freedom 38 Feature Winner from Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Boyertown, Pa.

GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING PERSONS FOR SPONSORING LAPS FOR THE 53rd annual FREEDOM 76 ON SEPTEMBER 16…………

Lap 1 – Good Luck to all teams from SDS Photography and the Sabo Family

Lap 2 – In Memory of Carol Heckman - $25

Lap 2 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment located in Limerick, Pa. Find them on the web at www.tptrailersinc.com or call 800-255-0666. Stop by T.P. Trailers and Truck Equipment in Limerick for all your personal & professional trailer needs. - $25

Lap 3 – In Memory of Ted Banes – “Go Brett Kressley” - $50

Lap 3 – From Atkinson Autoworks in Gilbertsville, Pa. - $25

Lap 3 – Hungry? Head to Chino’s Place located at 7567 Chestnut Street in Zionsville, Pa. We can now hit the road with our food truck too!

Lap 4 – Valley Auto Group

Lap 5 – Good Luck to all drivers from Lex Shive 5K

Lap 6 – Matt Banes Roofing – Good Luck to all drivers as well as our driver Brett Kressley - $25

Lap 6 – Good Luck to all Freedom 76 drivers from Bock Racing - $50

Lap 7 – Matt Banes Roofing – Good Luck to all drivers as well as our driver Brett Kressley - $25

Lap 7 – In Memory of Kevin Graver Sr. Best of luck to Kevin Graver Jr. – From Rowe’s Graphics & The Rowe Family

Lap 8 – Matt Banes Roofing – Good Luck to all drivers as well as our driver Brett Kressley - $25

Lap 8 – Good Luck to all drivers from Mikey Schneck Jr. Motorsports and Crew - $25

Lap 9 – Matt Banes Roofing – Good Luck to all drivers as well as our driver Brett Kressley - $25

Lap 10 – Shon Elk and SME Laser Designs

Lap 10 – Top of the Hill Grill and Butcher Shop

Lap 10 – Bry/Car Racing Engines - $50

Lap 11 – R & K Motorsports. Good Luck to all drivers from retired drivers Ryan & Kyle Lilick - $50

Lap 12 – Are you in the market for a trailer to haul your racecar? T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment in Limerick, Pa. has over 100 trailers in stock at all times! Come find the BEST trailer for YOU! - $25

Lap 13 – “Good Luck all drivers from Big Diamond’s Dog Pound”

Lap 14 – Yorie Tile

Lap 14 – In memory of Homen Hoffman, favorite driver was Smokey Warren

Lap 14 – In Memory of Tim Fritch - $25

Lap 15 – Scott Bender (Reading Eagle & National Racing Network Photographer) Always remembering my friend Don Marks

Lap 15 – Good Luck Nick DeSantis from Logan Rhoads

Lap 16 – ERK Steering Repair - $50

Lap 17 – Rick’s Towing and Hauling

Lap 17 – Good Luck team 88D from Abby Weaver and Weaver’s Feed Mill

Lap 18 – L & L Construction, Structural Steel Erection & Crane Rentals, Quakertown, Pa. – 215-536-9361

Lap 19 – Good Luck Brett Kressley from Harper Eshelman

Lap 20 – Rick’s Towing and Hauling

Lap 21 – Woody’s Home and Lawn Service LLC

Lap 22 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment is where you will find Truck Bodies, Trailers, Snow & Ice Removal Equipment, Outside Storage Solutions, Parts, Repairs, Custom Fabrication and more. Go to www.tptrailerinc.com or call 800-255-0666 to speak with a sales associate today! - $25

Lap 23 – In Loving memory of my Son Gregory Jr.

Lap 23 – Batman

Lap 23 – Foreman Kids

Lap 24 – Jeff Tantum Smiles for Miles (S4M) Thanks to all drivers and staff for a great 2023 season - $25

Lap 25 – From Martin, Justin, Banko, Ryan, Davey, Rich, and the rest of the gang in turn one – Happy 76er!

Lap 26 – In loving Memory of Bob Sheidy and Joe Jordan

Lap 27 – At T.P. Trailers and Truck Equipment, we have you covered in winter storms, whether you are in the business of snow clearing, or looking to rent equipment. We have the parts, equipment, and service repair to keep you moving! - $25

Lap 28 – In Memory of Tammy Klotzbach - $25

Lap 29 – L & L Construction, Structural Steel Erection & Crane Rentals, Quakertown, Pa. – 215-536-9361

Lap 30 – Good Luck CVD and the entire 30 team from Missie H and all of CVD Nation

Lap 30 – Bry/Car Racing Engines - $50

Lap 31 – Good Luck to all drivers from Grandview Pace Truck driver Jan Stoudt

Lap 31 – In Memory of Redsy Helfrich. Good Luck #19K - $25

Lap 32 – For my husband Greg Dengler. You are always my checkered flag. Love, Carol

Lap 33 – From Jason Rought Painting LLC - $50

Lap 33 – Good Luck #33 Eddie Strada – from Bonnie

Lap 33 – Good Luck to all from Legacy Renovations

Lap 34 – At T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment you can rent or lease your trailer purchase.  Whether you are moving, going on vacation, or sending a child off to college, they offer a variety of trailers to suit your needs. Contact their rental department at 800-255-0666 for availability. -$25

Lap 35 – Good Luck to all drivers tonight from Step Above by Susan. Contact Susan to help plan your next event.

Lap 35 – Good Luck to all drivers! From your Track Announcer Jeff Ahlum

Lap 36 – ERK Steering Repair - $50

Lap 37 – Go Jared Umbenhauer from Earl Lange

Lap 38 – L & L Construction, Structural Steel Erection & Crane Rentals, Quakertown, Pa. – 215-536-9361

Lap 39 – Do you need to get that trailer inspected? Are you looking for one stop shopping? T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment offers service and inspections on pickups, semi-tractor trailers, heavy equipment, and everything in between! - $25

Lap 40 – From Tom Wenner – Race Pro Weekly & Wenner Media Group

Lap 41 – In Memory of the 2009 Grandview Champion Car Owner – Vince Gagliardo Sr. - $350

Lap 42 – From E.S. Contracting

Lap 43 – Dirt Merchant

Lap 44 – Good Luck Doug Manmiller from Madi Papoutsis

Lap 45 – Best of Luck Billy Pauch Jr. from Mandi & Ian - $45

Lap 46 – Good Luck to all drivers from Lids @ Philly Premium

Lap 47 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment in Limerick, Pa. offers a full array of trailers that can be customized to suit your needs. Go to www.tptrailersinc.com or call 800-255-0666 to speak with a sales associate today! - $25

Lap 48 – L & L Construction, Structural Steel Erection & Crane Rentals, Quakertown, Pa. – 215-536-9361

Lap 49 – In Memory of Dave Gibson. Good Luck Mike Gular - $49

Lap 50 – Good Luck to all drivers from the crew at Low Down and Dirty!

Lap 51 – Jeff Tantum Smiles for Miles (S4M) Thanks to all drivers and staff for a great 2023 season - $25

Lap 52 – Good Luck to all drivers from Grandview Pace Truck driver Jan Stoudt

Lap 53 – Vaccaro’s Auto Buyers & Vaccaro’s Motorsports - $40

Lap 54 – Good Luck to all drivers tonight from Step Above by Susan. Contact Susan to help plan your next event.

Lap 55 – B & R Hauling - $100

Lap 56 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment located in Limerick, Pa. Visit them on the web at www.tptrailersinc.com or call 800-255-0666 for full-service truck maintenance, repair, fabrications, and inspections. -$25

Lap 57 – AMEN and Hammer Down Forever! – Pastor Don Kerns

Lap 58 – In Memory of Tammy Klotzbach - $25

Lap 59 – Good Luck to all drivers from Grandview Pace Truck driver Jan Stoudt

Lap 60 – Hoffman Brothers

Lap 61 – Good Luck Justin Grim from Spunktown Tavern

Lap 62 – In Memory of Donald Hess (Hessy) - $200

Lap 63 – “Good Luck all drivers from Big Diamond’s Dog Pound”

Lap 64 – Attend T.P. Trailers BIG One Day Sale on Wednesday, October 4^th for the best sales of the season on all In-Stock Snow and Ice Removal Equipment - $25

Lap 65 – Glad Bobby Gunther-Walsh is OK!

Lap 66 – Brandon Croll - $50

Lap 67 – Brandon Croll - $50

Lap 68 – L & L Construction, Structural Steel Erection & Crane Rentals, Quakertown, Pa. – 215-536-9361

Lap 69 – Good Luck to all drivers from Carter’s Cards located in Douglasville, Pa.

Lap 70 – From Tom Wenner – Race Pro Weekly & Wenner Media Group

Lap 71 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment in Limerick, Pa. offers 20’ & 40’ Storage and Office Containers for sale or rent. They do custom fabrication & delivery too! Check them out on the web at www.tptrailersinc.com or call 800-255-0666. - $25

Lap 71 – Good Luck to all drivers, see you in Victory Lane – from Haven Stump

Lap 72 – In Memory of Robert Schwenk love always – Diane, Tracy, and Britty

Lap 73 – Get well soon Tammy Owens

Lap 73 – Safe Driving - Special Thanks to Doug Manmiller from the Kirkham Family

Lap 74 – Thank You for 2 beautiful years! Love always, Miss Grandview Speedway Brittany Huber 2022/2023

Lap 75 – Matt Banes Roofing – Mention this ad at your next estimate and receive $500 off your next roof over $5000 - $50

Lap 76 – In Memory of 1977 Freedom 76 winner Doug Carlyle – From Doug and Beth Henry - $50

Lap 76 – Good Luck to all teams from SDS Photography and the Sabo Family

$4262 - in bonuses          $3099 - in lap money       $7361 - total bonuses and lap money!!!

Since the 1960’s, Grandview Speedway has been presenting exciting wheel to wheel NASCAR stock car racing every Saturday Night starting in April and running through October, plus special events. Grandview Speedway is located at 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, Pa. 19505, just off Route 100, ten miles north of Pottstown, Pa.

Information is always available at www.grandviewspeedway.com or on Facebook, or by telephone at 610.754.7688.

Grandview Speedway PR

Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 13TH FINISH: 3RD POINTS: 4TH

Post-Race Quote: Grant Enfinger is opening up round two of the playoffs with his third place finish; you said that you wanted to come into this one aggressive, is that what we saw displayed from the No. 23 tonight? “Yeah, I feel like overall, we executed almost to the best of our ability. I feel like maybe I gave up one point coming to the end of that first stage, but overall, Jeff made some really great adjustments. We weren't really all that great in practice, but he made it better towards the end of practice. When we fired off for the start of the race I thought we were pretty good. The last, the only set of tires didn't really like it quite as much there. I wish we could have contended for the win, but overall I feel like we got all we could get out of our Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet. Lacking a little bit to contend for a win, we always want to fight for a win and we couldn't do that, but I think overall we executed well on pit road. Tyler Monn made some great calls. Overall, I'm not happy, but I'm satisfied.”

Rajah Caruth, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 5TH FINISH: 6TH POINTS: 17TH

Post-Race Quote: “It was a complete night. I felt like I was definitely better than the three or four in front of me there, just slot cars and dirty air with this hard tire and PJ1. Nonetheless, it was great to have a solid complete night. Hopefully we can take it to the next few races and make something happen. Very proud of our No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation team. It was a complete night on pit road, on my side I didn't mess up too bad, and we made good adjustments. Thank you to Mike Beam, Maury Gallagher, Ron Booth, and Team Chevy. This definitely helps with the job search for next year.”

Daniel Dye, No. 43 Champion Container Chevrolet Silverado RST

START: 16TH FINISH: 21ST POINTS: 18TH

Post-Race Quote: “We had good speed all day; it felt like we were able to run well but I picked the wrong lane on a restart and lost all of our track position. Basically after that, it was game over. So it was a rough way to finish a promising race for us, but I am thankful to all of the guys on my No. 43 team and to Champion Container and all of our partners for their support of our team. I had fun tonight but it was really hard to pass, so hopefully we won't have to worry about that much next race at Talladega.”

GMS Racing PR

Time for some tips, rules and facts about the ASA STARS National Tour Glass City 200 Presented by DTS Drive Train Specialists and Courtyard by Marriott at Toledo Speedway.

What:  35^th Glass City 200

When: Saturday, September 16

Where: Toledo Speedway

Toledo Speedway is located at 5639 Benore Rd, Toledo, OH 43612

(419) 727-1100

www.toledospeedway.com

Who: ASA STARS National Tour and ASA CRA Super Series (Combo Event)

          plus Toledo Speedway Sportsman and Factory Stocks

Toledo Speedway will host the ASA STARS National Tour on Saturday, September 16 for the 35^th running of the Glass City 200. The event will be race eight on the ten-race ASA STARS National Tour.

For the first time, The Glass City 200 will feature Template-bodied Super Late Models competing exclusively in the 200 lap, 100 mile event.

The 2023 Glass City 200 will see the return of the iconic ASA brand back to Toledo Speedway for the first time in 22 years. The original ASA ran a total of 16 events at Toledo, the most recent in 2002.

The ASA STARS National Tour will introduce stage racing to the Toledo Speedway fanbase. The event will be broken into three “stages,” with stage breaks set for lap 75 and lap 150. Each of the first two stages pays $1,000 to the stage winner, and championship points to the top 10 finishers.

GoFas Pole Qualifying also pays a $1,000 bonus for fast time and championship points to the top five qualifiers.

The series utilizes a “redraw” after qualifying to determine the starting order for the top eight qualifiers.

The Toledo Speedway ARCA Salenbien Excavating Late Model Sportsman and Safety-Kleen Factory Stocks will complete their seasons on Saturday as a part of the afternoon of racing. This final race will serve as championship night for both divisions, all with big points in play for a wild night of racing.

In the Salenbien Excavating Late Model Sportsman division, Ron Allen holds the points lead over Howard Kelley Jr and defending champion Jim Froling for the top spot in this division.

In the Safety-Kleen Factory Stocks, Steve Smith and Brad Turner look to close the gap to Josh Bunting, who holds a lead over the overall division. Bunting, Smith and Turner all look to take their first championships in the Factory Stocks division at Toledo.

Schedule:

Tickets: Tickets are available at the track, or by visiting

General Admission (Online): $31   -   General Admission (Day Of): $30

Children 6-12 (Advance): $6    -   Children 6-11 (Day Of): $5

Children 5 & Under (Day Of): FREE

Parking: Parking is FREE in the main lot behind the grandstands

Camping: Camping is limited/no hook ups. Lot opens Friday afternoon, September 15. First come/first Serve. No fee.

Coolers: No coolers, cans, or bottles are allowed.

Re-entry: The following re-entry policy is in effect at both tracks: When you wish to leave the grandstand area, fans must obtain a pass-out ticket from the ticket gate attendant. In order to re-enter the track, you must have both your admission stub and the pass-out ticket.

How to Watch:

Can’t make it in person? The event will be broadcasted on three platforms: TrackTV.com; Midwesttour.tv and Racing America. Subscribers to any of these streaming services can purchase an annual package to catch all the ASA STARS National Tour events at a discount. Subscribers can also get a race-by race discount. For more info, please visit www.starsnationaltour.com/watch/

The Glass City 200 will also be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on MAVTV on Monday, September 25 at 8:00pm ET.

Up Next: The Outlaw Super Late Models will compete at Toledo Speedway on Saturday, October 7th as a part of the ARCA Menards Series Shore Lunch 200.

For the full ASA STARS National Tour schedule, plus Super Late Model rules and other information, please visit the series website at www.starsnationaltour.com, and be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: STARS National Series | Twitter: @racewithstars | IG: @starsnational).

About the Glass City 200
The 35th Running of the Glass City 200 Presented by DTS Drive Train Specialists and Courtyard by Marriott roars to life under the ASA STARS National Tour banner in Toledo on Saturday, September 16th.  Built in 1960, Toledo Speedway first hosted its signature event in 1968, providing some of the most memorable moments in Ohio pavement short track racing history.  Local and national stars alike have raced in this historic event at Toledo Speedway, with a deep wins list that includes Joy Fair, Bob Senneker, Joe Ruttman, Danny Byrd, John Anderson, Brian Campbell, Junior Hanley, Harold Fair, Augie Grill, Johnny Van Doorn, J.R. and Tyler Roahrig, Tyler Ankrum, Carson Hocevar and many others. Click here for a full list of Glass City 200 winners.  New in 2023, the return to the 200-lap main event will prove to be a new endurance test for many of the top drivers in the country.  You can get your tickets now for this race by clicking the link.

ASA STARS PR

Hard work and perseverance gave 18-year-old Kendall Milam his first South Boston Speedway Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division championship.

The young Keeling, Virginia resident held a 14-point lead over D.J. Moser entering the season’s final points race on September 2. It appeared Milam could relax and attempt to race for the win in the season’s final race, but circumstances did not turn out that way. A problem occurred with his car that threatened to unhinge the teenager’s bid for his first stock car racing championship.

Milam, his father, Jarrett Milam, his brother, Landon Milam, and others worked frantically on the car after it developed issues during the division’s first practice session. After repairs, the car stayed together during qualifying and, fortunately, lasted through the race, allowing Milam to finish ninth and capture the division title.

“It felt really good to finish that race and win the championship,” Milam remarked. “It was a lot of stress relief. We had a whole lot of stress that night. We had problems with the car and were worried we wouldn’t be able to finish the race. I knew if I didn’t finish the race, I wasn’t going to win the championship.”

Winning the 2023 South Boston Speedway Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division championship is a special accomplishment for Milam as he became the second member of his family to win a division championship at South Boston Speedway.

His father won the 2010 South Boston Speedway Pure Stock Division title with six wins that season. The elder Milam also won two Pure Stock Division championships at nearby Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina.

“To be the second Milam to win a championship at South Boston Speedway means a lot to me and my family,” he remarked. “It means a whole lot to finally win the championship after all of the hard work that has been put in over the last three years. Winning the championship had been my goal since my first year of racing.”

Milam is enjoying a true sense of accomplishment in winning the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division championship because he prevailed in a tough, close, season-long points battle that went down to the season’s final race and did it in a highly competitive division that had six different race winners and seven different drivers to lead laps.

“It was a good season,” Milam noted. “This is a lot more competitive division this year than it was last year. It’s not as much fun if you go out there and you blow everybody out because it feels like you had no competition at all. The Hornets Division is the most competitive support division there is.”

In winning the division title Milam registered two wins, seven Top-5 finishes, and 10 Top-10 finishes in 11 starts. Those numbers closely mirrored his numbers from 2022 when he recorded two wins, seven Top-5 finishes, and nine Top-10 finishes. He finished fourth in the final 2022 season point standings despite sitting out one race and wrecking out of another race.

The big difference between Milam’s 2022 season and his 2023 championship-winning season rested with him growing in both maturity and experience.

“I matured a whole lot,” explained Milam. “I knew last year what I needed to come into this season to win the championship. Last year, I was just a “go win races” type of racer. I didn’t care if I made enemies or not. I was just going out there to win races.

“Knowing I could come in this year and compete for the division championship, I raced everybody clean. I will continue to do that throughout my racing career. My goal, more than anything this year, was to be consistent and to finish all the races.”

The battle for the 2023 division championship was intense from start to finish. While the points margins among the top five drivers in the standings were very narrow and four-to-five drivers were in contention for the championship at any point during the season, it was Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia, the eventual division runner-up, that gave Milam the most concern.

Milam appeared to have the upper hand just after the season’s midpoint. Unfortunately, he encountered misfortune in the July 15 event and had to retire his car from the race with only a few laps remaining. He finished 11^th that night, his only finish outside of the Top 10 this season. Davis finished fifth in that race, and sliced heavily into Milam’s points lead.

“I think I would have had about a 20-point lead all year if we hadn’t gotten caught up in that one accident and had that one night where I finished outside the Top 10,” Milam noted. “With three laps to go in the race the belt flew off of my alternator and I wasn’t able to finish the race. That race cost us a lot of points. After I had that bad race, I thought my chances to win the championship would have been doomed.”

Another key point in the division championship points battle came in the August 19 race when Davis encountered engine issues and finished 12^th. Milam finished second in the race and extended his points lead while Davis dropped to third place in the standings with one race remaining.

“His motor locking up helped us a lot in points,” Milam noted. “We were in a very close points battle entering that night."

Over the course of the season’s final three races, Milam finished fourth, second and ninth while Davis posted finishes of fifth, 12^th, and fourth in the final three races.

Milam pointed out he and Davis had a good battle for the championship throughout the season.

“Dillon and I started racing the same year,” Milam pointed out. “We had a clean battle. We had one run-in, but we raced clean the whole year.”

Overall, the 2023 season was a great season for Milam.

“All in all, it was a good season, especially being able to win two races,” Milam said.
“It was fun to be able to go out there, race, win the two races I won, and finish all of the races that I finished. It was a lot of stress, too. I can sleep at night now and not have to worry about going out there and making sure we finish races.”

Upcoming Events At South Boston Speedway

Two big touring series events remain on South Boston Speedway’s 2023 season schedule with the AutosByNelson 250 presented by Virginia Is For Lovers CARS Tour event set for Saturday night, October 7 and a return visit to South Boston Speedway by the stars and cars of the SMART Modified Tour set for Saturday afternoon, October 14.

The AutosByNelson 250 presented by Virginia Is For Lovers on Saturday night, October 7 will feature a 125-lap race for the CARS Tour Solid Rock Carriers Late Model Stock Car Tour, a 100-lap race for the CARS Tour Pro Late Models, and a 20-lap race for the Virginia Mini-Cup Racing Association. The first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

Advance adult general admission tickets for the AutosByNelson 250 presented by Virginia Is For Lovers CARS Tour event are priced at $17 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com or by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.

Tickets at the gate on race day on October 7 will be $20 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $17 each at the gate on race day.

The SMART Modified Tour event on Saturday afternoon, October 14 will feature a 99-lap race for the SMART Modified Tour, a race for 602 Crate Modifieds, and a 25-lap race for the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club. The first race of the day will start at 3 p.m.

Advance adult general admission tickets for the October 14 SMART Modified Tour event are priced at $17 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website or by calling the speedway office during regular business hours.

Tickets at the gate on race day on October 14 will be $20 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $17 each at the gate on race day.

The latest news and information about these events can be found on the South Boston Speedway website and the track’s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.

SBS PR

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang – YOU ARE THE DEFENDING RACE WINNER. HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE DOES A YEAR MAKE? “A lot has changed in a pretty short period of time, but certainly this time last year we had some really good things happening at RFK. We found a lot of momentum. We had a handful of opportunities to win race and came up a little short and ultimately we didn’t have the consistency to make the playoffs and ended up not in the best place where we had our goals set at the beginning of the year coming into this race, but this has been a track that’s always been really good for and RFK. We’ve always had really strong chances to do great things here. We had one kind of stuck in the back of my mind that Scott and I actually lost together here on a green-white-checker in the Xfinity days and basically just had a fuel stutter late in a race and ended up costing us a win on that day. The Cup win certainly made up for a lot of what we felt like we had lost way back when together and really was the highlight of our year last season. We had a lot of good things happening and certainly hit our stride at a good time similar to this year, but the Bristol win was big for us. We come into it this time, obviously this has been circled for us. It’s my favorite racetrack. I love the night race here and concrete races here, so I’m a fan of the recent news and like that we’re heading into what I would think of as one of the best tracks for a playoff elimination race, especially knowing what we had last time here and knowing we’re in an OK spot in the point side of things and in the playoffs. We definitely didn’t need our issues at the very end of last week’s race. That put us way behind where we wanted to be coming into this race, but I’m excited for it. Again, it’s my favorite racetrack. I know we’re gonna have a fast BuildSubmarines Ford Mustang and that gives me a lot of confidence coming in aside from the fact we were able to win this one last year.”

WHAT GIVES YOU MORE CONFIDENCE KNOWING THAT YOU WON AT DAYTONA OR KNOWING YOU HAD SOMEONE TO PUSH YOU LIKE BRAD? “Comparing the two I think it’s more about the teammates and having Brad behind us there and knowing what we’ve talked about doing and what we studied to finish those races. Certainly that’s been a massive part of speedway racing in general for us. The Daytona win in itself is huge, but I feel there’s a whole lot more to the fact of how our teams are working together to make things happen and get those wins. We’ve been really close at a lot of those speedway races, so we had confidence that we had the speed there, but the execution and working together is a big factor.”

SO LESS TREPIDATION GOING TO TALLADEGA? “A little bit, yeah. Superspeedway racing isn’t my favorite. I don’t necessarily mind it, but it’s just really not at the top of my list. Now I say that, and it’s been very good to us, but you talk about trying to complete that last two percent of those speedway races has been very frustrating at times and we’ve talked a lot about if you’re consistently there the right opportunity will be there and we’ll be able to get the job done, but also realize how difficult it is to do that consistently. We’ve watched certain teammates go out there and make it work. We’ve watched some Penske teammates work really well together speedway racing and it’s certainly been something that we’ve talked about, Brad and myself and all of our teams, so when we go to Talladega we know we’re gonna find each other. We know we’re gonna have fast Mustangs and just control what we can, but know that if we can be there and stay out of some of the chaos that we’ll have an opportunity to win the race and we’ll work hard together to make that happen for one or both of us.”

HOW MUCH WILL YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING IN THE RACE TOMORROW? “I’m torn on this because with 10 laps to go I’d told you I didn’t want to hear a thing about it. Obviously, it couldn’t have timed out any worse for us to have that issue and have an overtime attempt to try and make up laps and positions and ultimately forfeited probably 15 points. That sucks. There’s now way around that and would have definitely come in here with a whole different feeling, so put all of that aside and, like I talked about a second ago, coming to Bristol being my favorite racetrack and knowing that our cars are always competitive here that kind of gets rid of everything and puts you in a really good spot. Then you watch the race back and you watch 10, 12 tires go down and you watch steering rack issues, stuff that one of our cars experienced a tire go down, not so much on the other issues, but there’s a lot riding on this race and quite a few unknowns – stuff that we haven’t talked about in a long time and kind of thought we were over before Kansas, but it’s got to be on your mind. The thing is there’s just not much you can do about it here. There’s no room to let up. There’s no 85 percent here. You’ll get run over. You’ve got to go out there and run 100 percent. We need to go out and have a good practice. We need to qualify well. We need to race up front, grab stage points. Hopefully,, that comes to us and we’re not having to do anything tricky to try and do that or outplay anybody. Hopefully, we’ll stay up front to where we can build cushion back up to where we don’t have to have those conversations, but we certainly need to be aware of cars that we’re racing – if anybody else has issues. You need to race smart about it and have some awareness. That was a really long way of saying, yeah, I want some info on it. I want a lot more when something significant is happening. If it’s a race where you’re not having any issues, you’re not having accidents, at that point you just have to race 100 percent and hope it’s enough. I kind of hope that’s how it plays out because you don’t want to have to get into the weeds at all with all the little stuff, but you’re gonna take more info than before.”

ANYTHING YOU CAN TAKE FROM YOUR XFINITY TITLE IN 2015? “It was different. That was the last year before the playoffs on the Xfinity side and it was the most typical approach to win a championship was Daytona in February mattered all the way to the very end. We worked to win races and be very consistent. We worked to minimize bad days and it came all the way down to the end of the year where I believe our number was 13 no matter what the 9 car did. I remember getting yelled at that race for trying to pass three-wide down the backstretch at Homestead for ninth or 11th or something like that, getting yelled at by the same two people that are in my ears nowadays for not needing to race those cars, to not needing those positions. The 9 car was not leading the race and was not in contention for the win and our number was 20th or something like that and I didn’t need to be making the perceived mistakes that I was. I remember that. I don’t think it’s the same now, though. I don’t think you approach it very similarly to that championship or the ARCA championship even. That one is completely different, but it’s different when we have these three-race rounds. It’s just rapid fire. You’re not so much working off of three months ago, it’s very much in the moment. If the circumstances come up that there are a couple wrecks, a couple failures, something like that, where we start talking about some of those things and we need to gain 8 more points today and we’ll be fine or we need to figure out how to win this thing.”

WHY IS THIS PLACE HELD IN SUCH HIGH REGARD TO YOU AS DAYTONA? “It is to me comparable. I go back to watching this race growing up. This was one I wanted to sit down and pay the most attention to win an Xfinity race. This is the one race I’d stay after and go find an empty seat in turn three and try to sit down and watch the Cup race. It’s a track that I feel like there’s always movement here, that there’s always a hustle. There’s no breather and I also think that from a racing standpoint this brings in the very fundamentals of racing. This brings in short track racing. It brings in aggression, but smarts into it. It brings in mechanical basic race car technology versus being so far caught up in some of the aero and other things that are way above my head. It brings it back down the basics. Now, you’ll never get back to the simplicity of racing 20 years ago, but it certainly just hits home for me. The Bristol Night Race for me is top of my bucket list. To get that one first was certainly awesome. Now we’ve got to get another one and get a couple more races.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang – A VIDEO THIS WEEK SHOWED SOME OF THE EMOTION YOU’VE HAD THROUGH THE YEARS. WHAT BRINGS THAT OUT HERE AT BRISTOL? “All of those weren’t from Bristol, but I think Bristol, especially this race, really in general, it’s short track racing and everything happens so fast here that you’re amped up and excited and mad and frustrated and all those things pretty much every lap, so you just have to take it with a grain of salt. It is what it is and sometimes emotion comes out and those things happen.”

THIS WILL BE A CONCRETE RACE IN THE SPRING. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? “I think that’s fantastic. I think the dirt race was what it was. I think it’s something that you try and probably tried it a couple years too long, but I’m always gonna vote for something that’s not dirt.”

ARE YOU AMAZED TRUEX IS BELOW THE CUT AND WHAT WOULD IT SAY IF HE DOESN’T ADVANCE? “It’s a tough scenario because it makes it exciting and stuff to talk about and I think even in the championship that I won and some of the ones that I’ve lost it doesn’t really represent your whole year. You get to the point of making the playoffs and trying to get through the rounds and doing the things that you do, but it’s still not representative of what you had as a year. I think you just go out and do what you can and try to put yourself in the best position that you can and these things work in weird ways. He probably hasn’t had that happen all year and then it happens in the first round of the playoffs. It’s definitely frustrating, especially when you’re in that position. That group has had a phenomenal year and won races and then you have one moment that could dictate your whole season.”

ARE YOU NERVOUS OR WORRIED ABOUT HOW CLOSE YOU ARE TO THE CUTOFF? “No, not at all. It is what it is. You go race as hard as you can and where it falls it falls. It’s like Martin's situation last year. There's nothing you can do about some things and I don’t worry about those things anymore.”

CAN YOU GIVE US ONE MORE FIERY MOMENT? “That stuff is not made up. Those moments happen naturally, but you never know. It is Bristol. You just never know what the day or night is going to bring.”

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THOSE BEHIND THE SCENES WHO SAY YOU’VE ALREADY CHECKED OUT? CAN YOU ANSWER THAT? “Those are the ignorant people that are keyboard warriors. Obviously, they weren’t watching with three laps to go at Daytona and all but leading the race at Darlington. If they can’t answer that question. That’s a pretty simple question. They are people who just like to type.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT SATURDAY NIGHT? “I don’t expect it to be any different. You guys know I’m boring. I give the same answers every week. It’s really just about each moment and each lap and trying to do everything that you can do to put yourself in position to be in the best position possible. That’s really everybody else’s goal and I think the racetrack itself will dictate a lot of what happens. If they do spray the racetrack again and try to keep the top groove from ever being used like they’re talking about, it could be a one-lane deal. There’s just a lot of scenarios that have to come together and play out and you just never know where those are going to go. It’s hard for me to predict anything because it’s so unpredictable.”

HAVE YOU AND RODNEY BEEN LEANED ON BY THE CREW WITH THE SITUATION YOU’RE IN? “Nobody has even talked about it. That’s how irrelevant it is to us.”

WHAT WILL YOU LOOK AT TONIGHT AS FAR AS TRACK CONDITIONS AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE? “This particular car is not like the old cars. You have to have options. Multiple cars following other cars around tends to make the cars not be able to get close enough to even push each other out of the way with the aero situation, so you need options. I hope tonight it at least moves up into the three-quarter mark of the racetrack to be able to at least get it cleaned off. I think there’s definitely some guys that are gonna push that issue to try to move the groove up the racetrack and once it gets cleaned it comes in pretty quick, but it’s not gonna come in for our practice I don’t think. I’m sure Larson and a couple of those guys will try to run up there, but it’s very unlikely that it comes in in practice unless everybody commits to going up there and trying to blow it off. That’s really all it takes, just a bunch of cars making a short amount of time up there to blow it off and then it really comes in quick. If it doesn’t move up more than it is now in tonight’s race, it’ll take a while, especially if they repave it, but not having multiple grooves with this car is tough.”

SO WOULD YOU HAVE TO BE MORE FORCEFUL TOMORROW NIGHT? “You can be forceful and do other things, but you’re gonna be aggressive and race hard and do the things that you need to do, but typically if you run somebody over, you’re gonna get run back over, so you just have to balance all that stuff. It doesn’t change. If it’s just one groove, it’s not gonna change any of the thought process that goes into trying to put your car in the front to me personally.”

HOW SPECIAL IS IT TO SEE COLE CUSTER WITH A TRIBUTE MOBIL 1 PAINT SCHEME IN YOUR HONOR THIS WEEKEND? “That Mobil 1 scheme has been really good to us and Mobil has been such a big part of everything that we’ve done at Stewart-Haas Racing and a big part of the success. I’ve been around Cole ever since he started at Stewart-Haas Racing and I’ve enjoyed watching those guys learn, whether it’s Cole or Chase or Ryan or whoever has come through there. It’s fun to be able to share your opinion on what’s right or wrong and help them learn the sport because that’s what kind of builds our sport into what it is. You learn from somebody and then you develop your own ways and methods and thoughts and things. Cole is a hard worker. I’ve always enjoyed being around Cole and it’s fun to watch the younger guys, especially that you have a relationship with like I do with Cole, to be able to have success and do the things that they do. That’s an honor to see that car on the racetrack and I know he’ll do it proud tonight.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL THE NEXT ROUND LINES UP FOR YOU IF YOU ADVANCE? “The mile-and-a-halves just haven’t been very good for us. I think we overachieved last week. We got some stage points and did the things that we did last week at Kansas and had a chance to finish seventh or eighth and finished 11th, but still way overachieved with where we were. They did a great job and we were able to make something out of it. With the Ford stuff you have to hit it right with where we are with our cars right now and you have a very small window to get the car right on the bigger racetracks. If you don’t, it’s just a battle all weekend like we had all weekend to make something out of it. You never know at any of them, so you just grind away and really take it one lap at a time and try to keep doing everything that you can do, collect as many points as you can and make it where you just try to grind away. They’ve done a good job. We had a winning car at Darlington and got bit by circumstances and last week we had a 20th-place car and ran in the top five for a small amount of time and had a chance to finish in the top 10. Those are things you battle back and forth, especially with this car. Some weeks are good and some weeks are just a grind all the way through, so you have to be mentally prepared to go out and be ready to address whatever that is. That’s why it’s so unpredictable to say, ‘hey, we’re gonna run good here or we’re gonna run good there.’ It’s just hard to tell with where and how you go about everything that we do in today’s world with simulation and simulators and all the things that come with the changes from last year’s rules to this year’s rules as far as that goes and then the body change and the difference in car and only racing at those racetracks once make it even more difficult just because of not having anything from the beginning of the year.”

Ford Performance PR

Bobby Santos of Franklin, Mass. heads for Las Vegas on December 1-2 to challenge for the $50,000-to-win Winged Sprint Car feature in Davey Hamilton, Jr.’s Open Wheel Showdown. The 2020 Little 500 champion brings a wealth of experience across multiple disciplines of racing to the highest paying asphalt open-wheel race, challenging nearly 60 pre-entered drivers for the lucrative prize.

The new Winter Classic will mark Santos’ first start at the .375-mile Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He will drive the No. 22A Beast Chevrolet 410 with sponsorship from DJ Racing and Classic Corvette.

“First of all I’m super excited for it,” Santos said. “I love going to new race tracks and new facilities. I was probably supposed to race there almost 20 years ago and of all places, it rained out in Vegas. So I’ve never actually raced there!”

The 100-lap feature on Saturday night December 2 will pay $50,000-to-win but also $2,500 to start and has seen entries filed from Canada and over nine different states in the U.S. It will be joined by a $10,000-to-win Midget feature and the SpeedTour Super Modifieds.

“What theyre doing for sprint car racing is huge,” Santos said. “Typically, when you go to a Winged Sprint Car event you can honestly count on one hand the guys you’re going to be racing against for the win. In this event, you’re going to have 20 guys with a legitimate argument that they could win this race.”

Santos has traveled across the country to marquee races with success at every step of the way. In 2019, he won six races across the King of the Wing and Super Sprint series, including sweeping the summer dates at the four-tenths mile Colorado National Speedway. Santos is also the 2012 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and a veteran of 12 USAC Silver Crown triumphs on asphalt. Santos provided perspectives on the importance of the Open Wheel Showdown.

“It’s so great for pavement racing. Something pavement racing deserves. We owe a lot of thanks for what Davey’s doing. I think a lot of people should look at this race and wonder ‘why am I not going to be a part of this?’”

“Same as the racers, but from the fans standpoint: if they want to see big events, big paying events, promoters take risks, you got to get out and support it. Stuff like this doesn’t happen unless people support it. Even if you can’t be there, get on all the social medias and be a part of it and be positive. As racers, it’s everything we all want.”

Registration is moving quickly for the inaugural Open Wheel Showdown, with just 75 spaces available for the Winged Sprint Car division. Drivers can learn more at www.OpenWheelShowdown.com

Tickets are also on sale though the Las Vegas Motor Speedway ticket office and online. Details can be found at both www.LVMS.com or the Open Wheel Showdown website.

The event will be telecast through Speed Sport on the new Speed Sport 1 channel. More broadcast details will be announced soon.

Bobby Santos PR

USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series point leader Brody Roa ventured east last week for his first 2023 races in the USAC National Sprint Car Series at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, and the Texarkana 67 Speedway in Texarkana, Arkansas.  On Thursday at Devil’s Bowl, he came from 14^th to finish sixth in the 30-lap main event.  Forty-eight hours later on Saturday at Texarkana, he came home 14^th.  Sandwiched in between on Friday night, rain was the big winner at the Arkansas track

The stop at Devil’s Bowl exposed Roa to one of the most famous dirt tracks in the world.  The track, which hosted the first-ever World of Outlaws race on March 18, 1978, is on the bucket list of most drivers.  But it kind of caught Roa by surprise on his first visit.

“That place is really sketchy,” Roa laughed when asked his impressions of Devil’s Bowl.  “To start the night it was really hairy because they had so much moisture in it.  It was really sticky.  Getting into three in qualifying, I got the left rear up off the ground.  It is really fast.  It is comparable to Calistoga's speed I would say, but with a little bit bigger corners.  You really carry a lot of speed there.  It was a lot of fun.  I think the feature was a ton of fun once it slicked off.   It was really wide and it was right up to the lip.  If you got over it, you were over the banking.”

Sketchy or not, the Garden Grove, California veteran driver performed well all night long at Devil’s Bowl.  He qualified 11^th fastest in the field of 31 cars with a time of 16.468.  His first race on the well-known half mile was the second heat of the night.  He finished that eight-lapper in second.  That earned him a ticket straight into the A main without contesting the semi.

For the main, Roa was starting outside row seven in 14^th,  From there, he put on a show for not only the fans at the track but also for thousands worldwide watching the live stream on Flo Racing.  While most of the field rolled the bottom, Roa daringly tamed the top riding the very edge of the track.  One by one, he picked off the competition.  He was about to challenge for second when the yellow flag waved slowing the action. Unfortunately, some of the others saw how Roa got to third using the outside and changed their strategies accordingly.  Thus, Roa slipped back to sixth at the finish.

“I think we were just a little free,” Roa explained on going from second to sixth.  “After we rolled past everybody on the top, everybody was trying to roll the bottom, and we just smoked around the outside of them. I think once we got there everybody just moved up.  They may have been a little snugger than we were so we were kind of hanging off the corner the last eight laps or so.  We just did not have the drive to keep the forward momentum that we did have at the start of the race.”

“We were really happy with it,” the California veteran racer continued about his Devil’s Bowl debut.  “We were up to Ballou (Robert Ballou) for second at one point.  There for a couple of laps, I thought we had a shot to win it.”

After Devil’s Bowl, the Inland Rigging team aimed the hauler east for the 181-mile drive to Texarkana 67 Speedway.  Unfortunately, Roa and the other competitors finished second to Mother Nature when persistent rain forced the cancelation of the Friday night race.

Mercifully, the rain subsided and the facility dried out enough so Saturday’s race could move forward.  Like Thursday in the “Lone Star” state, 31 cars showed up.  Roa went five spots better in qualifying when he sped to the sixth-fastest lap with a time of 14.744.  A third-place finish in his heat race put “The Pride of Garden Grove” straight into the main event for the second consecutive night.

When the main event pushed off, Roa found himself on the outside of the front row.  He ran the top of the ¼ mile oval in the first two laps and slipped to fourth.  On the third circuit, he found some room and steered the #17R to the bottom.  He was fourth at that time and stayed there for a handful of laps.  That was as high as he would run all race long.  In the end, the affable driver crossed the line in 14^th position.

“That one kind of threw me for a loop,” Roa chuckled when asked about Texarkana 67.  “Looking at the track when we got there, it had a lot of moisture in it and the dirt seemed like it was going to have a lot of tack to it.  It really didn’t.  Once you got out there it kind of blew off and dusted up.  Really was not what I thought it was.  We were kind of free all night.  After coming home and watching the video, I needed to change my line.  I was not driving the track right.  We had some good speed throughout the night but in the feature,  I just made some bad calls (set-up-wise).  After the heat race, I thought we were a little too tight to drive through the holes.  It was a little rough getting in on both ends.  I kind of thought we were going to blast around the top and through those holes. I really did not plan on it going to the bottom like it did and putting around.  I really do not like doing that and was not set up to do that.”

While they wished things had turned out differently at Texarkana, Roa and car owner Dunkel were pleased with their trip to compete in the best traditional sprint car series in the world.   

“We were really happy with the weekend,” Roa said.  “The final result before we loaded it into the trailer the last time was not exactly what we wanted, but I think people knew we were there on this one.  It was really nice to have good speed right out of the box with those guys.”

While Roa is off this weekend, Dunkel returns to action when the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars visit Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway.  Two weeks ago, the Murrieta, California resident placed second in the VRA main event.  That was his second runner-up finish in a row at the track that is located at the beach in Ventura.  He also won a VRA main at the track on April 8^th.  Despite the fact that Saturday will only be Dunkel’s third appearance in the USAC West Coast Series this year, he is 21^st in series points and is only 18 markers out of 18^th.

If you want to see Dunkel in person on Saturday, make a trip of it and enjoy a day at the beach before walking a couple hundred feet to the track.  Gates will open at 3:00 p.m. with racing at 5:30.  Adult tickets are $22.00.  Seniors 60 and over, military with ID, and students with ID get in for $18.00.  Kids 12 and under are admitted free when they are accompanied by an adult.  The track is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 W. Harbor Boulevard (93001).  The website is http://venturaraceway.com/ and the office phone number is (805) 648-RACE.

After the Ventura race, both Dunkel and Roa will be in action in the Glenn Howard Classic USAC/CRA race at Perris Auto Speedway on September 23^rd.

Fans can pick up a 2023 Inland Rigging Racing Team shirt from the crew after the races or online brodyroa.com.

As always, Brody Roa would be more than happy to jump in a race car on his weekends off from the #17R. His entire schedule is printed below.  If anybody wishes to contact him about open dates, they can do so at 714-932-7994 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   

The team wants to thank the following sponsors for making the 2023 season possible. Inland Rigging, Dunkel Farms, United Asset Sales, Osborne Speed & Machine, “Biker” Bruce Fischer, ALR Virtual Services, Burris Racing, Caltrol, Jambo Barbeque Pits, Competition Suspension, K-1 Race Gear, Molecule, Rod End Supply, Driven Racing Oil, Baldwin Filters, and NGK Spark Plugs.