by John Berti

The NASCAR Hall of Fame, for the second year in a row, has nominated Richie Evans for induction into the hall.

Followers of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing may not be familiar with Richie, but his record speaks for itself of the tremendously talented race car driver he was.

Evans won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, including eight consecutively from 1978 to 1985. His eight straight championships is a record setter for any NASCAR division and may never be matched or broken.

In his illustrious career “The Rapid Roman” from Rome, NY won more than 400 feature races and over 30 track championships. He won virtually every major race for asphalt modifieds, some more than once, including the prestigious Race of Champions which he won on three occasions.

Perhaps his proudest season was in 1979 when Evans ran 60 races collecting 54 top five finishes and 37 wins.

Evans came to Florida many times to compete in the New Smyrna Speedway “World Series of Stock Car Racing” during February Speedweeks.  He won six Tour-Type Modified championships at the high banked asphalt oval: 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, and 1984.

Tragedy struck on October 24, 1985.  Evans had just clinched the 1985 NASCAR National Modified title the week before at Thompson International Speedway (Thompson, CT) and was practicing for the “Dogwood 500″ at Martinsville Speedway (Martinsville, VA) when he crashed heavily in turn 3.  The 44-year-old perished in the wreck.

The NASCAR Modified racing world was devastated by the loss of Richie, but devoted fans have done much to keep his memory alive even to this day.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner Tommy Baldwin fielded a Richie Evans Tribute car in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona on July 3, 2010 with Steve Park behind the wheel of the No. 36 Chevrolet.

Though not diagnosed at the time, many racing safety experts have concluded that Evans’ death resulted from the same type of “head-whip” injury and resultant Basilar skull fracture that claimed the life of Dale Earnhardt in 2001.

By Ken Kinney, Jr.

After much thought and deliberation, the United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series and it’s  sponsor Sunoco, are proud to announce the names of the drivers who have made it’s first annual Chase for the Cup, along with thirty participants. The series is also  releasing the chase schedule, which will take it to many exciting venues in both Georgia and Florida.

The chase will surely create the most exciting points battle of 2010,season.  This will give race fans the most intense Late Model racing in the country. Although, the series originally planned on running a separate North and South schedule, both the series and Sunoco are convinced that by merging the North and South regions,  that it will match the best Late Model drivers in Central and South Georgia against  the best Late Model drivers in Florida.

This will elevate one of the most premier Late  Model Series to an even higher level and create must see events for all race fans in  both Georgia and Florida.

How the Chase was seeded
After much thought, I decided that Tyler Ivey, who had the most overall points, Ivedent Lloyd, the North points leader and Mark Whitener, the South points leader, will all be number one seeds and will be receiving $1000 respectively, at the banquet for their  accomplishments up to now.

Secondly, on the seedings I made a decision that a driver must have earned a minimum of 450 points, all other drivers were eliminated from the chase consideration. At this  point, thirty drivers are in the chase and one last driver, who is a member, will be  chosen through a blind lottery draw.

This driver will be offered the opportunity to participate in the chase, being awarded 180 points, which would be equal to the points of Patrick Williams, who is currently the thirtieth in the chase. Should the driver winning the lottery draw decide to decline the offer, the draw will continue until a  winner accepts the offer to participate.

The other seeds were chosen second in the South to second in the North, however in the  North, Tyler Ivey was awarded a number one seed and the second seed went to Chelsey  Dixon in the North, who was the next highest points earner.

The same in the South being Tyler had already received a number one seed, moved Dillon Woods into the second seed.  The bottom line is once a driver was seeded by using his highest points total, they were  skipped in the other region when seeding the next highest points earner.

If you have  any question to where you are seeded, call me directly. After seeding Jordy Nipper, who was the last Northern driver seeded based on him being  the last Northern driver with over 450 points. All remaining Southern drivers with over or exactly 450 points, you were seeded in order until reaching Patrick Williams, who had exactly 450 points.

Once the chase starts all points will be awarded as normal, with the following exceptions. Because, I do not believe in double points nights, but I realized that drivers must be  enticed and rewarded for driving to the furthest SOuthern region track, which is Hendry County Motorsports Park and Screvean Motorspeedway, which is the Northern regions most Northern track.

On these two races, you will have to count your better finish. However, drivers going to either track will receive a 50 point bonus, just for going and supporting  these two tracks, which are geographically challenged.

If clarification is needed on this, please call me directly with any questions you may have. Thanks for your support,

Ken Kinney Jr. (863)673-4325

OLD BRIDGE, N.J. — A drag racing driver ran through a containment area at the end of a track and died of head injuries after crashing his alcohol-fueled funny car at a “high rate of speed” during a qualifying round at the NHRA SuperNationals at a New Jersey raceway Friday, state police said.

Neal Parker, 58, of Millville, N.J., crashed at Raceway Park in Old Bridge, state police Sgt. Stephen Jones said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Parker was entered in the Top Alcohol Funny Car competition. The crash occurred shortly before noon.

“Parker … crashed Friday at a high rate of speed in the shutdown area during qualifying,” the NHRA said in a statement on its website. “On behalf of everyone at NHRA and Raceway Park, we are deeply saddened and want to pass along our sincere condolences to the entire Parker family.”

NHRA officials and New Jersey state police are investigating.

The car ran through a containment area with soft barriers, sand and a safety net and wound up in pieces in front of a wall at the edge of the raceway property. State police declined to comment on whether the car hit the wall or on eyewitness accounts that a drogue chute designed to slow the car failed to deploy properly.

Spectator David Farrah of Manalapan said it appeared the chute malfunctioned.

“It looked like the chute just didn’t open and he couldn’t stop,” Farrah said. “The car was just crushed. It was tragic.”

Another spectator, George Tompkins, 63, of Metuchen, said he left the stands shortly before the crash. He didn’t see the wreck, but said he heard it.

“You heard that sound and knew right away that it was bad,” he said.

Racing was suspended for more than three hours while the crash was being investigated.

Parker often drove in NHRA events on the East Coast, but was not among the NHRA’s top-ranked drivers nationally, NHRA spokesman Anthony Vestal said.

Telephone messages left at Parker’s Millville home and an excavating business listed in his name were not immediately returned Friday.

Friday’s accident comes nearly two years after top racer Scott Kalitta died when his Funny Car burst into flames and crashed at the end of the track in central New Jersey.

Kalitta’s Toyota Solara was traveling at about 300 mph when it burst into flames.

New Jersey State Police investigators determined that “catastrophic mechanical failure” caused the fuel-fired explosion.

The 1994 and 1995 Top Fuel season champion had 18 career victories.

In February, a spectator died after being hit by a tire from a crashing dragster at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. The woman was watching a first-round Top Fuel run when Antron Brown’s Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster went out of control on the strip and its left rear wheel came off.

This Wednesday night, June 9th East Bay Raceway Park hosts the “Prelude to the Dream” pay per view live from the track’s first class restaurant.

The hosts of several Real Racin’ USA Internet radio shows will be on hand to award the 2009 Inside Florida Racing Driver of the Year championship ring to a deserving Florida driver.

The sixth annual “Prelude to the Dream” highlights modern-day superstars returning to the roots of car racing by competing on a dirt track in a dirt Late Model stock car. Bill Elliott, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and David Reutimann are among the NASCAR stars competing in the 2010 “Prelude to the Dream”. The drivers do not compete for points and winnings, but for charity, as the 2010 pay-per-view proceeds will benefit four children’s hospitals: Cincinnati Children’s, Levine Children’s Hospital, Riley Hospital for Children and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Each year Real Racin USA presents the top Florida driver with a spectacular “Driver of the Year” ring, in association with Hilderbrand Jewelers. Last year dirt late model ace Johnny Collins of Jacksonville won the award.

Radio show hosts Rick Anges, Bill Green, Jack Smith, Rob Elting, CeCe Brooks and Bill Ausburn will be on hand to present the driver’s award and interview other guests during the two hour broadcast. The broadcast can be heard via the Internet at www.realracinusa.com and clicking on the listen live link.

East Bay Raceway park features a very modern restaurant, complete with a beer and wine bar, making a great fan friendly atmosphere at the Tampa dirt racing facility. Co-owner Mike Dezarn said, “We changed everything in the place except for the floor.”

East Bay Raceway Park is located just off Route 41 south of Tampa. For directions and more information about the track visit the web site: www.eastbayracewaypark.com

The show gets underway at 7:00 PM, come early to get a good seat.

by Kassie Hughes

HEMINGWAY, S. C. — Most of the men and women in racing today have followed in the footsteps of their fathers or grandfathers, but for Marion Cox, he paved the way for many small town mechanics.

Cox grew up in the small town of Hemingway (SC), and although his family was into farming, his heart craved for something different. In his teen years, he read a book titled “Souping Up The Stock Engine”, which was the beginning of his love for racing. Before he opened his engineering garage, Cox went to Nashville Auto-Diesel College in Tennessee and then spent more than two years serving in World War II. Once he settled down, he fell in love with a girl named Nina, who soon became his wife.

His passion was for the heart of an automobile…the engine. He would rather spend time behind the scenes than in the spotlight when it came to racing. The only time he was behind the wheel was when he would drag Nina to Daytona Beach, Fla. for the “Measured Mile” competition on the well-packed sand of the Atlantic Ocean. He would run against the clock at speeds of more than 120-miles-per-hour to quench his need for speed. There was no prize money at the time, but the certificates given to him for his wins against high-dollar competitors was enough to open the eyes of many people who turned to him to build engines for their cars.

In 1954, Cox started building engines for cars whose owners wanted to race on oval tracks in the south. His first race car happened out of coincidence. Originally, he had built an engine for a gentleman in Columbia, but the man couldn’t afford to pay him for it, so he offered the entire car to Cox. Marion didn’t want the engine to go to waste, so he bought the entire operation. He called the car “Slow Joe” and raced it on an old Myrtle Beach horse track. No one seems to remember the name of his first driver, except that his first name was Clarence. Being at the track became addicting and Cox began to pursue a car owner career.

“If there was one thing Marion could do was set up a race car to handle really good! He loved building, owning and running race cars,” his widow, Nina said.

In 1955, Cox entered the only Chevrolet he ever owned into the Southern 500 at nearby Darlington Raceway and he and Nina drove the family car to the track where Roy Bentley took over as the driver for the race. After the race Marion and Nina drove the car back to Hemingway, dents scratches and all.

After finishing 32nd in Darlington, he sold the Chevy, and being a die-hard Ford man, he purchased a brand new ‘56 model and tinkered with it until it was time for Daytona. Back then, Daytona was a combination beach/paved course, made up of two miles of the north-bound sandy beach and two miles of south-bound Highway A1A. Out of the 100 entries, driver Jimmy Thompson brought the Cox-prepared Ford home in sixth place. After returning home, the proud car builder continued to make a name for himself by running dirt track in the Carolinas while building another car to be driven at Daytona the following year by Thompson’s brother, Speedy. The final beach/road course event was held in 1958 and Jimmy Thompson finished 2nd and Speedy was 39th.

When Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, Cox loaded up his car and pulled it along Highway 17 to the new 2 1/2-mile tri-oval and competed in the 250-mile Modified-Sportsman event with Jimmy Thompson as his driver. A 25th place finish was not good enough for the grass-roots team and the driver and owner vowed to win the event the next year.

Cox continued to field cars for the dirt tracks while spending more and more time learning the ropes at Daytona. Even though he was chalking up wins and track championships on the Carolinas dirt tracks, the determined mechanical genius had one other thing on his mind. Thompson satisfied his thirst for a Daytona win in 1961. Later that year, a young driver from Sardis got behind the wheel of Cox’s car at Charlotte and won. Cale Yarborough, a 22-year-old who had run some dirt track events for Cox, but this was the first time on asphalt for the pair. This was also the first win for Yarborough on a track longer than 1/2-mile.

Yarborough was behind the wheel of a Cox-owned car at Daytona in 1962 and finished second. Grand National veteran Marvin Panch took the wheel of a Cox car and won the Permatex 300 in 1965, giving the man nicknamed “Preacher” his second win at the huge track. Immediately after the race, members of the Cox family were headed back to Hemingway so they could attend Sunday School and Worship services Sunday morning. Cox loved his family and he loved racing, but he always made God first in his life.

Since NASCAR ran many of its Grand National events on Sunday, Cox stuck to the “Sportsman” division that raced on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Marion never raced on Sunday, as he was a firm believer in ‘keeping the Sabbath day holy’, which landed him the nickname “Preacher”. Holding firm to his beliefs, Marion felt that Sunday racing wasn’t for him, but had nothing against those who did. When racing on Saturday nights, Preacher would keep a close eye on his watch. It is rumored that he waved one of his drivers, who was leading the race, off the track because it was past midnight and was then Sunday morning.

Until 1966, the only way Marion and Nina could afford to transport the race car was to attach it to the back of their family car and tow it along the highways. Finally, he bought a small flatbed truck and made the alterations to fit his needs of a hauler. He extended the bed of the truck so he could store tools, parts, tires and there had to be ample room to store a huge cooler stocked full of food for the family as well as friends at the race track. While Marion would spend the morning before a race checking over the race car, Nina was busy preparing the food.

Cox won many rewards for his hard work. He was “Mechanic of The Year” for the Modified division in ‘63 and ‘64 and was honored with the Bobby Isaac Award for making possible the success and recognition of so many drivers.

He opened the door of opportunities for so many drivers who shared the passion for racing. Drivers such as Dink Widenhouse, Marvin Panch, Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Ralph Earnhardt, David Pearson, Benny Parsons, Mutt Powell, Darrell Waltrip, Lonnie Wayne Cox, Billy Scott, Richard Childress, James Hylton, Tiny Lund and Sam Sommers were among the 55 drivers who sat behind the wheels of Marion Cox cars and many of them won races for him. Even though an official count could not be found, it is estimated that his drivers captured more than 500 wins and notched more than 15 track titles.

During the 1967 season alone, driver Billy Scott drove the Cox Ford to track titles at Charleston, Savannah, Ga. and Monroe, N, C. The combo finished ninth in the national late model circuit. The following year, Cox hired 18-year-old Haskell Willingham and the team finished second in the Georgia point standings, third in South Carolina and was fourth nationally. In 1970, Willingham and Cox finished fourth in the South Carolina points and fifth nationally.

Cox had built such a reputation as a successful car builder, he was called by representatives of Ford Motor Company in the late 1960’s and was asked if he would bring his young dirt-track driver, Willingham, and meet them at the Holman-Moody complex in Charlotte. Holman-Moody was the headquarters for the Ford financed racing teams and was the distributor for all of the Ford racing parts.

In the meeting, the Ford reps offered Cox and Willingham a deal that not many people ever receive and would never, ever refuse. Ford wanted Cox on its team and offered a package that would be similar to that of the famous Wood Brothers, Junior Johnson, Banjo Matthews and Holman-Moody if he would field a team that would compete in the elite Grand National division, later to be named the Sprint Cup Series.

Cox thanked the Ford people for the invitation, but once again, he stuck with his conviction that Sunday was a worship day for him and his family. With Cox turning down the offer, Ford went to Bondy Long in Camden, who graciously accepted and named former Cox driver Paul “Lil Bud” Moore as his driver.

Everyone in the racing community became family, and Preacher touched many lives on and off the track with his wisdom. At the age of 68, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and his motor building skills began to drift. Although he retired as an owner, he never retired as a fan. His nephew, Kenny Hughes, would come by and pick him up every Saturday and would take him to the track to watch the new generation of drivers. The last Grand National race Cox attended was at Darlington, where it all began for him. His three sons, Mike, Randy and Dowie took him to the garage area to re-live his racing days.

In 1996, Cox passed away, but his passion for the sport is still alive today. His wife and children pass down the numerous stories about a humble man who simply followed his passion. His family still enjoys the races and keeps in contact with their racing family. His son, Mike, who drove a race car for his father, continues to follow in his Dad’s footsteps by owning his own machine shop in Kingstree, and is an official for the UARA series.

Contact Kassie Hughes e-mail to: kassieehughes@gmail.com

The nation lost one of its most daring Sprint Car drivers on Wednesday afternoon, as Jesse Hockett lost his life in an accident in his Warsaw, MO, shop.

The 26-year-old suffered fatal injuries while working on an electrical box in his trailer while prepping for a four-day Memorial Day weekend of racing that was to include Thursday’s USAC event at Terre Haute, weekly action near home at Sedalia on Friday and then the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series Steve King Memorial at the Jetmore Motorplex on Saturday and Sunday.

Related Link:   Jesse Hockett remembered as hard-charging, humble driver

RRUSA Media

Inside Florida Racing returned to the Internet “airwaves” Wednesday night with hosts Jack Smith, Rick Anges and Scott McAllister.

Inside Florida Racing May 19, 2010

Guests included 2009 Promoter of the Year Don Rehm, Orlando Speedworld promoter Rick Bristol and Mini Stock racer and longtime observer of Florida racing Rex Hollinger.

Some comments from fans included:
–”It was the best show you guys have ever done”
–”I thought the diversity of the announcers was excellent. I missed the opening of the show, so I didn’t hear the introductions of all the different hosts. However, they all seemed knowledgeable, positive, and seemed to play well off of each other. They made me want to listen, just to hear what they might say next.”

Inside Florida Racing will return to a regular schedule in June.

Dirt World hosted by Joe Linebarier and Billy Ausburn will return to a weekly format also beginning in June.

An announcement will be made shortly about the date and time of the presentation of the Driver of the Year Hilderbrand Jeweler’s ring.

May 19, 2010 Show

KARNAC Media Release

The Inside Florida Racing radio show is soon to be back, bringing with it a whole new attitude.

Wednesday, May 19th, Real Racin’ USA will air a brand new edition of Inside Florida Racing hosted by Jack Smith and Rick Anges.  Guests for the show, which will air live on the Internet 7-9 PM, include Promoter of the Year Don Rehm, Charity Truckers 200 promoter Rick Bristol, Rick Day will share his new vision for Columbia Motorsports Park and racer Rex “Boneman” Hollinger. Old friend of KARNAC and Real Racin’ USA Scott McAllister will guest host along with Rick and Jack.

“It is time to get back to work”, said Jack Smith. “We have taken off a long time dealing with health issues, and even though we are not out of the woods yet, I am hankering to get back in the racing game.” Real Racin’ USA creator Jack Smith underwent several major back surgeries earlier this year and is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.

“We are going to approach the show a little differently, less guests and more in depth interviews with drivers, promoters and racing personalities”, Smith stated.

Real Racin’ USA has hundreds of past shows archived, including coverage and interviews from Florida stock car racing, drag racing, boat racing, motorcycle racing, NASCAR, Hooters ProCup, ASA and other series. These shows can be heard anytime by searching the Real Racin’ USA web site.

The show on May 19 will be broadcast live from the Marriott Hotel in Largo, a stone’s throw from the old Sunshine Speedway.

The Inside Florida Racing radio show can be heard by going to www.realracinusa.com and clicking on Listen Live! links.

Send any show ideas, comments or anything else to feedback@realracinusa.com

On March 24, 2010, Florida All Stars Tour Co-Founder Alan Bruns sent this letter to all FAST members regarding clarification of the incident(s) between Wayne Anderson and Kevin Ingram during the Series’ race March 20th at Auburndale Speedway. This should indicate exactly what happened and what has since been done concerning the situation.

Members:

First let me thank you for your support shown during our initial three races of the FAST series. While we have experienced several minor problems, with your help I believe we have established an innovative, positive and fun series of which we can all be proud. All that being said, we feel we must offer an explanation of last weekends events.

We would like to thank Rex and all his staff at Auburndale Speedway for their support and hospitality. The Friday practice and Friday night party went well. Our revised schedule for Saturday worked as well and will be adjusted slightly for our next event.

As we know the race started off with a bang and shots continued throughout, which is why I feel this explanation is needed. It is our goal to provide a fun, safe, yet competitive place to race. Rough driving and personal vendettas should be left for other venues. While rubbing is racing, blatant rough driving or intentional wrecking cannot be tolerated. While there were several individual incidents, we all know the main one of which I will address.

We do not condone the actions of either driver involved in the incident and your race director ordered both cars “parked” for the night, immediately, even as they were still on the track.

Unfortunately the track Promoter stepped in and instructed the Race Director that the 21car would be allowed back onto the track to finish the race. FAST Officials quit scoring both competitors as far as points were concerned. We’ve had our Tuesday meeting with our officials as well as those from the track. Both drivers have been placed on probation. In the future all decisions during a tour race will be made and decided by FAST Tour Officials. Track Officials can and will be asked for their advice, however, the final decision is made by the Tour officials. We acknowledge that mistakes were made. We’ve learned from our mistakes and have taken steps to ensure situations like this doesn’t happen again. Our collective desires are to continuously improve.

Again, I would like to thank Rex and his staff for their cooperation and we look forward to returning four June 19th event.

Please feel free to contact any of us with questions or concerns. We value your input, after all this is about you the racers, Florida racing and our partner tracks.

Thank you,
Alan Bruns
FAST

The next scheduled race for the late model series is April 30-March 1 at Citrus County Speedway. More information is at: www.floridaallstarstour.com

Fifteen of North America’s brightest car racing prospects converge on Charlotte, North Carolina, this Friday to be introduced as RACE 101’s inaugural class.  An acronym for Research, Analyze, Consult, Educate, 1 on 1 RACE 101 is a one-year advanced motorsports education program designed for aspiring race car drivers looking to advance their careers.

The inaugural class consists of 15 scholarship winners from across North America.  Naples, Florida, racer Michael Cenzi was chosen from hundreds of applications based on his desire to learn along with an impressive racing resume.  The 16-year-old started racing when he was six, and he has amassed an impressive list of victories from go-karts up to full-sized late model stock cars.  
Cenzi plans to focus on the RACE 101 program in 2010 while campaigning his family s late model stock car at Charlotte County Motorsports Park, Auburndale Speedway, Citrus County Speedway, Orlando Speedworld, New Smyrna Speedway and Columbia Motorsports Park.  He has aspirations of eventually racing at the NASCAR level.  Need for motorsports based education RACE 101 was founded by acclaimed crew chief Tony Blanchard.

Best known for his work with NASCAR Sprint Cup sensation Joey Logano during his formative stock car racing years Blanchard recognized a need in the racing industry.  “Achieving a career in motorsports requires much more than racing talent”, says Blanchard.

Young racers need to understand the mechanical side of their cars, and they need a solid public relations foundation.  We re able to provide an education in their area of need.  I m excited to work with these young racers, and we have some great instructors and mentors involved with the program.

The press conference introducing the inaugural RACE 101 class can be viewed at www.Race101.net.  For more information, contact Denine Snyder at 239-707-5029 or denine92@embarqmail.com