WEST GEORGIA SPEEDWAY NEWS AND RESULTS
"COFFEE, IMUS, WRITING AND RACING"
It's 6 a.m. in the background the radio is on with Don Imus who is the host of the radio program called "Imus in the Morning". The coffee pot has stopped brewing, and the coffee is in my cup hot and steaming. How does all this tie in to racing and writing?
None that has been proven by scientist at this time, then again while writing my mind is whirling. Coffee as we all know is a stimulant, a drug, but how many of you have a least one cup before heading out the door. Some of you never touch coffee but at least half of all American's drink a cup of what we know as "Joe", "Java" or plain coffee before starting any kind of work. Racing is almost the same to loyal racing fans here in the South drinking a cup of coffee.
Historic dirt tracks are fast fading away, so if you ever get a chance to go and watch a race, then you will be in for a treat. Let's take West Georgia Speedway, the place is a "Historic" track that has seen better day's, and has seen some super racing, "If just those old walls around that track could talk".
Sammy Duke has been the owner and promoter, of this speedway that is set back in the woods is almost a legend himself. When you look at this elderly man, that walks slower each and every day, you would never have known that when he was young he was signed to the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball team. Sammy also excelled in all sports.
One thing for sure Sammy has heard it all from drivers, their aches and pains, and their happiness when they win. But if you really look down deep into his heart, Sammy has a heart of gold, and is kind to almost every driver, and all the officials that work at the track.
West Georgia Speedway was born back in the early '90's, and we are not talking about the 189o's even though the Speedway looks like it came from that era. The track itself was first started as a dirt bike track, and then Sammy got the great idea of turning it into a 3/8th oval dirt track and let the boys come down and race around, never for big cash but they did get paid if they finished and that was sometimes hard to do.
The track has never been a drivers friend, but some drivers can man handle this track, they seem to know every rut and can miss them all the time.
Take G1, a sportsman car driven by a Newnan, Georgia favorite, Glenn McWaters. His red "G1" has an attitude that seems to show itself every time he is on the track. His car is fast but he has been beaten in races here lately, so that proves that Glenn McWaters is "beatable".
Take Rucker Orr, his #99 sportsman car, is one of the cars that are on the same level as Glenn's car.
What can you say when you describe Rucker, I mean every time I see him prior to a race he is working hands on and turning bolts and screws, checking air pressure in his cars tires making sure every thing is done right. You can say he "gets down and dirty".
Orr, has been a winner in the last 4 races at WGS, until the rain came, and he decided not to race, this gave a easy win to the G1 car of Glenn McWaters. Another driver that is in a world of his own is Ted Ray, better known as "The Bear", as he drives the black #4 sportsman car that is always in the heat of the battle. Ted is one of the funniest drivers but makes up for his laughter when he rolls his car on the track. Then "The Bear" is all business.
The drivers of the other class, such as the Crate division which is the 2nd fastest class, work just as hard on their cars. Driver's like the #K17 of Mark Knight are always a blast, and works just as hard tuning his car and trying to get that little edge, before racing in his feature with the other Crate cars.
His main foe in the Crate race has become the #07 of driver of Dewayne Aldridge. a proven winner and a Crate car driver that has one mission and that is take the checkered flag every time he is in a race.
Dewayne is only 48 years old and when asked said "He has no reason to cheat, he said if he can't run legal he won't take the track" Now that is some great attitude.
Add in driver's like Tony Kemp, from Carrollton, Georgia and "Mad" Max Kitchens and others and you have one heck of a great crate race.
West Georgia Speedway on May 10th held a $1K race to win for the Crate cars, and they showed up. It was a 40 lap race and you know it had to take a toll on the drivers.
Aubrey Merritt who usually drives in the Sportsman class, placed a crate motor in his car, and started in the back and beat his car to pieces, banging against the #K17 of Max Kitchens.
What was not so funny was that it starting to rain, during the Modified Mini race, the cars were sliding every which way, about 2 laps a way before the finish, the rain began to pour in buckets.
Needless to say the red flag was thrown, and the race was stopped. The drivers said they would take their finish where the race was stopped. so car #20 of Ryan Heppener was the winner with car #07 of Frank Long taking 2nd place and in 3rd place was the #06 of Richard Bagby.
Then as if Sammy pulled out a magic umbrella the rain stopped, I knew if I was tired I knew the drivers were, but they had a job, to win a race, and I had a job to film the race, so I did my job like the drivers would do theirs on the track.
Sammy was ready to get the One thousand Dollar Crate Car race in. So the cars came back onto the track to iron it out before the first feature was to restart the night of racing. The Hobby cars hit the track first and the winner was the #56 of Lee Mcelwany and in 2nd place was #01 of Blant Duke. Blant is Sammy Dukes grandson but there is no favoritism shown when he is racing. Blant runs under the same rules as all the Hobby cars run. In 3rd place was car #31 of Blake Griffin.
The Enduro class featured the #00 of Lonnie Bright taking the win, followed by the #15 of driver Eddie Harris and finishing in 3rd place was car #8 of Jeff Moran.
Then Sammy changed the running order when he ran the Sportsman Cars next, the cars came on to the track with the G1 of Glenn McWaters, followed by car #26 of Fletcher Cavender, but there was no show of the #99 of Rucker Orr, he said he had generator trouble and also he did not want to run his car in the tracks conditions.
If G1 would run and #26 would run why was Orr not running?. Whatever, the easy win went to the G1 car of Glenn McWaters from Newnan, Georgia. In 2nd Place was car #4 of Ted Ray "The Bear", and finishing in 3rd place was car #10 of Nick Prosser.7
The weather had cleared enough to get the Crate race in, and it featured some beating and banging of the last place cars of Tony Kemp, Aubrey Merritt and "Mad" Max Kitchens.
The first place finish went to #07 of Dewayne Aldridge and coming in 2nd was #K17 of Mark Knight.
The night would be long for #07 of Dewayne Aldridge as he was protested by the #K17 car of Mark Knight. After long hours, and into the middle of the morning nearing 3 a.m. , Dewayne's car was found to be "Legal" so the One Thousand Dollars ended up in the pocket of Dewayne Aldridge.
What has all this to do with Don Imus, better known as "The I-Man" , who knows? But racing can get as crazy as the I-Man on "Imus in the Morning". There is always lots of big talk by drivers prior to the race, but most drivers have little to show when the race is one the line.
The fans at West Georgia Speedway were treated to a super race on May 17th, as the Sportsman Cars ran for their $1K prize. Fans were treated with one heck of a fast race and they were not disappointed. Cars in the feature were of course G1 of Glenn McWaters, #99 of Rucker Orr, #26 of Fletcher Cavender and Jody Knowles driving the #44, usually driven by Marcus Caswell. If you were looking for speed and a good clean race, you came on the right night as the feature was won by #44 of Jody Knowles, with G1 of Glenn McWaters finishing 2nd, Glenn tried hard to catch Jody in the closing laps but just couldn't get around Knowles. So at the end of the evening of racing, Jody Knowles walked away with the One Thousand Dollars and there would be no protest. So for everyone the Sportsman race turned out to be a real race, with very few cautions and more flag to flag racing. In this 40 lap feature the fans got their moneys worth of Sportsman Car action.
Again Sammy Duke has brought back Championship racing back to West Georgia Speedway and every Saturday should feature a Championship race. Coming up on May 24th the Hobby cars will run for a prize of $600 to win.
So if you are can try and come down to West Georgia Speedway. located in Whitesburg Georgia, where racing is getting better and better every Saturday Night.
None that has been proven by scientist at this time, then again while writing my mind is whirling. Coffee as we all know is a stimulant, a drug, but how many of you have a least one cup before heading out the door. Some of you never touch coffee but at least half of all American's drink a cup of what we know as "Joe", "Java" or plain coffee before starting any kind of work. Racing is almost the same to loyal racing fans here in the South drinking a cup of coffee.
Historic dirt tracks are fast fading away, so if you ever get a chance to go and watch a race, then you will be in for a treat. Let's take West Georgia Speedway, the place is a "Historic" track that has seen better day's, and has seen some super racing, "If just those old walls around that track could talk".
Sammy Duke has been the owner and promoter, of this speedway that is set back in the woods is almost a legend himself. When you look at this elderly man, that walks slower each and every day, you would never have known that when he was young he was signed to the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball team. Sammy also excelled in all sports.
One thing for sure Sammy has heard it all from drivers, their aches and pains, and their happiness when they win. But if you really look down deep into his heart, Sammy has a heart of gold, and is kind to almost every driver, and all the officials that work at the track.
West Georgia Speedway was born back in the early '90's, and we are not talking about the 189o's even though the Speedway looks like it came from that era. The track itself was first started as a dirt bike track, and then Sammy got the great idea of turning it into a 3/8th oval dirt track and let the boys come down and race around, never for big cash but they did get paid if they finished and that was sometimes hard to do.
The track has never been a drivers friend, but some drivers can man handle this track, they seem to know every rut and can miss them all the time.
Take G1, a sportsman car driven by a Newnan, Georgia favorite, Glenn McWaters. His red "G1" has an attitude that seems to show itself every time he is on the track. His car is fast but he has been beaten in races here lately, so that proves that Glenn McWaters is "beatable".
Take Rucker Orr, his #99 sportsman car, is one of the cars that are on the same level as Glenn's car.
What can you say when you describe Rucker, I mean every time I see him prior to a race he is working hands on and turning bolts and screws, checking air pressure in his cars tires making sure every thing is done right. You can say he "gets down and dirty".
Orr, has been a winner in the last 4 races at WGS, until the rain came, and he decided not to race, this gave a easy win to the G1 car of Glenn McWaters. Another driver that is in a world of his own is Ted Ray, better known as "The Bear", as he drives the black #4 sportsman car that is always in the heat of the battle. Ted is one of the funniest drivers but makes up for his laughter when he rolls his car on the track. Then "The Bear" is all business.
The drivers of the other class, such as the Crate division which is the 2nd fastest class, work just as hard on their cars. Driver's like the #K17 of Mark Knight are always a blast, and works just as hard tuning his car and trying to get that little edge, before racing in his feature with the other Crate cars.
His main foe in the Crate race has become the #07 of driver of Dewayne Aldridge. a proven winner and a Crate car driver that has one mission and that is take the checkered flag every time he is in a race.
Dewayne is only 48 years old and when asked said "He has no reason to cheat, he said if he can't run legal he won't take the track" Now that is some great attitude.
Add in driver's like Tony Kemp, from Carrollton, Georgia and "Mad" Max Kitchens and others and you have one heck of a great crate race.
West Georgia Speedway on May 10th held a $1K race to win for the Crate cars, and they showed up. It was a 40 lap race and you know it had to take a toll on the drivers.
Aubrey Merritt who usually drives in the Sportsman class, placed a crate motor in his car, and started in the back and beat his car to pieces, banging against the #K17 of Max Kitchens.
What was not so funny was that it starting to rain, during the Modified Mini race, the cars were sliding every which way, about 2 laps a way before the finish, the rain began to pour in buckets.
Needless to say the red flag was thrown, and the race was stopped. The drivers said they would take their finish where the race was stopped. so car #20 of Ryan Heppener was the winner with car #07 of Frank Long taking 2nd place and in 3rd place was the #06 of Richard Bagby.
Then as if Sammy pulled out a magic umbrella the rain stopped, I knew if I was tired I knew the drivers were, but they had a job, to win a race, and I had a job to film the race, so I did my job like the drivers would do theirs on the track.
Sammy was ready to get the One thousand Dollar Crate Car race in. So the cars came back onto the track to iron it out before the first feature was to restart the night of racing. The Hobby cars hit the track first and the winner was the #56 of Lee Mcelwany and in 2nd place was #01 of Blant Duke. Blant is Sammy Dukes grandson but there is no favoritism shown when he is racing. Blant runs under the same rules as all the Hobby cars run. In 3rd place was car #31 of Blake Griffin.
The Enduro class featured the #00 of Lonnie Bright taking the win, followed by the #15 of driver Eddie Harris and finishing in 3rd place was car #8 of Jeff Moran.
Then Sammy changed the running order when he ran the Sportsman Cars next, the cars came on to the track with the G1 of Glenn McWaters, followed by car #26 of Fletcher Cavender, but there was no show of the #99 of Rucker Orr, he said he had generator trouble and also he did not want to run his car in the tracks conditions.
If G1 would run and #26 would run why was Orr not running?. Whatever, the easy win went to the G1 car of Glenn McWaters from Newnan, Georgia. In 2nd Place was car #4 of Ted Ray "The Bear", and finishing in 3rd place was car #10 of Nick Prosser.7
The weather had cleared enough to get the Crate race in, and it featured some beating and banging of the last place cars of Tony Kemp, Aubrey Merritt and "Mad" Max Kitchens.
The first place finish went to #07 of Dewayne Aldridge and coming in 2nd was #K17 of Mark Knight.
The night would be long for #07 of Dewayne Aldridge as he was protested by the #K17 car of Mark Knight. After long hours, and into the middle of the morning nearing 3 a.m. , Dewayne's car was found to be "Legal" so the One Thousand Dollars ended up in the pocket of Dewayne Aldridge.
What has all this to do with Don Imus, better known as "The I-Man" , who knows? But racing can get as crazy as the I-Man on "Imus in the Morning". There is always lots of big talk by drivers prior to the race, but most drivers have little to show when the race is one the line.
The fans at West Georgia Speedway were treated to a super race on May 17th, as the Sportsman Cars ran for their $1K prize. Fans were treated with one heck of a fast race and they were not disappointed. Cars in the feature were of course G1 of Glenn McWaters, #99 of Rucker Orr, #26 of Fletcher Cavender and Jody Knowles driving the #44, usually driven by Marcus Caswell. If you were looking for speed and a good clean race, you came on the right night as the feature was won by #44 of Jody Knowles, with G1 of Glenn McWaters finishing 2nd, Glenn tried hard to catch Jody in the closing laps but just couldn't get around Knowles. So at the end of the evening of racing, Jody Knowles walked away with the One Thousand Dollars and there would be no protest. So for everyone the Sportsman race turned out to be a real race, with very few cautions and more flag to flag racing. In this 40 lap feature the fans got their moneys worth of Sportsman Car action.
Again Sammy Duke has brought back Championship racing back to West Georgia Speedway and every Saturday should feature a Championship race. Coming up on May 24th the Hobby cars will run for a prize of $600 to win.
So if you are can try and come down to West Georgia Speedway. located in Whitesburg Georgia, where racing is getting better and better every Saturday Night.
Tino Patti (An MSA Reporter)
