February 24, 2005

                                      The Wait Is Almost Over!

By Bonnie Nibblett

Delmar, DE…..Well, the wait is almost over!  NASCAR has officially started which gets our blood roaring for some.  The Motorsports Mania show in Salisbury was a huge success.  Just seeing the cars rolled into the Centre got my adrenalin pumping, seeing those new paint schemes, and who is where, or who is not.  My itch just got a little bit of scratching with NASCAR starting and being at the Motorsports show.  So the season is real near; I can’t wait.

Starting, this Sunday, February 27, the U. S. 13 Dragway will hopefully be open for a Test & Tune session to kick off the 2005 season with blistering speeds on that quarter-mile track.  The track has been doing some sprucing up with some extensive resurfacing of the strip.  Some of the really cold days has slowed up a little of the process near the starting line pads.  So call the track office at 302-875-1911 or the hot line for updates at 302-846-3968 or even on the tracks website at www.delawareracing.com to make sure they are open.

For a little DIRT on this coming season, the 2005 Delaware International and U. S. 13 Dragway schedules are out and also available on line at the tracks web site or at www.redbud69racing.com.  Several upcoming special events on the schedules will give you a chance to know about a race you definitely don’t want to miss.

The URC Sprints have 7 dates on the speedways schedule with the first appearance on April 23.  The sprints always make a great show of speed.  May 26, marks a 100-lap Dirt Series show, (tentatively), where some of the best drivers in the Northeast test their skills on the Delaware half-mile clay oval. 

The speedway has set aside another date for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series (WoOLMS) for Monday, July 6, 2005 with a rain date of July 7; this is not official yet, but hopes to be finalized will be soon.  Last year, the WoOLMS in their first year of racing visited Delmar, and it was one of the best shows ever at the speedway.  Those drivers were exuberant from the time they arrived to the very end of the night.  The fans had a supreme treat; I am looking forward to their return. The official 2005 “Dirty Dozen” racers have just been released.  This year the WoOLMS has a busy schedule with 53 date’s on the schedule.   Tim McCreadie has picked up two wins in the Florida Winternationals so far.

The annual Delaware State Police “Camp Barnes Benefit” will be on Wednesday, June 29.  The “Diamond State 50” is set for Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005 with a rain date of Aug. 11.   Just remember all schedules are subject to change so check with the track; tickets sales will be announced at later times. 

Then of coarse the Saturday night action will start April 9, with a Test & Tune session.  Each Saturday, the Big Block Modifieds, Super Late Models, Street Modifieds, Modified Lites and the AC Delco TSS Modified will hit the track.  Racing action with the Delaware guys is top notch each weekend, enough to keep you on the edge of your seat each week.  So the speedway season holds a lot of action for fans. 

The AC Delco TSS Modified will be in the sophomore year, look for even more drivers & cars to be joining that class this year.  Last year retired drivers, upgrading drivers both came out to get a shot to drive in the intended more economical car with a GM sealed Crate motor.  Also the Little Lincolns will be on at the track once a month along with the “Team- Slide.”  The “Slide for Five” has been replaced with the “Team- Slide.”  All the details are still being worked out as of this writing.  So far all I know is there will be 2 cars chained together; keep checking with the track and the web links for updates.

The U. S. 13 Dragway celebrated the annual banquet Jan 29, 2005, at the Delmarva Inn & Convention Center, Delmar, MD.  Top drivers in points were named and received their rewards for a grand year of racing.  In Super & Heavy ET 16 drivers were awarded.  The top 5 in Super went to Sterling Clough, and Mike Hooper with only 30 points dividing them, while David Tucker, and Ben Parks were tied for third, and Vernon Russell rounded out the top five.  Sixth went to Paul Riddle, Melvin Thomas, Jay Glasgow, W. R. Ketterman.  Tommy Ketterman and Lou Thibault, were tied for 10^th, Clayton Byerly, Bobby Insley, David Lowe, Steve Drummond and Roland Wheatley were the final place of the 16 awarded.

In Heavy, Phillip Truitt took top honors with 20 points over Don Dyke.  Third were Jessie Truitt, Michael Sparacino and Ernie Fisher rounding out the top five.  Tim Foskey, Jr. was sixth, tied with Charles DeHaven, and Jim Williams, followed by Toya Peek  for ninth with all being tied with her, Shawn Riley, Jr., Ron Pritchett, Sr., Robin Lewers and D. Lyle Jarrett III.  Fourteenth went to Frank Parks, John Parks, and Ryan Groton rounded out the final award in Heavy.  Pro Bike had 6 slots open for awards with James Farmer taking the championship by storm.  Second was John Bartkovich, Sharell Blake, while Chris Walters and Charles Nock were tied for fourth, and Andy Olenlk finished fifth. 

In the Street Eliminator (Hot Rod) Arvie Ruark took the championship with only 10 points over Joshua Peek, Vance Owens, and Randy Driscoll rounded out the top four positions.  In Junior Dragster I, Holly Passwaters was crowned the Champion with a nice lead of 50 points over second place Becky Bireley.   Third were Ashley Wendlandt, Mark Benston, Brandon Layfield, Shelby Bireley, Chad Cathell, Susan Lecates, and Upshur Taylor rounds out the top ten. 

Junior Dragster II honors the champion with a nice lead to Greg Olenlk.  Second was Matt Wendlandt, Travis Wright.  Tied for fourth were Marshall Fowler, and Amanda Weaver which were both only 10 points under third place.  Sixth were Brandon Ennis, Jamie Russell, Rebekah Tapman, and Daniel Feidler.  Tenth place was tied between Jimmy Moyer and Stephanie Domers to round out the final winners.  The High School Eliminator went to Steven Truitt.

The Dragway has the 2005 season set up with special events all season long.  Besides the Test-N-Tune on Feb 27, March 6, & 13 will also be Test N Tune days; be sure to check with the track to make sure they will be running.  Points will begin March 27, 2005.  “Double points” will be for all starting April 10, May 15, June 17, July 8, Aug. 5, and final point’s night will be Sept. 4.  The track will also have the Bad “8” again this year.

The Dragway will host once again the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series July 15-17 that was such a big event last year.  The event drew many spectators as record number of drivers participated.  Also on the schedule the Super Chevy & 42^nd Annual William J. Cathell Memorial will be held on Aug. 28.  Take a look at the schedule for your favorite kind of helling on the quarter mile. 

Lastly, the U. S. 13 Kart Club will start practice on March 26, and April 2.  Then the following weekend will be the first Delaware State Dirt Divisional on April 9.  Be sure to check the web site for any announcements at www.dekarting.net.  The karts hotline is 302.846.2646 which will have updates as well.

I was surprised to learn at the Motorsports Mania show the number of patrons that did not know about racing in Delmar at the Delaware Motorsports Complex.  Come on out to see some form of racing, from the half-mile oval speedway on Saturday nights, or the quarter-mile action of the U. S. 13 Dragway on Sundays (in the beginning of the year and later switches to Friday nights in June), to the U. S. 13 Kart Club on Friday nights and the Delaware Dirt Divisionals once a month on Saturdays.  There you can find some type of racing to get your family involved in a sport or event together.  See you at the track!