Pulaski County Motorsports Park

SMART Radford 99 at Pulaski County

October 3, 2023October 5, 2023 Missed Gear

It’s no secret that late season news from Pulaski County Motorsports Park has a future cast in a gray area. That will need a further look as information is available.

The season is winding down for 2023 with more racing to come and track champions still to be crowned. For this race day it was an odd Sunday afternoon start with racing rolling on under the lights. Saturday is the usual standard but other schedules for the feature forced racing to Sunday. The SMART Modified Tour was on, and in Radford for the “Radford 99”. The town name is what it is but the race is in honor of historic winning driver Paul Radford.

There was a bit of confusion over a scheduled “pit party” autograph and meet session that pushed the racing schedule back but they eventually got things moving. The feature SMART race “Radford 99” was flipped to the first race with the scheduled Sportsman opener moved to run just after.

Burt Myers seemed to start with control of the race but it was Samuel Rameau who took over and stayed strong for the finish. There were some yellow flags and a bit of concern with Bobby Labonte coming out of turn two and hitting the wall. The #18 seemed to loose a tire and hit the wall hard enough to shatter the right front suspension. He walked away and was seen later surveying the damage.

The local divisions took the track with the Sportsman running two 35 lap features. These were split by Super Street and visiting Mini Stocks. The Sportsman put hard fought laps on the track as Kyle Dudley qualified on top but it was front row challenger Jason Merriman who took the checkers twice. The Super Street had front row starter Matthew Gusler hit some bad luck and Tristen Barnes driving up for the win. The visiting Virginia Mini Cups also had the top spot qualifier (Noah Matthews) fall back as Zach Sprouse kept the front row hot for the win.

Radford 99 SMART Modified Top Three: Sammy Rameau, Matt Hirschman, Andrew Krause
Sportsman 1: Jason Merriman, Kyle Dudley, Charles Smith
Super Street: Tristen Barnes, Ray Sowers, Brent Bell
Mini Cup: Zach Sprouse, Nathan Thomas Jr, John Hager
Sportsman 2: Jason Merriman, Kyle Dudley, Anthony Barnes

Full Photo Gallery – Radford 99 SMART Modified Night – Pulaski County Motorsports Park

Race Day Showcase

Chasing Racing Points At Pulaski

August 13, 2023August 14, 2023 Missed Gear

It wasn’t long ago we chased SuperStar Racing Experience stars such as Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Josef Newgarden (plus many more) at Pulaski County Motorsports Park.

Now, we’re back chasing the local stars in their division points battles. Season racing is coming into the final schedule so every lap and every position matter. Regional race fans are missing out if they don’t check out one of the remaining points races at Pulaski. Mixed in on the upcoming schedule is Monster Trucks and the SMART Modified Tour so there is plenty of variety still on the calendar.

For this Saturday (8-12-2023), the sun set with a colorful backdrop on the evening of racing. The schedule set twin Late Models and twin Sportsman races. Super Street, Mod-4 and Pure-4. The original schedule was switched just a bit as the DCT Towing Super Streets took the track first. Racing from P4 it was Jimmy Mullins up front at the checkers.

The twin Price’s Body Shop Late Model races were almost mirror images. Kyle Dudley started near the back and raced up to challenge pole sitter Mike Looney. The second race later that evening had Looney chasing through the field trying to catch Dudley. The two traded wins.

Daryn Cockram was another racer driving from several rows back to take wins in both of the Collision Plus Sportsman races. A packed track produced lap traffic but he raced from P5 in the first and P7 in the second to sweep the night.

The Total Car Care Mod-4 division was won by Rocky Yates.

The Blue Ridge Church Pure-4 division was won by Larry Yeary.

There is more racing coming up. Later this month the championship is up for the Stock-6 division with the other divisions chasing points to add up. Late Models, Sportsman, Super Street and Pure-4 are on track to put on a show on August 26th.

Photo Gallery – August 12, 2023 – Pulaski County Motorsports Park

Race Day Showcase

Motor Mile Driving Pulaski County – June 10 Racing

June 13, 2023June 18, 2023 Missed Gear

There has been a bit of a change up in the New River Valley of Virginia. The track walls, social media and official press and public news now showcase “Pulaski County Motorsports Park” rather than “Motor Mile Speedway”. The Shelor Auto Group ownership of the facility has not changed. “Motor Mile Dragway“, so far, continues to operate under the “Motor Mile” moniker. The negotiation and announcement of the SRX (Superstar Racing Experience) event in July at Pulaski County came with involvement of Matt Hagan (NHRA Champion) and his connection to Tony Stewart, SRX Owner and Team Owner. Hagan, of course, is directly connected with family and owners of the Shelor Auto Group and the racing facility.

With all of that, the name change to “Pulaski County Motorsports Park” did raise some questions but that seems to have settled. Speedway Management LLC with involvement of the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience has an agreement that is current through this season. We can only assume that 2024 and beyond is under consideration for all involved. Any discussion beyond 2023 is being held very close and, we’re certain, eyes are on for the success of the SRX event. We know we’re looking forward to it!

The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series is proceeding, even as preps are made for the SRX visit in July. For the June 10th “School’s Out” event, Kyle Barnes was a big, double shot winner in the Collision Plus Sportsman division. The DCT Towing Super Street winner was Jimmy Mullins. The Total Car Care Mod-4 winner was Daniel Hutson and the Stock-6 winner was Darrell Allen. Mike Looney did a number on the Price’s Body Shop Late Model race by driving through the field and taking another Pulaski County win.

Photos from June 10 – School’s Out For Summer Night – Pulaski County Motorsports Park

Roanoke Drifting In Jappalachia

It is a fine thing when conditions lead to continuity. This particular continuity is also an automotive conundrum in several ways considering the current condition of the existence of the automobile. What….?? The trend that has taken hold, especially here in these United States, is the popularity of the SUV, the crossover variations of five door hatches, the automatic transmission and front wheel drive. All of these would point to a humorless and drab driving culture of A to B with a soccer game or a grocery store on the agenda. The days of fun behind the wheel are drying up. Or are they…? There are a handful of new rear drives out there. Of those, fewer still have a manual transmission. This leads to the continuity of cars of the past being rebuilt and re-born by people who seek the slides and the sideways. Yes, America, drifting may be the saving grace of the manual, rear wheel drive car. On a warm Wednesday tucked in the back corner of an industrial park I was there to bear witness to a mixture of car cultures. The recipe was a good mix of classic British “Top Gear”, American Motor Trend “Roadkill” and a heavy helping of the Japanese origins of drifting. The cars were budget sourced from the pre-owned market and rapidly made “drivable” over the past several days. Now they were here in this slightly barren environment to be compared on a mapped rally / drifting course by (can you guess…?) the same “tame” racing driver. For the sake of a little background… This group of guys have a mission which is building on their combination of talents. What is the mission…? Loosely defined it is a mixture of Japan’s origin culture of drifting and the extreme styling of it with the back roads mountain attitude of American muscle cars. They call it “Jappalachia”. There have been trips to Japan with driving study in the origins of the legendary Daigo Saito drifting style. Japan is distinguished as the genesis of drifting even as the sport has expanded worlwide. The “Jappalachia” handle has been vetted during these visits with positive approvals. The drift is no stranger to these men. A recent visit to NASA Haltech Hyperfest at Virginia International Raceway had a Nissan going tandem on the drift pad competition. On this Wednesday, they have two cars ready to take on the course. These are not their “pro builds” but side projects for the practice and fun of it. One is a late ’80s Corvette and the other is a Nissan 240sx (’89…? ’90…? give or take…) Both of them had less than “garage kept” history. Both put up sideways and dusty shows. I think the Corvette took the time even with bottom scrapes, fuel delivery issues and a lost ass bumper. It was also driven after the 240 so one could say the previous lap in the Nissan gave a nudge of “practice” to the ‘Vette. The “real” cars involved…? These guys are looking ahead to extreme builds in their shop. They are working up another C4 series Corvette and a 3rd generation Ford Mustang. The cars are being treated as homage to the extreme Kaido or Bosozoku style of Japanese drift builds. Big fenders, shovel forward in front of the wheels and wide body wings over the back. These are American muscle cars treated with anime angles. Engines are being built. Chassis and suspensions are being tuned and going into place. A rough timeline has turns on the calendar for the newly re-opened Southampton Speedway later this year as that track is running a drift schedule. This is Jappalachia. Connections…? Roanoke, Charlottesville, Japan, backgrounds in design, mechanics, fabrication, travel… They have formed a friendship from chance encounters, childhood history and love of fun in cars. The “tame” racing driver…? 2016 F4 Champion / 2021 EFO F3 Champion – Cameron Das, visiting from the UK with friends connected through common and crossed paths. His 2016 F4 is in the Jappalachia shop. 2016 USA F4 Champion, Cameron Das, with the season winning car in the Jappalachia shop Das is currently doing a social media series of video showcases of kart racing and tracks. Cameron Das: YouTube InstagramTay Whiteside – Lift Arc StudiosGresh Chapman (Instagram): Jackson WalkerConnor Shupe Visit the Jappalachia Website Photos – A visit to Jappalachia – Industrial Drifting *The dog is “Pickles” – an Alaskan Malamute. He’s a sweetheart in a sweet spot.
Movie Truck Throwback

Hanging out with long time friend from stage and screen who happened to be in a famous truck movie by Stephen King
RoVA-Drive Showcase: Benoit Pigeon

Elite commercial photographer has a fast eye for drag racing
RoVA-Drive Showcase: Bryan Reedy

Late Model Driver (#17) based in Roanoke

Tag: Pulaski County Motorsports Park

SMART Radford 99 at Pulaski County

Chasing Racing Points At Pulaski

Motor Mile Driving Pulaski County – June 10 Racing