East Alabama Motor Speedway - 2005 Archives Phenix City, ALA – March 19, 2005 – Officially the last day of winter became officially the first day of racing season at East Alabama Motor Speedway. The Late Model field came out of hibernation full of springtime surprises as present and past champions appeared in the points programs dawning super fast and super good looking racing steeds. Past Late Model Champion JR Moseley was in a new #12 Rocket and Josh Noles was in his new # 16 Rocket. The ever relentless and highly competitive Bobby Joe Eiland was back after a three year hiatus sporting his famous # K8, and one of the most popular past Late Mode champions, The Rock 103 Billy Duell was back in his new #U2. This year’s Late Model field looks to be one of the most exciting and talented groups of cars and drivers to grace the high- banked clay oval in some time. When the green flag dropped on the Late Model feature, Josh Nole was on the inside pole position and veteran Champion Dana Eiland was on the outside. Dana had the right gear to jump out ahead of Noles and take the lead with Noles falling in second and Bobby Joe Eiland in third. Jody Knowles was also sporting a new car with the #17 and was in fourth with William Thomas in close fifth. On lap 3 Matt Woodson went off turn 2 to bring out the first yellow flag caution. On the restart Bobby Joe Eiland moves into the upper groove through turn one right below Josh Noles which gives Noles the choice of slowing down or staying in the marbles and spinning off the track. Unfortunately for Noles, things happen quickly and Noles found himself off turn 2 for a caution, losing his second place position and going to the last place for the restart. Tod Darda put a power move on William Thomas and took over the fourth spot while Bobby Joe pulled along side Dana and challenged for the lead. Before the lap finished, Scott Land goes off the track and Thomas broke retiring to the pits for a DNF. On this restart Bobby Joe gets door to door with Dana, but some how, like the Great Houdini, Dana manages to escape and maintain the lead. The fans are standing, witnessing dirt track racing at its best. Meanwhile, in the back of the field, Josh Nole has his Rocket on a mission working his way back to the front and each competitor is no piece of cake. Jeff Culpepper does not play dead and let you pass him, and neither do Anthony Meadows, Joey Eiland, Gordy Scarborough, or Kevin Knotts. Billy Duell and JR Moseley are putting on quite a show themselves until Moseley begins overheating and has to go to the pits. On lap 23 all the drivers are engaged in a battle somewhere. The pace is furious, and as Jody Noles tries to pick off Bobby Joe for second spot, it gives Dana some breathing room to claim the checkers for the first event of the 2005 season. Bobby Joe Eiland finished second, Jody Knowles third, Tod Darda fourth, Anthony Meadows fifth, Joey Eiland sixth, Billy Duell seventh, Josh Noles eighth, Kevin Knotts ninth, and Gordy Scarborough rounded out the top ten at tenth. Phenix City, ALA – April 2, 2005 – After a week of flooding from copious amounts of spring rainfall, the sun broke through on Saturday which made for perfect track conditions at East Alabama Motor Speedway. The high winds during the day dried the surface of the high-banked clay oval leaving the majority of moisture deep down. After a brief preparation all six divisions took the track which remained multi-grooved, tacky, and dust free the entire evening. In the Late Model division Dewayne Johnson debuted his new green and white TNT chassis # 45. The new color did not dismay his fans as he took the pole for fast time qualifying. When the green flag dropped on the feature event Johnson blasted out to the lead. From the outside pole Joey Eiland hung on to Johnson like the tail of a comet securing the second place position. Tod Darda’s inflatable crew chief did an excellent job in setting up a fast racecar for the evening. Darda started in fourth and was in the third place when Billy Duell and Jeff Culpepper seem to get stuck together. Duell slowed fast in turn one and as Culpepper broke free he was propelled off the high side of turn two bringing out the first caution of the evening. Culpepper was towed to the pits and missed the restart. Back to green flag racing Johnson seemed to be in a class of his own as he quickly distanced himself from Joey Eiland and the rest of the pack. By lap three hard charger Bobby Joe Eiland had come from a tenth place start to take the fifth place position when Matt Woodson broke and brought out another caution. Woodson was towed to the pits. On this restart Johnson again shot out to a lead and Joey Eiland hung in a little closer but could not get close enough to challenge him for the lead. However, things behind the leaders really started heating up as Jeff Mills battled Tod Darda door to door for the third spot. Darda was holding him off while right behind them Billy Duell, who had lost several positions in the Culpepper mishap, had moved back up to challenge Bobby Joe Eiland for fifth. They were sparring door to door when Kevin Knotts spun out and hit the inside wall of turn two to bring out the next caution. Just as the race resumed Woodson came out of the pits but could not get up to speed. He was crawling on the inside groove when the leaders shot by. When the rest of the back came up on Woodson they were braking hard and spinning and sliding. Mills seized the opportunity to slide past Darda for third place. Darda was forced to the high groove and as he entered turn one Duell came into turn one on the inside groove. Duell’s tires hit the dry apron and he slid right up into Darda. Darda managed to keep control of his car coming out of turn two but was loose as Duell moved ahead, Allen Sparks also saw the opening and went by Darda on the inside. Lap 13 proved unlucky for Nick Biddle as he was charging hard through turn 3 when Jeremy Frost lost control coming out of turn four. As Frost spun sideways Biddle had nowhere to go except to T-bone Frost. The drivers were fine but their cars were terminal as they both got towed to the pits. On this restart it was Johnson in the lead followed by Joey Eiland, Jeff Mills, Billy Duell, Allen Sparks, Bobby Joe Eiland, Tod Darda, and Mike Parkerson, looking like William Thomas in a yellow and red # 22, rounded out the top eight. On lap 14 it looked like everyone was running as well as could expected except for Bobby Joe Eiland who continued to find a way to the front. Eiland passed Allen Sparks then closed up on Billy Duell. Johnson in the lead had pulled out to about a 15 car-length lead from Joey Eiland who maintained second place and had about a ten car-length lead from Jeff Mills. Bobby Joe Eiland found the perfect place to pass Duell as he ran downhill from turn three passing Duell in turn four to take the fourth place. Bobby Joe Eiland then set his sights on Mills in third and began running him down as the white flag came out. Johnson took the checkers wire to wire and remarkably Joey Eiland ran second wire to wire. Jeff Mills drove a solid race to capture third and Bobby Joe Eiland finished fourth. Billy Duell turned in a fifth place, Allen Sparks sixth, Tod Darda seventh, Mike Parkerson eighth, Jay Carpenter ninth and Gordy Scarborough rounded out the top 10 finishers. Phenix City, ALA – April 9, 2005 – When Ray Miller brings his National Late Model Series to East Alabama Motor Speedway most local Late Model drivers sit in the grandstands and watch. The NLMS drivers are very professional using the most sophisticated equipment and they exhibit a 100% will to win. Things were a little different this weekend as 9 local drivers showed up to compete with the big guns. The fans were thrilled to see 5 local teams finish in the top ten. The star of the show turned out to be Phenix City’s own Dewayne Johnson. Looking like a part of Michael Andretti’s Team Green in appearance and performance, Johnson put his green and white TNT Chassis Beardon Oil number 45 on the pole for the feature event. The outside pole belonged to the NLMS prolific winner Ivadent Lloyd, who has won the last 2 NLMS events. When the green flag dropped on the feature Johnson just blasted out to the lead. Lloyd saw he was losing ground to Johnson and tried too hard to keep up as he broke loose off turn four and hit the wall to bring out the first caution. He was sent to the rear of the full 24- car field. This put local legend Dana Eiland in second place for the restart. Again Johnson took a commanding lead as Eiland kept pace and they distanced themselves from the pack. Terry Lumley lost control in turn two and spun sideways ripping the right side sheet metal off Chad Wallace’s # 34 before getting pounded by Skip Pannell and Jason Davis. On the ensuing caution Glen Brewer suddenly came to a stop on the back straight and was pushed to the pits for a DNF. When the track was cleared Johnson and Eiland quickly gained a straightaway distance from third place Brad Comer leading the rest of the back. Ivadent Lloyd was definitely the hard charger as he seemingly passed at will looking to get back to the front. Johnson and Eiland were soon in lap traffic and as Johnson came up on Marvin Cook, who was running in Johnson’s preferred line, he slowed in turn three losing some momentum which was just the edge Eiland was looking for to catch him. Eiland pulled alongside Johnson and challenged for the lead down the front straight. The fans were on their feet cheering then Billy Lyles lost it coming out of turn two and hit the inside wall hard to bring out a yellow flag and Johnson retained the lead. On the next restart Brad Comer jumps up next to Eiland and they beat and bang on each other over second place. Eiland gets forced high off his line and Comer slides around to take over second place. Eiland quickly regains his composure and demonstrates his skills as he builds momentum in lap 14, and in a clean pass blows by Comer to regain the second place. By now Johnson is way out front and our hard charger Ivadent Lloyd, looking to take the ninth spot runs into serious trouble named Jeff Culpepper. Culpepper has no intentions of letting anyone around him and he puts an end to Lloyd’s charge to the front. Lloyd and Culpepper have a serious battle going on as Lloyd tries to pass in the high groove, then the low groove, in the corners, tried the old Earnhardt bump and run, but nothing would move Culpepper out of the way. Then as they came down the front straight Culpepper had to brake for lap traffic and Lloyd nailed him in the rear which chain reacted causing Jeremy Faircloth and Tuck Trentham to tear up their cars in a spectacular collision at the flagstand. Trentham was towed to the pits for a DNF and the green dropped again. At lap 18 attrition had claimed nine cars and Chad Wallace slowed and went to the pits overheating to make that number 10 out of the race. The pace was super fast and it was hard for the guys in the back to keep up as Johnson and Eiland begin lapping the back again. The battle over 8th place continued as Culpepper had all the right moves to keep Lloyd behind him and put on a show for the fans. Lloyd got high off his line coming out of turn 2 and another local talent, Scott Knowles, immediately took advantage of the situation and passed Lloyd. Knowles held Lloyd at bay until lap 40 when Comer and Knowles both went to the pits under green. Knowles headed straight for the water hole overheating and Lloyd was back sparring with Culpepper. Trentham came out of the pits and could not get up to speed. He pulled right in front of Culpepper in the groove. As Culpepper slowed to avoid a collision, Lloyd went down to the apron and made the pass. On the next lap Trentham was still circulating in the groove at half speed. Johnson was working his way through lap traffic and coming out of turn 4, Culpepper and Johnson collided. Some front- end sheet metal flew off the leader’s car and the flagman through the yellow for debris. On this lap 45 restart, with just five laps to the checkers, Eiland lost power. After qualifying Eiland had a problem with a couple of valves. His crew chief performed and amazing repair using a drill and some sandpaper which kept Eiland going almost long enough. When Eiland slowed Lonnie Roberts and local driver Anthony Meadows, who drove a strong and smart race staying out of trouble, moved into second and third place. On lap 47, remarkably, Ivadent Lloyd had come from last place to knock on Eiland’s 4th place door. Eiland seemed to muster enough power, running on seven cylinders, to keep Lloyd back as the white flag came out. In an overwhelming display of racing savvy and power, Dewayne Johnson took the checkers for the second week in a row wire to wire. Lonnie Roberts finished second, Anthony Meadows third, Dana Eiland fourth, Ivadent Lloyd fifth, Jordy Nipper sixth, Jay Carpenter seventh, Jeff Culpepper eighth, Marvin Cook ninth, and Brad Comer rounded out the top ten in tenth. Phenix City, ALA – April 16, 2005 – Stan Lester brought his FASTRAK Champions Series for their debut at East Alabama Motor Speedway this weekend. The Fastrak Series features Late Models equipped with factory crate engines, which levels the playing field. Its not the guy with the most money or the biggest engine who wins, since they all must use the reasonable priced factory sealed engines. Rather, it becomes an affordable sport of racing knowledge and skill determining the outcome. After qualifying rounds, the out- of- towners were introduced to our own local champions. Dana Eiland won the pole with a blistering 17.68 and Mickey Benton won the outside pole with a 17.77. Third fastest was Joey Eiland and none of the other competitors were able to break below 18 seconds on the 3/8 mile high- banked clay oval. When the lights went out to begin the feature Dana Eiland fired his K-9 in the usual spot coming out of turn 3. When they got to the flag stand the flagman aborted the start by waving a yellow. They lined up double file and tried it again. When Dana got to the same spot he fired again and the flagman waved this one off and stopped all the cars on the front straight. Dana and Mickey Benton were penalized and moved back to third and fourth while Joey Eiland was moved up to the pole and Crandell Turner to the outside pole. Many of the fans did not understand the ruling. The deal is, the flagman starts the race. The car on the pole cannot fire until the flagman drops the green. Our rules are different; the car on the pole starts the race so there was some confusion. This time Joey Eiland took the lead and in the ensuing mad scramble coming out of turn two, Dana Eiland had secured second place with Mickey Benton in third. Former 1973 National 100 Champion Buck Simmons got his #41 run over on the melee start and suffered wheel damage. He was the first to pull off the track into the pits for a DNF. Dana Eiland was all over Joey Eiland looking for the lead. Scott Childress was trying every trick in the book to pass Jody Palmer running fourth but Palmer had all the right blocking techniques down and there was nothing doing there. By lap 4 the leaders had run into the back of the 23- car field and began lapping traffic. On lap five Dana had Joey Eiland set-up for the pass coming out of turn three. Dana ran downhill out of turn three, maintaining his momentum, onto the apron and like cracking a whip shot out of turn 4 even with Joey Eiland. As they approached the flagstand, Joey was turning left into the K-9 but Dana shook him off. The fat lady was singing "Turn out the Lights" as the K-9 stretched out his legs and took a commanding lead threading his way through the traffic. Last year’s series point champion, Todd Higdon, spun out of turn one and hit the inside wall of turn 2 for a caution. On the restart the K-9 leaped out to a comfortable lead. Joey Eiland ran several car-lengths behind, unable to close the gap while Mickey Benton ran in third, several car-lengths behind Joey yet a few car-lengths ahead of fourth place Jody Palmer. Scott Childress was persistent looking for a way around Childress and these two gave the fans quite a show. Also the battle for sixth place was interesting with Jeremy Ledford trying to pass Tyler Harvey. On lap 23 Brandon Yawn spun and as Ledford and Harvey tried to avoid disaster, the hit each other a stopped on top of turn 2. Anthony Craft also broke on this lap and was towed to the pits for a DNF. On this restart Mathew Daniels got a jump on Roger Arnwood and took over the seventh place position. As they reached lap 34 of the 40-lap event, Jonathon Joines is pressuring Scott Childress for fifth spot. Dana Eiland was still turning incredible fast laps as the pace was vigorous. Joey Eiland was running strong and stayed ahead of Mickey Benton in third but he had no chance of catching the K-9. With three laps to go Benton began to slow and was loosing the pace as the fourth and fifth place cars caught up and looked like they were going to pass. Then Don Brode, Brandon Yawn and Todd Higdon crashed into each other in turn 4 and brought out the caution. It looked like the bell had saved Benton’s third place position, but, there were two laps to go. On the white flag lap Jody Palmer found his way around Benton, who had run third for nearly the entire race. Dana Eiland placed his K-9 in the winner’s circle by taking the checkers in championship form. Joey Eiland finished second, Jody Palmer third, Mickey Benton fourth, Jonathon Joines fifth, Mathew Daniels sixth, David Browning seventh, Roger Arnwood eighth, David Eubanks ninth, and Bill Peters rounded out the top ten in tenth. Phenix City, ALA – April 23, 2005 – It was an unusually cold and windy night for late spring at East Alabama Motor Speedway. However, the excitement on the track overwhelmed any physical discomfort brought on by Mother Nature. The Late Model division did a great job heating things up as they took the track for their 25-lap feature. With Josh Noles on the pole and Tod Darda on the outside pole the competition was on from the get go. On the first start Noles fired first in turn three but Darda caught and passed him before they reached the flag stand. As they entered turn two the field bunched up and began spinning and bumping bringing out the second double file start. This restart was a mirror image of the first with Darda passing Noles and the pile up in turn two, so the third start was single file. Noles held on to the lead with Darda looking high and low for a way into the lead. Bobby Joe Eiland passed Tony Knowles running in fifth while Joey Eiland was looking to the inside of Jeff Mills running third. The leaders began to stretch out from the pack and Wesley Holmes passed Ricky Culpepper for 13th place. On lap 6 Ricky Gunn was fighting a bad set up and lost control, spinning on his own to bring out a yellow flag caution. On this restart Bobby Joe Eiland jumped to the inside of Joey Eiland in fourth which brought out another caution and sent Bobby Joe to the rear of the field for the next restart. As fate would have it on this restart while Gordy Scarborough and Wesley Holmes battled over position, Billy Duell spun in turn four relegating him to the rear for the next restart. Bobby Joe Eiland and Billy Duell mounted a charge to the front creating a lot of excitement and serious racing from the rear of the filed. Up front, Darda was pressuring Noles from every angle on each corner but the leader was running in his preferred line, the upper groove, and always seemed to maintain his momentum enough to keep the lead. On lap 10 Tony Knowles got sideways and Allen Sparks was quick to take advantage and move into fifth spot. Bobby Joe Eiland was wasting no time as suddenly he was challenging Leon Watson JR for seventh and made a successful pass in turn 2 to take over the spot. On lap 14 Knowles passed Allen Sparks but Sparks came right back. Perhaps a little bit too strong as he made hard contact with Knowles causing them both to spin right in front of Bobby Joe Eiland who spun into the wall to avoid further damage. The caution was blamed on Sparks who was sent to the rear for the restart. On lap 16, with Darda not letting up on Josh Noles, trying to take the lead from the inside, the other Noles, the number 6 and Father of Josh, JW Noles, got into a collision with Wesley Holmes. Holmes went to the pits with a flat and JW Noles got a push to the pits for a DNF. On the restart Bobby Joe Eiland came flying into turn one and made the Earnhardt famous "Bump and run" move on Knowles to take over the fifth spot. Knowles stayed right behind Eiland waiting for the opportunity to repay the favor. Leon Watson JR had a horrific crash on the back straight, which totaled out his car and had to get towed to the pits. On lap 22 Darda had managed to pull along side Noles and they ran door to door for the entire lap when coming out of turn two Darda took the lead for the first time and for the one that counts the most. the white flag lap. Once Darda was in clean air he powered out to an impressive lead showing his hand and speed as he took the checkers. Josh Noles came in second and Jeff Mills, who started third and drove a consistent race finished third. Joey Eiland also drove a solid race to finish forth. The battle over fifth may not end for some time. Bobby Joe Eiland was in fifth on the flag lap and Tony Knowles planned a last minute charge to regain that fifth spot. Knowles powered into turn three and used a slingshot maneuver to come out of turn 4 with a run on Eiland. They drag raced to the finish line and what appeared to be a photo finish became a controversy as the track announcer proclaimed Knowles the winner while the track officials in the tower had a different view-point and said Eiland was the winner. Officially, Bobby Joe Eiland was the fifth place finisher and Tony Knowles was given the sixth place finish. Billy Duell finished seventh, Ricky Culpepper eighth, John Green ninth, and Matt Woodson rounded out the top ten in tenth. April 30, 2005 - Rain Out Phenix City, ALA – May 7, 2005 – Mother Nature would not deprive the race fans at East Alabama Motor Speedway and she gave us a beautiful Mother’s Day weekend for plenty of exciting dirt track racing. Former Late Model track Champion Jeff Mills provided the thrill in the Late Model feature beginning with the drop of the green flag. Mills started from the outside pole with Josh Noles on the inside pole. Noles jumped out to lead when he fired first but Mills ran him down and passed before reaching turn one. William Thomas also had a strong start as he came from third and passed Noles to take the second spot in turn two. On lap 4 as Jack Miles broke and coasted to the pits for a DNF, Matt Woodson spun on his own in turn 2 for the first yellow flag caution. On the restart Mills blasted out to a firm lead as Thomas seemed to be having a mechanical failure and was struggling to hang on to second. Bobby Joe Eiland was running in sixth looking to take fifth away from Jeff Culpepper and they battled fiercely running door to door all the way around the track. Then a freak accident occurred in which Nick Biddle shot up across turn 4 causing Joey Eiland to crash into Jeff Culpepper for the next caution. During this yellow flag, surprisingly, William Thomas pulled into the pits relinquishing the second position, with break failure for a DNF. Biddle also went to the pits with terminal damage. On this restart Mills really flexed that big motor and pulled several car lengths away from second place Josh Noles and the rest of the pack. Bobby Joe Eiland was charging hard and made a very cool move diving to the apron in turn one to pass third place Allen Sparks and slip under Noles to emerge from turn 2 in second place. Matt Woodson had a hand full of steering wheel as he spun in turn 4 to cause his second caution of the evening. Bobby Joe Eiland was really running strong and on this restart he ran door to door with Mills and had the fans on the edge of their seats when it looked like he was going to make the pass. However, Mills had the power, the perfect set-up, and an intimate relationship with the 3/8s mile high-banked clay oval, which kept him in the lead. Sparks slowed suddenly and collected a rear bumper full of Jeff Culpepper when Joey Eiland saw the opportunity to catch three birds with one pass and he flew past Wesley Holmes, Jeff Culpepper, and Allen Sparks to find himself running fourth. On lap 11 JR Moseley went off the track and came back on. He began to slow on the front straight as Grady Scarbrough shot by to move into seventh. Moseley took his new Rocket #99 to the pits with a damaged oil pan and no oil pressure for a DNF. Then Scott Land brought out his third caution as Woodson rolled into the pits for his DNF. Land did not realize he had caused three cautions and did not leave the racetrack until the flagman gave him the black flag. On the next restart Joey Eiland slid into Josh Noles in turn two and came out of that confrontation in third place. When this incident occurred, JW Noles checked up and Ricky Culpepper, running on the high groove got collected. The two cars spun like a Mephisto Waltz towards the top of turn two. When they reached the top, they turned perpendicular and JW Noles was catapulted into the air. His car made a barrel roll then four end over end flips coming to a stop upside down at the outside of the track. The red flag came out as emergency crews rushed to the crash site. Amazingly, both drivers walked away but JW Noles’ #6 was DOA in the pits. Maybe a coincidence that after the clean-up and the green flag came back, the next two cars off the track were the relatives of those in that spectacular crash. Jeff Culpepper, the father of Ricky Culpepper, got spun out and went to the pits on lap 16. Then on lap 21 Allen Sparks pushed Josh Noles, the son of JW Noles, off the track in turn 4. Sparks was sent to the rear for the restart. Again Mills took a commanding lead as he gradually pulled away from Bobby Joe Eiland. Billy Duell pulled into the pits overheating as the white flag came out. Jeff Mills drove uncontested to the checkers and celebrated Mother’s Day with a well-earned victory. Bobby Joe Eiland finished second, Joey Eiland third, Josh Noles fourth, Wesley Holmes fifth, Grady Scarbrough sixth, Allen Sparks seventh, Ricky Gunn eighth, Billy Duell ninth, and Jeff Culpepper rounded out the top ten in tenth. Phenix City, ALA – May 14, 2005 – Late Model feature winners seem to change like the spring weather at East Alabama Motor Speedway. This weekend Late Model driver Joey Eiland stepped up to the podium to claim his first checkered flag and announce that he has arrived as a force to be reckoned. Joey took the green flag on the feature from the outside pole with Josh Noles claiming the inside pole with fast time qualifying. When Noles fired Joey matched him and they rubbed coming out of turn 4. Joey suddenly burst into the lead and began to pull away. William Thomas, starting in third, maintained his position in spite of the strong challenge from Leon Watson, JR. Billy Duell went into turn three really hot and then spun coming out of turn 4 to bring out the caution. They were lined back up double file and started again. It was an aggressive identical start with the leaders rubbing then Joey taking the lead. This time Scott Land spun out in turn three and several cars slid to a stop behind him bringing out caution number two. Now they were lined up single file for the third start. Now, with clean air Josh Noles maintained the lead and the first lap counted. Bobby Joe Eiland was charging to the front and sparring with Allan Sparks over sixth position. When they entered turn three neither backed off and the K-8 of Bobby Joe Eiland spun and came to a stop. Matt Woodson also spun and was stuck at the top of the track. The caution was blamed on Bobby Joe and he was sent to the rear for the restart. Josh Noles again powers to the front and gets a four- car length lead on Joey in second. Jeremy Frost broke and went to the pits. Joey caught up with Noles and was looking for the lead from the inside groove. Joey could get even with Noles in the corners but Noles was on the preferred high line and kept more momentum, which allowed him to keep the lead down the straight-aways. Ricky Gunn pulled into the pits and was followed in by Bobby Joe Eiland on lap 8. On this restart Joey hung in close to Noles to attempt a pass when suddenly William Thomas jumped up next to Joey and was challenging him for second. Gordy Scarbrough was pouring on the heat when his power plant blew causing him to spin and come to a stop in front of the flag stand. Wesley Holmes was right behind and went into a spin to avoid a collision with Scarbrough, whose engine was smoking like a nuclear power plant meltdown. On the ensuing green flag Billy Duell had Leon Watson JR set up and made a clean pass in turn 4 to claim the 4th position. Matt Woodson was having handling problems and spun out on the front straight to bring out the next yellow flag. On this restart Joey seemed to have better traction, like his set-was finally coming to him and he stayed glued to Nole’s back bumper. Going into turn one Joey dropped inside Noles and Noles moved up into the cushion of turn two. For just a second or two Noles pushed a little high. That was all that was needed for Joey to get a death grip on Noles and make a successful pass for the lead on lap 14. William Thomas followed Joey through the turns and also had the momentum to pass Noles and take over the second spot. Once in the lead Joey opened up that spec engine and pulled about 6 car lengths ahead of Thomas, who was running six car lengths ahead of Noles in third. Dana Eiland, who started in the rear, ran a very uncharacteristic race. He advanced his position up to sixth but never made the hard charge that normally would put him in first place. Joey Eiland’s tenacity and championship style put him in Victory Lane for the first time in a Late Model and the fans can expect to see him there again. William Thomas drove a solid race to finish in second, Josh Noles finished third, and former Late Model champion Billy Duell came from the back to finish fourth. Leon Watson JR finished fifth, Dana Eiland came in sixth, Allen Sparks turned in a seventh, Mickey Benton eighth, Scott Land ninth, and Ricky Culpepper avoided trouble and rounded out the top ten in tenth. Phenix City, ALA – May 21, 2005 – The old adage about Southern racing being a "family tradition" can be no more evident than at East Alabama Motor Speedway. The Late Model division saw three Eiland’s, Joey, Dana, and Bobby Joe, finish the feature 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The outcome of the fast time qualifying was similar to last week with Joey Eiland on the pole and Josh Noles on the outside. When the green dropped on the feature Joey wasted no time in marking his territory, which was out front leading. Second place Josh Noles had Dana Eiland all over him looking high and low for the pass. Jesse Lamphier couldn’t find the handle and spun to bring out the first yellow flag caution. Leon Watson JR relinquished his fifth place start to go to the pits along with Lamphier and Wesley Holmes. On this restart the leaders got away from the pack fast and there was chaos in the middle as Bobby Joe Eiland began a treacherous charge to the front. He and Jeff Mills were double teaming Billy Duell when the right situation came up and Bobby Joe make a slick move around Mills and Duell into seventh place. Kevin Knotts was also having a hard time getting his ride under control when he spun in turn 2 for the next caution. Ricky Gunn took the yellow flag as a clue to hit the pits and Matt Woodson followed him in. They returned to the end of the line for the restart. This time Dana Eiland gets inside Noles and they battle hard for second place. Bobby Joe is also finding a strong fight trying to get around Jeff Culpepper who is determined to pass and not get passed. When Holmes and Knotts bring out the next caution Bobby Joe uses a shrewd tactic on the restart. Culpepper was in line, in sixth place as they came around turn 3 for the restart. When the leaders, and Culpepper dropped to the inside and fired out of turn three, Bobby Joe fired early and stayed in the high groove. This gave Bobby Joe more momentum than the leaders coming out of turn four. Bobby Joe easily pulled even with Culpepper down the front straight and passed Culpepper and Tod Darda in turn one. Now Bobby Joe had his sights set on Mickey Benton running in fourth. Dana must have known he was coming as Dana began to pressure Josh Noles in second. Darda’s car began smoking heavily out of the right front. Anthony Meadows came flying into turn one and pushed up into Mills. They both stopped then got started on their own with out causing a caution. Dana’s K-9 had a death grip on Noles and stayed glued to the inside until breaking free and lunging forward into second place coming out of turn one. Dana immediately began to reel in Joey who was running uncontested in first. Joey saw Dana coming and really put the pedal to the metal turning super fast laps. Bobby Joe was working over Noles and got to the inside in turn four. Bobby Joe drove real deep into turn one and passed Noles to take the third spot. Noles tried too hard to catch him and spun in turn two to bring out a yellow flag and get sent to the rear for the restart. As the cream rises to the top, so do the best race teams as the starting order on this restart turned into the final order. For the second consecutive week, Joey Eiland took the checkered flag, and this week he did it wire to wire. Dana Eiland needed a few more laps to really test Joey but never-the –less turned in a solid second place finish. Bobby Joe Eiland put on perhaps the most exciting show of the night coming from the back of a pack of highly skilled drivers to finish third. Former Late Model track champion Mickey Benton turned in a respectable fourth place and rookie William Thomas stayed in the hunt and out of trouble to earn the fifth place finish. Anthony Meadows came in sixth, Jack Mills seventh, Billy Duell eighth, Gordy Scarbrough ninth and Ricky Culpepper rounded out the top ten in tenth. Phenix City, ALA – May 28, 2005 – Memorial Day celebrations at East Alabama Motor Speedway were replete with "bombs bursting in air" via the gigantic fireworks display. And, as we paid homage to our fallen military heroes, the "rockets’ red glare" was noticed predominately on the race track as Late Model driver Bobby Joe Eiland blasted his Rocket into the winners circle. Starting the feature from the outside pole position, when the green flag dropped, Bobby Joe wrestled the lead from pole sitter Tod Darda and never looked back. With a star- studded line up, including some of the fastest Late Model cars and drivers in the Southeast, it was no walk in the park to maintain your position. Dennis Hale, running in third, was under the constant pressure of fourth place racing legend and former Late Model track champion Dana Eiland. Rookie William Thomas had his hands full holding onto fifth place after an altercation with Jack Mills which also moved last week’s winner, Joey Eiland into sixth. On lap 5, Jessie Lamphier and Nick Biddle spun to bring out the yellow flag caution. On the restart it looked like Jack Mills felt he owed Thomas some payback and tried, unsuccessfully, to spin Thomas out, hitting him in the rear quarter panel several times. Sometimes karma plays an instant role in certain situations and Jack Mills was about to pay some. Mill’s left front tire went flat and he had to go to the pits losing his position. Nick Biddle broke and coasted to a stop on the front straight to bring out the yellow. On this restart, Bobby Joe quickly assumed the lead with Darda hanging in close looking for the opportunity to take the lead. Dana Eiland was also looking inside Hale for the pass but Hale had enough power to escape the locking jaws of Dana’s K-9. Mill’s karma got him again and you could hear him singing the Darrell Waltrip hit "You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel" as his left front wheel and tire came completely off the car leaving him sitting on the back straight. The next restart looked like the last one until the leaders completed a lap. Robbie Watson and Billy Duell had some unpleasant words and spun out together on the front straight. In an effort to avoid hitting them a larger melee ensued with Matt Woodson, Nick Biddle, Kevin Knotts, Gordy Scarborough, and Cork Bracey plowing into each other. The race was red flagged until the track was cleared and green flag racing resumed. The front five cars quickly gained ground on the rest of the pack but now Joey Eiland seemed to have some mechanical problem as he dropped back with the pack. Watson and Duell have a replay coming out of turn four and they collide again. This time, they both come to a stop and then get going again without bringing out a caution flag. The leaders seem evenly matched. Second place Darda dropped inside Bobby Joe for a quick glimpse of the lead but just as quickly Bobby Joe pulls out to a four car-length lead. Dana Eiland is still looking to the inside of Hale but he can’t quite make the pass either. Thomas in fifth is running in his own space with no more challenges from Joey Eiland and occasionally he gets a look inside Dana coming out of turn 4 but has no chance of mustering enough momentum to make a pass. On the white flag lap Darda charged hard into turn one and looked like he was going to take the lead But Bobby Joe pulled out all the stops and hammered down to take the checkers. Tod Darda finished second, Dennis Hale third, Dana Eiland fourth, William Thomas finished fifth for the second week in a row, Joey Eiland sixth, Josh Noles seventh, Mickey Benton eighth, Robbie Watson ninth, and Matt Woodson rounded out the top ten in tenth. by Sherry Covington The fireworks were not the only thing blazing Saturday night at East Alabama Motor Speedway (EAMS). The track was blazing from the cars roaring down the track. Racing, especially dirt track racing, is as southern as boiled peanuts, sweet tea, and fried chicken. It is similar to the opera, if you love it you will always love it, it you do not, you can learn to appreciate it. And being a good southern belle, I love it. I took my three year old daughter with me and when the Late Models were on the track she told me it sounded like thunder and asked if it was going to rain. The night started out with the Hobby class of cars, which until this year was known as Enduro. The line started with John Capps – J3 on the pole, Alan Flournoy - #39 on the outside, Josh Marchman - #27, Mike Mount - #31, Chris Arnett - #7, and Pat Wall - #14 rounding out the top six spots. There were 17 cars in the starting line up. There was a caution on the second lap so when they restarted it was in single file and Pat Wall #14 had moved up to the 4th position. According to Clint Stanton, long time announcer at EAMS, he’s the new up and comer for the 2005 season. Clint also said, “He has come out of no where and has a very fast car this season.” During lap 10 the #8 car of Rodney Gorman locked up with the #5 of Jay Swint and #8’s axle was broken causing the wheel to fall off and towing into the pits a necessity, his night of racing was over. The #6 car overheated and had to be towed also, ending his night. By this time our up and comer, Pat Wall had moved into second position with first in his sights. Another caution was called on lap 11 and #14 had taken first with #J3 of John Capps having tire problems from locking up. The cars rolled around ranked Pat Wall - #14, Alan Franks - #39, Mike Mount - #31, Chris Arnett - #7, Jason Craft - #0, and Ken Redmon - #66 rounding out the top six. After a few laps under caution the race resumed with Wall holding out the first position for his 3rd win of the season, second consecutive win. Good luck Pat, we look forward to many more wins from you. The next race was the United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) Modified, or open wheeled cars. There were 7 cars in the starting line. They were William Thomas, Mr. Smooth - #22 on the pole, Roderick Dykes - #6, Timbo Gouker the Cardiac Kid - #V94, Justin Thornton - #1, Herbie Donath - #25, and Kevin Simmons - #31 rounding out the top six. #22 Mr. Smooth took the lead right away and it did not seem anyone would be able to catch him. After 7 laps the standing were William Thomas, Mr. Smooth - #22, Justin Thornton - #1, Timbo Gouker the Cardiac Kid - #J94, Herbie Donath - #25, Kevin Simmons - #31, and Eric Gano - #11G rounding out the top six. They continued racing for 8 more laps with the same line finishing. Next up was the Super Street, which is very similar to the Late Models except for a few setup items, the type of motor, and the types of rear ends. I personally would rather be a super street than a late model, especially if it is based on rear ends. The starting line up was Josh Weathers - #91, Marvin Cook - #40, Todd Mitchell - #20, Steven Gaines Jr - #50, Paul Walters - #17, and Danny Stroud - #22 rounding out the top six positions with 14 cars total starting out. The excitement started early in this race with Brandon Pijnenburg - #83 spinning out in turn 3. This called out a caution with a double line restart. By lap 4 Marvin Cook - #40 had taken the lead, Josh Weather - #91 in the second position, then Todd Mitchell - #20, Paul Walters - #17, Steven Gaines Jr - #50, and Chad Marchman - #27 rounding out the top six. Lap 17 was very exciting as several things happened to call out cautions during that lap. Tim Hester - #2 had some handling problems that pushed his car high in coming out of turn two causing him to go slightly over the oval on the back straightaway, but he soon was back on but never gained many positions after that. Jimmy Evilsizer - #15 was forced out with car problems, as were Paul Walters - #17 and finally Tim Hester - #2. Meanwhile the cars stood as Marvin Cook - #40 in the lead, Josh Weathers - #91, Todd Mitchell - #20, Chad Marchman - #27, and Roger Arnett the Outlaw - #7 rounding out the top six positions. The race continued thru to lap 20 with any other incidents and Marvin Cook - #40 took the win, then Josh Weathers - #91, Todd Mitchell - #20, Chad Marchman - #27, #22 Danny Stroud, and Roger Arnett the Outlaw - #7 finishing up the top six. Then the Big Boys, the Late Models, came on the track. This is the main event, what everyone waits to see. The starting line was Tod Darda - #91 on the pole, Bobby Eiland - #K8 on the outside pole, Dana Eiland - #K9, #23, Jack Mills - #7, and Josh Noles, Mr. Quicktime - #16 rounding out the top six positions with a total of 20 cars starting. When these cars start coming out of turn 4 if you are down there, you can feel the vibrations in your very bones. It truly is thunder on the tracks when they roar by. By Lap 5 Bobby Eiland - #K8 had taken the lead from Tod Darda - #91, then #8 Dennis Hale, Dana Eiland - #K9, #22 William Thomas, Joey Eiland the Latest Contender - #29, and #1 rounding out the top six. Tod Darda - #91 went too high coming out of turn 2 and Bobby Eiland - #K8 took the advantage and took second away but by the time the guys came out of turn 4 going down the front straightaway Tod - #91 had taken it back. Lap 8 saw a large pile up of cars going into turn 1, involving 6 cars. The #55 car of Nick Biddle took the worst of the damage and was towed into the pits, ending his night of racing. The race was going great until Matt Woodson - #88 spun out in turn 4, but didn’t cause much damage to his car. The race continued with Bobby Eiland - #K8 taking the win, then Tod Darda - #91, Dennis Hale - #8, Dana Eiland - #K9, #22 William Thomas, and Joey Eiland the Latest Contender - #29 rounding out the top six finishers. Next up were the Bomber class, which sees many new drivers and the only female racing at EAMS, Christy Noles in the #16. Billy Duell Jr - #7 sat on the Pole, #31, John Michael - #29, Richard Stevens the Rocketman - #00, #15, Richard Stephens Sr - #00sr, and Keith McTaggert - #17 rounding out the top six spots with 11 cars on the starting line. The cars came out or turn 4 starting the race and by the time they roared into turn 1 Richard Stephens the Rocketman - #00 had moved from 4th to 2nd. By lap 9 Richard Stephens the Rocketman - #00 had moved into 1st with Billy Duell Jr - #7 then Steve Mount - #31, Richard Stephens Sr - #00sr, John Michael - #294, Jerry Luke - #89, and Montana Dudley - #55 rounding out the top six positions. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful once Rocketman - #00 had taken the lead. They finished Richard Stephens the Rocketman - #00, Billy Duell Jr - #7. Richard Stephens Sr - #00sr, Steve Mount - #31, John Michael - #294, Jerry Luke - #89, and Montana Dudley - #55 were the top six finishers. Last up were the Pony Stock or if you’ve ever heard them, the Buzz Bombers. These are little 4 cylinders that sound like a swarm of bees coming after you. Terry Braswell - #2 sat on the pole, Chad Carden - #c22 on the outside, Allen McConnell - #24, Kelly Leonard - #13, Ray Fowler - #33, and Bill Taylor - #T8 rounding the top six positions with 9 cars starting out. By Lap 6 Kelly Leonard - #13 had taken 2nd from Chad Carden - #c22 and Alton Weed - #17 had taken 5th. During the Lap 8 Kelly Leonard - #13 had taken 2nd back and Darien Williams - #27 had moved into the top six. Terry Braswell - #2 took the win, followed by Kelly Leonard - #13, Chad Carden - #c22, Allen McConnell - #24, Ray Fowler - #33, Alton Weed - #17, and Darien Williams - #27. The track hosted a fireworks show for the kids who were very exciting and actually quieter than the racing, or at least according to my three-year-old. EAMS also hosts Spectator Racing, where fans can take their cars on the track against each other. There is a registration fee but the winner receives $100 and comes back for the championship and can take home the monster trophy. So any of you who think you have a fast car come out and walk the walk, or race the race. The website, www.EAMSDIRT.com, has a listing of all special events scheduled for this race season. If you want a night of super fast excitement then East Alabama Motor Speedway the place to be. Phenix City, ALA – June 4, 2005 – By far the most successful event of the season had thousands of fans filling the grandstands and hundreds of racers and thrill seekers taking to the high banked clay oval and infield of East Alabama Motor Speedway. Barnam and Bailey would be hard pressed to produce a more exciting show than this week’s production. The Monster Truck show highlighted the evening with Preditor winning the competition. ATVs ran the infield circuit in between events, as the action never stopped. A Tuff Man’s truck competition allowed the fans to run their personal trucks through the course and David Forker won that event in his high jumping Range Rover. Local dare devil Tater Holmes went one up on the Monster trucks as he got some serious air sailing over the rows of smashed vehicles on the truck course in his junkyard special. Mixed into the show were the six divisions of stock car racers. The evening culminated with the Late Model feature. Our most prolific champion Dana Eiland won the pole with a light speed lap of 17.68. Bobby Joe Eiland also broke into the 17- second world to win the outside pole. The second row had two more speedsters, Josh Noles and Joey Eiland making for a very exciting chase for the lead. When the green dropped on the feature Dana assumed his regular position – the lead and began pulling away from the pack. Joey Eiland got up next to Bobby Joe Eiland and they ran door to door in a frantic drag race to turn one. Bobby Joe was on the inside and Joey had the preferred high line, which gave him just enough of an advantage to secure second spot coming out of turn two. Josh Nole came up and got a glimpse inside of Bobby Joe. While Josh was trying to decide how to handle this situation, another tough competitor, Mickey Benton pulled alongside looking to pass Noles for fourth spot. On lap 6 Wesley Holmes broke on the back straight and coasted to a stop to bring out the first yellow. Cork Bracey also broke and coasted into the pits. On this restart as Dana took the lead and turned the corner in turn one his K-9 laid down on him. When Dana lost his momentum Joey, in second had to slow which allowed Bobby Joe to pull alongside. Dana revived his K-9 for the next lap and kept the lead. When they got back to turn one Dana fired coming off the corner and again the K-9 laid down, a hesitation costing momentum. Bobby Joe seized the opportunity and went around Joey to take over second place. As they came down the front straight Dana’s K-9 dropped all its oil and came to a stop in turn one bringing out the yellow flag. Dana was pushed to the pits where his K-9 was pronounced DOA with a blown motor for a DNF. On the restart Bobby Joe had the lead and was running like a scalded dog. Within two laps Bobby Joe was 8 car-lengths ahead of Joey and still pulling away. Noles came up to challenge Joey while William Thomas began looking inside Jeff Mills for fifth. Chad Herrington, the flagman, threw the yellow on lap 14 for debris. On this restart Noles got inside Joey and something broke on Joey’s car sending him to the pits and bringing out another yellow flag. The front line up for the lap 15 restart was Bobby Joe, Noles, Benton, Mills, Thomas and Anthony Meadows. As Joey came out of the pits he had to join the field at the rear. He had a lot of speed coming into turn three before the green came back and he sailed past some cars in the rear. With so much more speed he easily passed Ricky Culpepper and Gordy Scarbrough. The track officials penalized Joey one spot for jumping the start alleging Joey began passing cars before the green came back. On the white flag lap the leaders stretched out and remained where they were. Culpepper was trying hard to pass Scarbrough and they drag raced side by side to the checkers. Scarbrough inched him out and retained his seventh place finish. For the second week in a row Bobby Joe Eiland took the checkered flag and raised the bar for the Late Model division. Josh Noles came in second, Mickey Benton third, Jeff Mills fourth, William Thomas finished fifth for the third week in a row, Anthony Meadows sixth, Gordy Scarbrough seventh, Joey Eiland eighth, Ricky Culpepper ninth, and Matt Woodson rounded out the top ten in tenth. by Sherry Have you ever talked to a basketball player and had a pain in your neck from holding your head straight up? That is what it is like looking at the Monster Trucks, which East Alabama Motor Speedway (EAMS) hosted this weekend. These trucks are the basketball players of the racing world. These trucks are massive! Watching these humongous trucks jump over three regular sized cars in like watching a 300lb linebacker run a football for a touchdown. It goes against the laws of nature that something this big can jump or move like it does. The best-looking monster truck was Predator; it had eyes on the hood, ears on the side, and teeth in the front. Also EAMS hosted the Quad Wars. And if you are like me you are asking what is a Quad? It’s a racing 4 wheeler and the kids that ride them are fearless. The fastest Dusty Parish ‘Dude’, ran the obstacle course in 30.20 seconds. He was riding a Banshee 4 Wheeler, and according to a spectator, James Ohearn, ‘you just can’t beat a Banshee, those things are really fast’. The course consisted of 5 jumps with the second being the largest. As Dude came on the course he took the first jump and then over the second he threw his feet up in front of him. Again, it is amazing how the laws of gravity are broken. The youngest rider that night was Logan Smith who is 6 years old. He rode through the course and took the jump like a future pro. Keep it up Logan and we hope to see your talents as you get older. Next up was what we all really came to see, stock car racing. First up was the UMP Modified race which featured 7 cars. The line up was Rusty Harmon - #12 on the pole, then Rodgerick Dykes - #6 on the outside pole followed by Justin Thornton #1, Timbo Gouker Cardiac Kid - #V94, Donnie Harig - #62, and Herbie Donath - #31. The race started and Rodgerick Dykes - #6 worked his way up front and by lap 8 had taken the lead from #12. There was a caution called on this lap due to Herbie Donath - #31, with them lining up Rodgerick Dykes - #6, followed by Timbo Gouker Cardiac Kid - #V94, Herbie Donath - #31, Rusty Harmon - #12, and lastly Donnie Harig - #62. They restarted when Donnie - #62 went off the track along the back straightaway bringing out another caution. The race restarted with the same line up and finished their last lap with Rodgerick Dykes - #6 taking the win, his 6th of the season followed by Timbo Gouker Cardiac Kid - #V94, Herbie Donath - #31, Rusty Harmon - #12, Donnie Harig - #62. The Pony class was second up and came buzzing onto the track. It featured 7 cars with Terry Braswell - #2 sitting on the pole followed by Josh Kelly - #13, Greg Gatlin - #11, Ray Fowler - #33, BJ Freeman - #B1, Allen McConnell - #24, and Miles Holton - #2M. Right after starting Josh Kelly - #13 went off the back straightaway bringing out the first caution of their race. Since that lap had been completed it was a single line restart with Terry Braswell - #2 leading with Greg Gatlin - #11 in second and Allen McConnell - #24, Ray Fowler - #33, Miles Holton - #2M. By the time the cars had reached turn 1 on the second lap Kelly - #13 had moved into 3rd from the back of the restart. During lap 3 Terry - #2 and Greg - #11 put some distance between them and the rest of the drivers. The race continued with Miles - #2M lagging further and further behind until lap 6 when the lead car of Terry Braswell - #2 passed him followed by the rest of the line. By lap 9 the leaders Terry - #2 and Greg - #11 had moved ahead by half the track from the rest of the drivers. Terry Braswell - #2 was the winner for his 8th win of the season with Greg Gatlin - #11 taking second and Josh Kelly - #13 in third, followed by Allen McConnell - #24, Ray Fowler - #33, and Miles Holton - #2M who was 3 laps down but held in until the end. The Hobby class had a lot of excitement tonight. The race started with 12 cars in the line up for 12 laps of racing. John Capps - #J3 was on the pole with Josh Marchman - #27 on the outside pole followed by Pat Wall - #14, Adam Brown - #9, Jason Craft - #0, Robert Jackson - #12, Rodney Gorman - #8, Chris Arnett - #7, Kenny Mathis - #55, John Rogers - #22, Troy Bruffy - #00, Jim Gossett - #12. Right after the cars started out of turn 4 the battle between Pat - #14 and Josh - #27 for second place began. By lap 3 Pat - #14 had taken 2nd place. Troy - #00 looked to be having handling problems that caused him to come out of turn 2 high which made it difficult for him to gain any positions. By lap 4 John - #J3 had a tremendous lead causing you to wonder what miracle he had under his hood. He was followed by Pat Wall - #14, Jason Craft - #0, Josh Marchman - #27, Rodney Gorman - #8, Chris Arnett - #7, Adam Brown - #9, Kenny Mathis - #55, Troy Bruffy - #00, John Rogers - #22. By lap 8 Rodney - #8 had taken 4th from Chris - #7 just before Robert Jackson - #12 spun out bringing out the first caution of the night. The cars restarted with John Capps - #J3 in the lead followed by Pat Wall - #14, Jason Craft - #0, Rodney Gorman - #8, Chris Arnett - #7, John Rogers - #22, Troy Bruffy - #00, Adam Brown - #9, Kenny Mathis - #55, and Robert Jackson - #12. The drivers restarted and John - #J3 again taking a tremendous lead from Pat - #14 which caused you to think the racing gods must have been granting John - #J3 his wish for a win that night. He took the win for his 4th of the season followed by the points leader Pat Wall - #14, Jason Craft - #0, Rodney Gorman - #8, Chris Arnett - #7, Adam Brown - #9, Kenny Mathis - #55, and John Rogers - #22. The Big Boys, Late Models, were forth up to race tonight with 14 cars in the starting line and 20 laps to race. Dana Eiland - #K9 was on the pole Bobby Eiland - #K8 on the outside pole followed by Josh Noles Mr. Quicktime - #16, Joey Eiland - #29, Mickey Benton - #2, Wesley Holmes - #11, William Thomas Mr. Smooth - #22, Jeff Mills - #15, Anthony Meadows - #31, Cory Bracey - #29, Ricky Culpepper - #110, Gordy Scarborough - #27, Jeff Culpepper - #10, and Matt Woodson - #88. During Lap 5 Gordy - #27 went off the back straightaway coming out of turn 2 while Cory - #29 and Wesley - #11 were having problems bringing out the first caution of the night in lap 6. This caused a single line restart with Dana Eiland - #K9 in the lead followed by Joey Eiland - #29 who had taken second from Bobby Eiland - #K8, now in third, with Josh Noles Mr. Quicktime - #16, Jeff Mills - #15, William Thomas Mr. Smooth - #22, Gordy Scarborough - #27, Matt Woodson - #88, and Cory Bracey - #29. After the restart Bobby - #K8 and Joey - #29 began a two lap fight for 2nd with Bobby finally taking it during lap 8. Dana – #K9 had car problems and had to pull into the pit which brought out a caution for every one. They restarted with Bobby Eiland - #K8 in the lead followed by Joey Eiland - #29, Josh Noles Mr. Quicktime - #16, Mickey Benton - #2, Jeff Mills - #15, William Thomas Mr. Smooth - #22, Anthony Meadows - #31, Gordy Scarborough - #27, Matt Woodson - #88, and Cory Bracey - #29. In lap 14 Bobby - #K8 had the track almost to himself with the lead he had developed and Ricky Culpepper - #110 reentered the track. Lap 16 saw four restarts for this lap, it was the lap that we never thought would end. Joey - #29 had car trouble causing a caution but was able to get back out while the line went down the front straightaway. Matt - #88 spun out in turn 2 causing the caution to be called on this lap again. The guys lined back up for a single line restart and coming out of turn 4 Joey - #29, Ricky - #110, and Gordy #27 went three wide smashing into each other causing another caution to be called and Joey - #29 was sent to the back of the line for the restart. On the last restart of lap 16 Joey - #29 passed Gordy - #27 as he moved up the line of cars. The rest of the race was uneventful with Bobby Eiland - #K8 taking the win, his 2nd win of the season, followed by Josh Noles Mr. Quicktime - #16, Mickey Benton - #2, Jeff Mills - #15, William Thomas Mr. Smooth - #22, Anthony Meadows - #31, Joey Eiland - #29, Gordy Scarborough - #27, Jeff Culpepper - #10, Rickey Culpepper - #110, Matt Woodson - #88, and Cory Bracey - #29. Second to last race was the Bomber class. They started the race with 9 drivers and 12 laps to race. Richard Stephens Sr. - #00SR was on the pole with Richard Stephens Jr. The Rocketman - #00JR on the outside pole followed by Jerry Luke - #89, Montana Dudley - #55, Greg Nix - #57, Keith McTaggert - #17, Michael Miles - #2, John Michael - #294, and Billy Duell Jr. - #7. By lap 2 Greg - #57 had pulled out of the race and Richard Sr. - #00SR and Rocketman - #00JR had taken a good lead from the rest of the pack with Jerry - #89 not too far behind them. In lap 5 Jerry - #89 caught fire from somewhere under his car and had to retreat into the pits where the fire crew was waiting. He came out of the car fine to everyone’s relief but brought out the first caution of the night. Lap 6 had the restart with Richard Stephens Sr. - #00SR in first followed by Richard Stephens Jr. The Rocketman - #00JR, Montana Dudley - #55, John Michael - #294, Billy Duell Jr. - #7, Keith McTaggert - #17, and Michael Miles - #2. During lap 8 Montana - #55 began dueling with Rocketman - #00JR for second but Rocketman held his position and Billy - #7 started trying for 4th place. After 12 laps Richard Stephens Sr. - #00SR held onto 1st for the win, his 6th of the season, followed by Richard Stephens Jr. The Rocketman - #00JR, Montana Dudley - #55, Greg Nix - #7, John Michael - #294, Keith McTaggert - #17, and Michael Miles - #2. The last race of the night was the Super Street cars with 9 cars starting and 12 laps to race. Chad Marchman - #27 sat on the pole and Roger Arnett The Outlaw - #7 sat on the outside pole followed by Jimmy Evilsizer - #15, Steven Gaines Jr. - #50, Bobby Hearn - #10, Marvin Cook - #40, Danny Stroud - #22, and Sam Moore - #1. During the first lap Jimmy - #15 moved into 2nd that began a fight to hold that place from The Outlaw - #7. During lap 7 Sam - #1 had some problems that brought out the first caution and he finally dropped out with the line as Chad Marchman - #27 in first followed by Jimmy Evilsizer - #15, Roger Arnett The Outlaw - #7, Marvin Cook - #40, Danny Stroud - #22, and Bobby Hearn - #10. The remainder of the race was uneventful with Chad Marchman holding first for the win, his 3rd of the season, followed by Jimmy Evilsizer - #15, Roger Arnett The Outlaw - #7, Marvin Cook - #40, Danny Stroud - #22, and Bobby Hearn - #10. Overall it was a great night of racing and some excitement from the Monster Trucks and Quad Wars. Next week The Sprint cars are featured. If you have not experienced the excitement those little cars can generate you need to come out and watch. These little things can fly around that track and again defy the laws of physics by not taking flight. Check out the website www.eamsdirt.com for all of the exciting events coming up this summer. June 11, 2005 - Rain Out Phenix City, ALA – June 18, 2005 – For the second time this year, the Late Model Fastrak Series came to East Alabama Motor Speedway. Local drivers were permitted to race against the series provided they ran crate engines and passed the series’ technical inspection. With all the competitors in equally powered cars, other factors of racing would determine ones’ success. The advantage went to the local Late Model drivers who dominated the race. Bobby Joe – 4 in a row – Eiland not only picked up the checkered flag for the 40 lap Fastrak event, but also took the checkers in the local series Late Model feature for his fourth straight win at East Alabama. Bobby Joe was the owner of the truth as he took the pole for the Fastrak feature in a perfectly set-up car, and owned all the keys to speed on the high banked clay oval. With Dana Eiland’s K9 on the outside pole the drop of the green on the feature began with an adrenaline fed drag race down the front straight into turn one. Bobby Joe was quick off the corner on the inside and defined the lead. As they came around Jeremy Ledford ended up into the outside wall at turn one and they were lined up for the second double file start. Bobby Joe asserted his dominance and determination by assuming the lead and taking control of the race. He didn’t escape the constant presence and pressure of Dana Eiland shadowing Bobby Joe’s every move from second place. William Thomas was quick to take advantage of a driving error by Justin Sims and made a clean pass to take over seventh place. Joey Eiland, right behind Thomas, also had the momentum to make the pass on Sims, move into eighth, and begin working on Thomas. On lap 7 Jonathon Joiner broke and coasted to a stop in turn 4 to bring out the yellow flag. On this restart, Bobby Joe and Dana began blasting their thrusters, leaving the field a straightaway behind within two laps. "33 began looking inside "44" but couldn’t quite execute the pass. Local driver Anthony Meadows demonstrated some of his magical keys to speed and went by Curtis Cline to take over fourth position Randall Jordan and Todd Higdon began a fierce battle for position. Save the lead, perhaps the strongest of all battles was for ninth position with Joey Eiland, Justin Sims, and Mathew Daniels beginning at lap 19. Three wide excitement coming out of turn four had the fans cheering on local Joey Eiland. As Bobby Joe and Dana orbited the field hitting lap traffic, Roger Arwood broke to bring out the caution and Billy Costello also retired to the pits. At the halfway point it was Bobby Joe leading with Dana, Jeff Fields, Anthony Meadows, Curtis Cline, David Browning, and William Thomas running up front. Suddenly Jeff Fields’ right front goes flat and he is forced to relinquish his third position and go to the pits. Randall Jordan went off the back of the track for the midway caution. On this restart Thomas was looking for a way around Browning when Sims and Daniels get side by side. Daniels goes inside Joey Eiland and they race side by side for a complete circuit. Daniels passes Joey Eiland in turn 3 at lap 37. Dana began an all out offence for the lead and began pulling alongside Bobby Joe, waiting for the smallest driving error from Bobby Joe. When the white flag came out Bobby Joe and Dana raced side by side into turn three. With Dana on the inside coming out of four, matching Bobby Joes’momentum the opportunity arose for Dana to "slide" up into him and take over the lead. But Dana, being the great champion he is, drove Bobby Joe clean and kept his distance. Bobby Joe Eiland took the checkers in a perfectly executed race. Dana Eiland took second. Anthony Meadows finished third, Curtis Cline fourth, David Browning fifth, William Thomas sixth, Justin Sims seventh, Mathew Daniels eighth, Ronnie Tullis ninth, and Joey Eiland rounded out the top ten in tenth with 5 local drivers finishing in the top ten. Racing 6/18/05 BY SHERRY COVINGTON The thunder rolled into East Alabama Motor Speedway Saturday night at full speed without a cloud in the night sky or a drop of rain. EAMS sponsored the Fastrak Champion Series Saturday night along with the weekly stock car racing. Fastrak Champion Series is a racing circuit that offers ‘a good purse, a family atmosphere, a great points fund while controlling cost and to take the ingenuity out of the sport and put the success of the car back in the hands of the driver and crew’ according to their website, www.fastrakracing.com. There are three divisions, southern, mid east, and mid west. This series starts in March and races well into October while traveling to several tracks all in your division. EAMS hosted the June 17th race which featured 32 cars vying for a position in the main event. These guys had a practice session before the sun went down then after a few heat races for the stock cars; they started their time trials to qualify for the feature event later in the night. The night of racing started with a last chance race for the Fastrak cars, which is designed to give the drivers that did not qualify in their time trials a chance to still make it into the feature race. This is a 15 lap race with top spots getting into the 40 lap feature. The first stock car racing after the last chance race was the Pony Stocks. They came buzzing onto the track for 12 laps of racing fun. There were 7 cars that started the race with only 4 finishing. Greg Gatlin - #11 sat on the pole followed by Terry Braswell - #2 on the outside pole along with Chad Carden - #C22, Josh Kelly - #13, Colby Harvey - #14, Allen McConnell - #24, and Ray Fowler - #33. The race started good for these guys and by lap 7, Chad Carden - #C22, Allen McConnell - #24, and Ray Fowler - #33 had dropped out of the race for varying reasons. Colby Harvey - #14 looked to be having handling problems and could not seem to gain any ground while Braswell - #2 had a half track lead by lap 10. The last four cars hung in there until the end with Terry Braswell - #2 taking the win, his 9th of the season and 4th consecutive. I think it’s fair to say he has a dominating car this season. Terry was followed by Greg Gatlin - #11 in second, Josh Kelly - #13 in third, and Colby Harvey - #14 hanging in there for fourth. The second race of the evening was the Hobby class, which had a lot of action and 5 cars not finishing the race. The race was for 12 laps with 14 cars in the starting line all battling for a win and bragging rights. Chris Arnett - #7 had the fastest car in the heat races giving him the pole, followed by John Capps - #J3 on the outside pole, along with the points leader Pat Wall - #14, Ken Redmon - #66, Allen Flournoy - #F39, Jason Craft - #0, Kenny Mathis - #55, Rodney Gorman - #8, Jay Swint - #5, Tracey Baker - #98, Adam Brown - #9, Mark Vinyard - #714, Jeff Stone - #02, and Dana Brittingham - #15. During the first lap a few cars had flat tires due to some bumping, Capps - #J3 and Wall - #14, and had to come into the pits for tire changes. Wall - #14 made it back out but had to start in the back with a bent right side wheel and no shock, making it a challenge for the points leader to accomplish much. After the restart Redmon - #66 had a slight smoking problem while Mathis - #55 seemed to be loose coming out of turn 3 going into turn 4 where he spun out and smacked the wall. During lap 3 Craft - #0, began to spin coming out of turn 4 bringing out a caution and giving Capps - #J3 a chance to get back into the line up after having his flat tire changed. They restarted with Ken Redmon - #66 in the lead, followed by Allen Flournoy - #F39, Chris Arnett - #7, Rodney Gorman - #8, Jay Swint - #5, Tracey Baker - #98, Pat Wall - #14, Adam Brown - #9, Kenny Mathis - #55, John Capps - #J3, and Jason Craft - #0. In Lap 4 Flournoy - #F39 began his fight for first while Wall - #14 seemed to be slightly loose coming out of turn 4. Wall - #14 was able to control it and in lap 5 took 6th place by pulling in front of Tracey Baker - #98 coming off of turn 4 and down the front straightaway, one of Wall’s - #14 favorite places to pass. During lap 6 Redmon - #66 spun out in turn 3 bringing out another caution. The restart of lap 7 had Allen Flournoy - #F39 in front followed by Chris Arnett - #7, Rodney Gorman - #8, Pat Wall - #14, Jay Swint - #5, Tracey Baker - #98, Adam Brown - #9, Jason Craft - #0, John Capps - #J3, and Kenny Mathis - #55. During lap 9 Redmon - #66 again had problems, this time with a flat tire but were right back out after a change in the pits. During lap 11 Wall - #14 began his fight for 3rd with Gorman - #8 but with 1 lap to go, no shock, and bent right side wheel Wall - #14 could not get the power to take 3rd even though he’d pulled from last into 4th with those multitude of problems. Unfortunately it was not enough to take 3rd away from Gorman - #8 who were able to hold his place. The race finished with Allen Flournoy - #F39 holding onto 1st for his second win of the season, followed by Chris Arnett - #7, Rodney Gorman - #8, Pat Wall - #14, Adam Brown - #9, Jay Swint - #5, Jason Craft - #0, John Capps - #J3, and Kenny Mathis - #55. The third race up last night was the Fastrak Champion Series with 24 cars in the starting line for 40 laps of exciting thunderous racing. The line up featured several local drivers and several visitors in the southern division. Local Driver Bobby Joe Eiland – #K8 sat on the pole, followed by Hometown Legend, Dana Eiland - #K9 on the outside pole, along with Jeff Fields - #16, Curtis Cline - #44, Mathew Daniels - #18, Anthony Meadows - #31, William Thomas - #22, David Browning - #28, Joey Eiland - #29, Ronnie Tullis - #45, Roger Arowood - #8, Ronny Bilbrey - #96, Randall Jordan - #121, Justin Sims - #18S, David Eubanks - #14E, Jonathan Joiner - #56, Jody Palmer - #25, Jeremy Ledford - #3, Bill Peters - #88, Todd Higdon - #49, Tyler Harvey - #9, Billy Costello - #00, Gary Phillips - #G97, and Shan Smith - #17SS. The cars were just thundering out of turn 4 for the start of the race when Thomas - #22 passed Meadows - #31 out of turn 4 for 6th place. In Lap 6 Daniels - #18 began the fight with Eiland - #29, who was having handling problems, for 8th place. In lap 7 the Eilands - #K8 and #K9 had a huge lead from the rest of the pack, they were just under a half track length from lapping the back of the line. Joiner - #56 spun out in turn 3 bringing out a caution. As the cars roared into turn 3 of lap 8 Meadows - #31 began his fight for 4th from Cline - #44 and by lap 10 had taken 4th away. By lap 15 Daniels - #18 had taken 8th place away from Eiland - #29 who was still struggling with his tires and loose car. Lap 19 had a caution due to problems from Fields - #16, who moved to the back pushing Meadows - #31 up to 3rd. The race roared to life with Bobby Joe Eiland - #K8 in the lead, followed by Dana Eiland - #K9, Anthony Meadows - #31, Curtis Cline - #44, David Browning - #28, William Thomas - #22, Joey Eiland - #29, Mathew Daniels - #18, Justin Sims - #18S, Ronnie Tullis - #45, Todd Higdon - #49, Randall Jackson - #121, David Eubanks - #14E, Jody Palmer - #25, Shan Smith - #17SS, Gary Phillips - #G97, Bill Peters - #88, and Tyler Harvey - #9. In lap 21 Thomas - #22 began his fight with Browning - #28 for 5th place and Daniels - #18 began his fight for 7th with Eiland - #29, but Eiland, despite his continued handling problems held his position. During lap 25 coming out of turn 4 Daniels - #18 again almost took Eiland’s - #29 position. But going down the front straightaway Sims - #18S challenged Daniels - #18 for his position in 8th. Sims - #18S pulled up beside Daniels - #18 to go two wide into turn 1. By lap 29 the Eilands, Bobby Joe - #K8 and Dana - #K9, had taken a huge lead and pulled away from the line, followed by Meadows - #31, Cline - #44, Browning - #29, and Thomas - #22, who had pulled away into their own little pack too. In lap 31 Sims - #18S took Daniels’ - #18 position away and by lap 33 had also taken Eiland’s - #29 position going into turn 4 when Eiland - #29, who continued to have a loose car and handling problems, went too high. During lap 34 the leaders, the Eiland boys, Bobby Joe - #K8 and Dana - #K9, started lapping the end of the line. During lap 37 Eiland - #29 again lost position as he went too high and Daniels - #18 was there to take advantage and gain ground. Bobby Joe Eiland - #K8 held onto his first place to win followed by Dana Eiland - #K9, Anthony Meadows - #31, David Browning - #28, William Thomas - #22, Justin Sims - #18S, Mathew Daniels - #18, Joey Eiland - #29, Ronnie Tullis - #45, Todd Higdon - #49, David Eubanks - #14E, Shan Smith - #17, Jeff Fields - #16, Gary Phillips - #G97, and Randall Jackson - #121. The fourth race of the evening was the Super Street class for 15 laps with 15 cars in the starting line. Chad Marchman - #27 sat on the pole this weekend with Sam Moore - #1 on the outside pole, followed by Josh Weathers - #91, Marvin Cook - #40, Brandon Pijnenburg - #83, Tim Hester - #2, Roger Arnett The Outlaw - #7, Joseph Darda - #92, Todd Mitchell - #20, Luke North - #29, Bobby Hearn - #10, Skeeter Redmon - #566, Danny Stroud - #22, Lynn Robbins - #11, and Jimmy Evilsizer - #15. Starting the race out of turn 4 Cook - #40 was loose and Pijnenburg - #83 took advantage and took 3rd away. Then again in lap 1 coming out of turn 3 and into turn 4 Cook - #40 was loose causing a 4 car pile up involving himself, Mitchell - #20, Evilsizer - #15, and Stroud - #22. Both Mitchell - #20 and Stroud - #22 had to be towed back into the pits ending their night of racing. The restart was single line with Sam Moore - #1 in the lead followed by Chad Marchman - #27, Brandon Pijnenburg - #83, Marvin Cook - #40, Roger Arnett The Outlaw - #7, Bobby Hearn - #10, Tim Hester - #2, Lynn Robbins - #11, Joseph Darda - #92, Josh Weathers - #91, and Luke North - #29. During lap 3 Arnett The Outlaw - #7 began his fight for 3rd and North - #29 had problems causing him to spin out going into turn 4. In lap 4 Darda - #92, Robbins - #11, and Weathers - #91 being brave, went three wide down the front straightaway causing the fans to roar with excitement. In Lap 6 Arnett The Outlaw - #7 took advantage of the continuing handling problem of Cook - #40 and took back his 4th place position. In lap 8 Cook - #40, still plagued with handling problems, started getting loose going into turn 4 and he spun out again, bringing out another caution. Sam Moore - #1 held first for the restart followed by Chad Marchman - #27, Brandon Pijnenburg - #83, Roger Arnett The Outlaw - #7, Bobby Hearn - #10, Tim Hester - #2, Josh Weathers - #91, Lynn Robbins – #11, and Marvin Cook - #40 who continued to struggle with his car the rest of the race. In lap 10 Robbins - #11 took 7th away from Weathers - #91 but Weathers decided he was not going to put up with that and going down the front straightaway flexed his muscle and took his position back. During lap 11 Arnett The Outlaw - #7 took 3rd away from Hester - #2 and Darda - #92 drove back onto the track to get back in the race. Sam Moore - #1 held onto his lead for his 1st win of the season followed by Brandon Pijnenburg - #83, Roger Arnett The Outlaw - #7, Bobby Hearn - #10, Josh Weathers - #91, Lynn Robbins - #11, Joseph Darda - #92, Marvin Cook - #40, and Tim Hester - #2. The fifth race up for the evening was the UMP Modified or Open Wheel cars which raced for 12 laps and had 6 cars in the starting line. Rodgerick Dykes - #6 sat on the pole followed by Herbie Donath - #25, Timbo Gouker - #V94, Donnie Harig - #62, Kevin Simmons - #31, and Eric Gano - #11G. This race was a real crowd pleaser with its excitement and the end of the race left only 4 cars rolling down the front straightaway to finish the race. Harig - #62 went really high starting out of turn 4 and was able to take 3rd away from Gouker - #V94. During lap 4 Gano’s - #11G hood came loose and flew up obstructing his view of the track which in turn caused him to spin up on the track in turn 3 bringing out the first caution. The EAMS crew was able to take the hood off for him and he restarted with the line in the back. But coming out of turn 3 on the restart of lap 4 Harig - #62 again went high into the loose dirt spinning out causing Simmons - #31 and Gano - #11G to crash in turn 4. Gano - #11G sat, with his car smoking, where he had stopped in turn 4 waiting along with Simmons - #31 for the EAMS tow trucks to bring them back into the pits, thus ending their nights of racing. The restart of lap 7 saw the remaining four cars tight knit as they came out of turn 4 down the front straightaway, but by turn 2 Dykes - #6 had pulled away. Coming out of turn 4 going into lap 10 Gouker The Cardiac Kid - #V94, began his fight with Donath - #25 for 2nd place, but coming out of turn 2, Donath - #25 and Gouker The Cardiac Kid - #V94 tangled up and spun out. They restarted and Gouker The Cardiac Kid - #V94 took 2nd from Donath - #25. On the final lap Donath - #25 went into turn 3 too deep and a little high and spun out as Rodgerick Dykes - #6, the points leader for Open Wheel, took the win, his 7th win of the season followed by Timbo Gouker The Cardiac Kid - #V94, Donnie Harig - #62, and Herbie Donath - #25. Next up was the second main event of the night, the Late Models which raced for 15 laps and featured 12 cars, many of whom had just finished the Fastrak Champion Series race. This switch required for those drivers to change tires as Fastrak requires Goodyear Eagle tires and EAMS requires Hoosier tires. Many of the fans wondered if Bobby Joe Eiland - #K8 would dominate this race like he did in the Fastrak and was Joey Eiland - #29 able to fix his handling problems that plagued him during Fastrak? Bobby Joe Eiland - #K8 seemed headed in the right direction for a win as he had the fastest qualifying time and sat on the pole, followed by Tod Darda - #91 on the outside pole, along with Dana Eiland - #K9, Joey Eiland - #29, Cale Simons - #C2, Kevin Knotts - #17, Josh Noles - #16, Nick Biddle - #B55, John Greene - #2, Matt Woodson - #88, Gordy Scarbrough - #27, and Ricky Culpepper - #110. Coming out of turn 4 on the start, Noles - #16 was able to get around Knotts - #17 but coming back around and out of turn 4 in lap 1, Noles - #16 went too high and Knotts - #17 was there to take advantage and take his spot back. Eiland - #K9 began his fight with Darda - #91 for 2nd during lap 2 and Woodson - #88 spun out going into turn 3 bringing out the first caution of the race. After the restart of lap 3 Noles - #16 took back 6th place and Woodson again spun out in turn 4. Going into turn 1 of lap 4 Noles - #16 passed by Cale Simons - #C2 who, for whatever reason, tapped him causing him to spin, tag the wall and then go over the track backwards between turns 1 and 2. Cale Simons - #C2 came into the pits to have his crew check his car but when he went back onto the track they made him start in the back. Noles - #16 was towed back into the pits, ending his night of racing but at least he was physically ok just shaken a bit from his recent ride. The cars roared back to racing and by lap 6 Cale Simons - #C2 could be seen moving up the line. During lap 7 Biddle - #B55 passed Knotts - #17 for 5th place and Cale Simons - #C2 looked to be having trouble as smoke poured from his car every lap coming out of turn 4. During lap 9 Cale Simons - #C2 had a flat tire bringing out a caution and sending him into the pits, which could have been why smoke was pouring from his car in the turns, the body rubbing on the tire. The cars were strident on the restart with Bobby Joe Eiland - #K8, Tod Darda - #91, Dana Eiland - #K9, Joey Eiland - #29, Kevin Knotts - #17, Nick Biddle - #B55, Gordy Scarbrough - #27, John Greene - #2, Ricky Culpepper - #110, and Matt Woodson - #88, all roaring back into action. During lap 11 Woodson - #88 passed by Culpepper - #110 for 9th place. Bobby Joe Eiland - #K8, the points leader, dominated last night and again held onto his first position for the win, his 3rd of the season and 3rd consecutive, followed by Tod Darda - #91, Dana Eiland - #K9, Joey Eiland - #29, Nick Biddle - #B55, Kevin Knotts - #17, Gordy Scarbrough - #27, John Greene - #2, Matt Woodson - #88, and Ricky Culpepper - #110. The last race of the evening was the Bomber class, which featured 12 laps of racing with 12 cars on the starting line. Would the Rocketman racecars dominate yet again this week? It seemed so as they were in the front of the starting line. Billy Duell Jr - #7 was able to hold his own for the pole position in the race followed by Richard Stephens Jr Rocketman - #00JR, Michael Miles - #02, Richard Stephens Sr - #00SR, Jerry Luke - #89, John Michael- #294, Phil Hammon - #01, Keith McTaggert - #17M, Christy Noles - #16, Bruce Blanding - #2, Greg Nix - #57, and Adam Rodriguez - #20. In the beginning lap Rodriguez - #20 spun out in turn 4 but was able to gain control and get back in the race without a caution being called. Going down the front straightaway of lap 3 Stephens Jr Rocketman - #00JR pulled by Duell Jr - #7 to take the lead. During lap 4 Blanding - #2 went too high in turn 4 and Luke - #89 pulled in front. Also Stephens Jr Rocketman - #00JR had begun lapping the end of the line. A caution was called on lap 6 and the restarting line was Richard Stephens Jr Rocketman - #00JR, Billy Duell Jr - #7, Richard Stephens Sr - #00SR, Michael Miles - #02, Bruce Blanding - #2, Jerry Luke - #89, Phil Hammon - #01, Adam Rodriguez - #20, Greg Nix - #57, John Michael - #294, and Keith McTaggert - #17M. During lap 8 Christy Noles - #16 was back out onto the track and Rodriguez - #20 and Blanding - #2 tied up in turn 4 but no caution was needed. The race continued without incidence and Richard Stephens Jr Rocketman - #00JR held out for the win, his 2nd of the season, followed by Billy Duell Jr - #7, the points leader Richard Stephens Sr - #00SR, Michael Miles - #02, Bruce Blanding - #2, Jerry Luke - #89, Phil Hammon - #01, Adam Rodriguez - #20, Greg Nix - #57, John Michael - #294, and Keith McTaggert - #17M. Overall is was a very exciting night of racing, whether you were cheering on the Eilands in the Fastrak Champion Series Feature, or again in the Late Model Feature, or the come from behind races we saw. Some of the divisions are beginning to see a dominating driver while the Championship is still open for others. Who will dominate next week in stock car races? Will it be Super Street points leader Chad Marchman - #27 or his closing foe Roger Arnett The Outlaw - #7? Or for Hobby Class will it be points leader Pat Wall - #14 or will John Capps - #J3 have the miracle under his hood again? Or will points leader and race dominator for Bomber division, Richard Stephens Sr - #00SR take the win? For the remaining season schedule, check out EAMS website at www.eamsdirt.com. Phenix City, ALA – June 25, 2005 – Former Late Model track champion Jeff Mills was one of the first teams to pull into the infield of East Alabama Motor Speedway this Saturday night. They parked in the number one spot and promptly unloaded their number 15 Benning Auto Parts Monte Carlo, as if to let everyone know they were outfitted with their stoking motor that won the last time they competed. Bobby Joe Eiland, who has won the last four events in a row, was not intimidated as he won the pole with fast time qualifying at 17.03 seconds. Mills won the outside pole and the stage was set for a thrilling Late Model feature. When the green flag dropped on the feature no one could have imagined what was about to happen. As they blasted down the front straight, Bobby Joe took about a half car length ahead of Mills. As they passed the flag stand Mills suddenly hit the outside retaining wall and ricocheted back onto the track clipping the rear end of Bobby Joe who was preparing to enter turn one. Bobby Joe spun 180 degrees and hit the outside wall. The rear end lifted off the ground as pieces of his car began to explode and fly into the air. With only the two front tires touching the ground, Bobby Joe flew off turn one in a horrific crash. The shocked crowd was relieved to see Bobby Joe climb out of the wreckage unscathed but when his totaled out car was towed to the pits for a DNF it meant the end of Bobby Joe's bid for 5 victories in a row. William Thomas was moved to the outside pole for the second start as he had the third fastest qualifying time. When the green dropped Mills had that stroking motor hooked up, transferring its awesome power to the clay in a perfect set up. Mills quickly took a commanding lead from Thomas in second. Mickey Benton in third begins to look inside Thomas for a pass while Dana Eiland looks for a way around Josh Noles. Dana took the inside groove going into turn one while Noles was on the outside groove. Noles got a little high of his line and began to slide in the marbles, which was all Dana needed to make a clean pass in turn two and move into fourth behind Mickey Benton. Tommy Perkins was off the pace and circulating very slow in the middle of the track. Cars had to avoid him as they came up on him Matt Woodson had trouble navigating around Perkins and spun into the inside wall of turn two to bring out his first caution for the evening on lap 6. On the restart Mills set a blistering pace and the leaders were trying to maintain their ground without looking to pass. After a few laps Wesley Holmes got into Perkins, who was still slow, and they both came to a stop for the next caution. On this restart Gordy Scarborough spun out in turn two but got it going again and avoided the caution. Shane Renfroe wasn’t quite that lucky as he spun in turn two and was charged with the caution. This time as Mills pulled out to his lead, Mickey Benton got a fender on Thomas and was looking for a pass which slowed them both and allowed Dana Eiland to close in on Benton. The second, third, and fourth place cars began a fast paced battle for position. Just when it got interesting Woodson spun in turn two for his second yellow. On this restart Dana Eiland was all over Benton which forced Benton to either pass Thomas for second or lose his third place to Dana. Benton got inside Thomas coming out of turn two and stayed even until the approached turn three. Benton was on the inside of Thomas and as Thomas began to enter turn three Benton held his line and they looked like they were hooked together. They both spun and a melee ensued as Jack Mills, Josh Noles, and Marc Gooden all tried to avoid hitting Thomas and Benton but crashed into each other and ended up on the inside wall of turn three. Mickey Benton’s car got tore up and was towed to the pits as was Josh Noles’ car and they both took DNF’s. The top five restart order was Jeff Mills, William Thomas, Dana Eiland, Jack Mills, and Marc Gooden. Jeff Mills put the pedal to the metal and opened up that big motor in clean air. He was beyond anyone threatening the lead. But William Thomas suddenly found himself in the battle of his life when racing legend Dana Eiland began an all out assault to take over Thomas’ second place. Dana was charging from the inside and would pull along side Thomas on the straight-aways but Thomas knew the fastest way to take the corners and maintain his momentum to stay ahead coming out of turns two and four. This battle became the highlight of the race as the rookie and the veteran champion had the fans on the edge of their seats. Wesley Holmes came flying low into turn one and got into the side of Woodson. Holmes was able to keep going but Woodson came to a stop. Race director Chad Wallace said his policy is when a racing accident occurs, whoever stops on the track gets charged with the caution. As this was Woodson’s third yellow flag he was black- flagged and sent to the pits. When racing resumed the excitement between Thomas and Dana Eiland continued. The flag came out and Mills was out front powering his way to the checkers. Thomas and Dana Eiland ran side by side. It looked like Dana made a pass going into turn three but Thomas got even coming out of turn four. They touched briefly and then side by side they raced to the checkers were Dana Eiland won by less than a foot to take second place. Jeff Mills collected his second win of the season with Dana Eiland second, William Thomas third, Jack Mills fourth, Wesley Holmes fifth, Shane Renfroe sixth, Gordy Scarbrough seventh, Marc Gooden eighth, Tommy Perkins ninth, and Matt Woodson rounded out the top ten in tenth. by Sherry Covington The threat of rain did not keep the fans from coming out to see the races last night. You could feel the excitement in the air. Everyone was gearing up for next weeks Summer Sizzler July 4th Spectacular. And it promises to be a huge night for all divisions. The Bomber division was up first with 15 laps of racing and 10 cars on the starting line. Jerry Luke - #89 proved he had the fastest car as he was sitting on the pole followed by Billy Duell Jr - #7 on the outside pole along with Richard Stephens Sr - #00SR, Montana Dudley - #55, John Michael - #294, Christy Noles - #16, Keith McTaggert - #17M, Adam Rodriguez - #20, Jay Elliot - #53, and Richard Stephens Jr - #57. Coming out of turn 4 beginning the race Luke - #89 pulled out in front right away and Stephens Jr - #57 had a problem in turns 1 and 2 bringing out a caution and single line restart. On the restart going into turn 1 Duell Jr - #7 passed Luke - #89 to take the lead then Elliot - #53 pulled in front of Michael - #294 going into turn 3. By lap 5 the pack is starting to separate with the first three cars pulling away increasing their leads. It looked as if Dudley - #55 and Rodriguez - #20 seemed to be struggling with their cars. During lap 7 Noles - #16 spun out in the front straightaway, it looked as if she was a little loose coming out of turn 4, this brought out a caution. The restart of the lap had Billy Duell Jr - #7 in the lead followed by Richard Stephens Sr - #00SR, Jerry Luke - #89, Richard Stephens Jr - #57, Jay Elliot - #53, John Michael - #294, Keith McTaggert - #17M, Christy Noles - #16, Montana Dudley - #55, and Adam Rodriguez - #20. Going into turn 2 of the restart Noles - #16 passed McTaggert - #17M. In lap 9 Luke - #89 tried to take 3rd from Stephens Jr - #57 but Stephens holds his own. Then in lap 11 the two cars are side by side going down the front straightaway into turn 1. Stephens Jr - #57 again held his place but Luke - #89 tried again by pulling along side of Stephens - #57 on the front stretch heading into turn 1. Then coming out of turn 2 Luke - #89 took third, looking to move into first. Then in lap 13 Duell Jr. - #7 fell to 4th and Stephens Sr - #00SR took the lead. During lap 13 Luke - #89 took the lead but held it for only a short time before Stephens Sr - #00SR took it back and held it until the end. Richard Stephens Sr - #00SR took the win for his 7th win of the season, followed by Jerry Luke - #89, Richard Stephens Jr - #57, Billy Duell Jr - #7, Jay Elliot - #53, John Michael - #294, Christy Noles - #16, Keith McTaggert - #17M, Montana Dudley - #55, and Adam Rodriguez - #20. UMP Modified race was the second race of the evening for 12 laps and 9 cars in the starting line. Rodgerick Dykes had the fastest car in the heat race and sat on the pole followed by Timbo Gouker The Cardiac Kid- #V94 along with William Thomas Mr. Smooth - #22, Carlton Allen - #22, Justin Thornton - #1, Donnie Harig - #62, Kevin Simmons - #31, Herbie Donath - #25, and Eric Gano - #11G. The drivers lined up and were ready for action. Coming out of turn 4 Dykes - #6 took the lead followed by the yellow car of Thomas - #22. Then Thomas - #22 tried pulling up to take the lead from Dykes - #6 but was shut down. By lap 3 Dykes - #6 and Thomas - #22 pulled away from the rest of the pack which was lead by Gouker - #V94. In lap 4, coming out of turn 4 Thornton - #1 passed Donath - #25 to take 5th place. In lap 8 Dykes - #6 pulled away to take a huge lead followed by William Thomas - #22. Timbo Gouker - #V94. Carlton Allen - #22, Justin Thornton - #1, Herbie Donath- #25, Eric Gano - #11G, Kevin Simmons, and Donnie Harig - #62 who seemed to be having problems with his car. By lap 10 Thomas’s yellow #22 had taken the lead from Dykes - #6. They along with Gouker - #V94 in third pulled away from the rest of the pack. William Thomas Mr. Smooth - #22 held first for his 5th win of the season, followed by points leader, Rodgerick Dykes - #6, Timbo Gouker - #V94, Carlton Allen - #22, Justin Thornton - #1, Herbie Donath - #25. Eric Gano - #11G, and Kevin Simmons - #31. The Super Street drivers were up third that night with the Outlaw Roger Arnett - #7 driving his car with force and determination that he was going to win. They had 20 laps to race that night and 11 cars in the starting line. Roger Arnett - #7 sat on the pole along with Steven Gaines Jr - #50 on the outside pole, followed by Brandon Pijnenburg - #83, Tim Hester - #2, Leroy Mills - #15, Marvin Cook - #40, Luke North - #29, Donnie Kite - #46, Jimmy Evilsizer - #15, Bryant Granger - #27, and Chad Marchman - #27. Right from the start Outlaw Arnett - #7 meant he was a force to be reckoned with that night by taking the lead coming out of turn 4. During lap 1, Cook - #40 went off the track in turn 2 causing a caution and double line restart with him returning to the pits for the night. Again on the restart the Outlaw Arnett - #7 pulled out in front. Coming out of turn 4 Pijnenburg - #83 tried passing Gaines Jr - #50 but was unsuccessful. By lap 2 the first 5 cars pulled away from the remaining 6 with Granger - #27 smoking in the corners. In lap 3 Kite - #46 spun off the track in turns 3 and 4 bringing out another caution. The restart of lap 3 had Roger Arnett - #7 in the lead, followed by Steven Gaines Jr - #50, Brandon Pijnenburg - #83, Tim Hester - #2, Jimmy Evilsizer - #15, Leroy Mills - #15, Chad Marchman - #27, Luke North - #29, and Donnie Kite - #46. During lap 4 Evilsizer - #15 trying pulling past Hester - #2 but Hester held him off. Granger - #27 seemed to be loose in the turns and continued smoking in the turns. In turns 3 and 4 of lap 7 Kite - #46 spun off the track just missing the retaining wall and bringing out another caution. By the restart of lap 7 Granger - #27 had dropped out into the pits. Marchman - #27 passed Mills - #15 in turn 2 of lap 10 just before the problems start in lap 11. In Lap 11 Hester - #2 began having problems in turns 3 and 4 bringing out a caution and sending him into the pits followed by Kite - #46. With the restart of lap 11 only 7 cars remained, Roger Arnett - #7, Steven Gaines Jr - #50, Brandon Pijnenburg - #83, Jimmy Evilsizer - #15, Chad Marchman - #27, Leroy Mills - #15, and Luke North - #29. In lap 12 North - #29 pulled past Mills - #15 for 6th place, then he went off the track in turns 1 and 2. By the restart of lap 13 Marchman - #27 had returned to the pits and only 6 cars restarted that lap. In lap 14 Pijnenburg - #83 passed Gaines Jr - #50 on the back straightaway and then a late hit from Gaines Jr - #50 caused Pijnenburg - #83 to spin out in turn 4. Lap 14 restart had only 5 cars starting with Gaines Jr - #50 reprimanded to the pits for the night. During lap 15, some debris flew onto the track and a caution was called for safety. With the restart Hester - #2 as able to restart in the back. During lap 16 North - #29 passed Mills - #15 for fourth place. By lap 18 the Outlaw Arnett - #7 had taken a huge lead and held it to the end. This is the Outlaw Arnett’s - #7 second win this season putting him in the lead by 5 points. Second place went to Brandon Pijnenburg - #83 followed by Jimmy Evilsizer - #15, Luke North - #29, Leroy Mills - #15, and Tim Hester - #2. The Pony Stock, the fourth race of the night, had and interesting race that ended with only two cars finishing. It started with 12 laps and 4 cars and by the time they flew the checkered flags 2 cars remained and they ended the race after just 8 laps. Terry Braswell - #00, driving Rocketman’s car, sat on the pole followed by Greg Gatlin - #11, Jesse Lamphier - #33, and Allen McConnell - #24. The race started and coming out of turn 4 of lap 1Braswell - #00 spun out and McConnell - #24 had come into the pits for the night. The race restarted and Gatlin - #11 tried to take 1st from Lamphier - #33 but Lamphier held him off. Then in lap 3 Braswell - #00 tried to capture 2nd from Gatlin - #11. But in lap 4 Gatlin - #11 began having car problems and had to go to the pits, ending his night and handing 2nd to Braswell - #00. The race resumed for 4 more laps and ended in lap 8 with Jesse Lamphier - #33 taking the win, his second of the season, followed by Terry Braswell - #00, Greg Gatlin - #11, and Allen McConnell - #24. The Late Models were fifth to race that night with 14 cars starting, only 8 finishing, and 25 laps of racing. The sound of jet engines began coming out of turn 4 with points leader, Bobby Joe Eiland - #K8, once again on the pole followed by Jeff Mills - #15 on the outside pole along with William Thomas Mr. Smooth - #22, Josh Noles - #16, Mickey Benton - #2, Dana Eiland - #K9, Wesley Holmes - #11, Jack Mills - #7, Marc Gooden - #21, Billy Herrin - #18, Gordy Scarbrough - #27, Tommy Perkins - #7, Shane Renfroe - #98, and Matt Woodson - #88. Eiland - #K8 pulled out in front starting out and it pushed Mills - #15 fairly close to the wall going down the front straightaway. With no where to go the back corner of #K8 and the front corner of #15 hit causing Eiland - #K8 to spin, tag the wall, and go off the track between turns 1 and 2. This called out the first caution of the race which meant a double line restart, but already it would be minus one car as Bobby Joe Eiland - #K8 was towed into the pits for the night. Jeff Mills - #15 was bound and determined to make this his night and as the race restarted he pulled out in front quickly. By the end of lap 1 Benton - #2 had pulled by Noles - #16 with Eiland - #K9 trying to get by Noles - #16 in lap 2 and finally succeeding. In lap 3, Holmes - #11 pulled up, trying, to take 5th from Noles - #16 on the front straightaway but Noles regained his ground going into turn 1. Scarbrough - #27 passed Woodson - #88, for 9th place, going down the front straightaway of lap 4. Woodson had problems in turn 2 of lap 6 bringing out a caution and Perkins - #7 was sent to the back of the restart line. Another caution was called due to Perkins - #7 spinning out in turn 2 of lap 7 which allowed Holmes - #11 to reenter the race. On the restart Scarbrough - #27, Holmes - #11, and Renfroe - #98 flew by Perkins - #7 and Eiland - #K9 tried to take 3rd from Benton - #2 but was unsuccessful. In lap 10, Holmes - #11 again had problems in turn 2 bringing out another caution. Lap 10 restarted with Jeff Mills - #15 in the lead followed by William Thomas - #22, Mickey Benton - #2, Dana Eiland – K9, Josh Noles - #16, Jack Mills - #7, Marc Gooden - #21, Gordy Scarbrough - #27, Wesley Holmes - #11, Shane Renfroe - #98, Matt Woodson - #88, and Tommy Perkins - #7. Lap 10 restarted and Holmes - #11 taged Scarbrough - #27 coming out of turns 3 and 4 for the restart but Scarbrough held the car under control. Then going down the back straightaway chaos began as Mickey Benton - #2, Josh Noles - #16, Tommy Perkins - #7, and Marc Gooden - #21 piled up into the guard rail going into turn 3. Noles - #16 and Benton - #2 were both out for the night. Coming out of turn 4 of Lap 11 Eiland - #K9 tried to take second from Thomas - #22 but was unsuccessful. In lap 14 Woodson - #88 had a problem in turns 1 and 2 bringing out a caution and having him relegated to the pits for the night. The car count was now down to the final 8 cars that will finish. Again in lap 17 Eiland - #K9 tried to take 2nd from Thomas - #22 while Mills - #7 was having car problems. By lap 18 Jeff Mills - #15 had a huge lead from the rest of the pack. Again in lap 21 Eiland - #K9 tried to take 2nd from Thomas - #22 but Thomas held him off. By lap 23 Jeff Mills - #15 had pulled away from William Thomas - #22 in 2nd and Dana Eiland - #K9 in 3rd and even they have pulled away from the remaining 5 cars. In lap 24, Gooden - #24 had severe car troubles and came to a dead stop on the front straightaway. He was pushed into restarting his engine to resume the final lap of the race. Jeff Mills - #15 held onto the win, his second of the season, followed by Dana Eiland - #K9, who took 2nd from William Thomas - #22, finishing 3rd, along the front straightaway in a dramatic finish. Jack Mills - #7 in 4th followed by Wesley Holmes - #11, Shane Renfroe - #98, Gordy Scarbrough - #27, and Marc Gooden - #21. The Hobby class of drivers was sixth to race that night with 15 laps and 13 cars in the starting line. Randy Register - #19 sat on the pole along with Chris Arnett - #7 on the outside pole, followed by Ken Redmon - #66, Jeff Catrett - #02, Rodney Gorman - #8, Allen Franks - #39, John Capps - #J3, Jay Swint - #5, Adam Brown - #9, Pat Wall - #14, Efren Holbrook - #28, Tony Edward - #71, and Dave Foker - #401K. Beginning the race Register - #19, pulled out in front right away and Capps - #J3 tried to take 6th from Franks - #39 going down the front straightaway. He finally passes him during lap 2 while Edward - #71 came to a dead stop in turn 4 bringing out the first caution of the night. On the restart Register - #19 was out in front again and Gorman - #8 tried to take 3rd from Redmon - #66. Points leader Wall - #14 began his journey up the line by taking 8th from Brown - #9 in turn 2 of lap 3 and then continues by taking 7th from Swint - #5 in turn 3 of lap 4. In turn 4 of lap 5 Brown - #9 took 8th from Swint - #5 who then took it back going down the front straightaway. In turn 2 of lap 6 Wall - #14 spun out in turn 2 bringing out a caution with him having to restart in the back of the line and Foker - #401K pulling into the pits for the night. Lap 6 restarted and coming out of turn 2 Brown- #9 spun out bringing out another caution and restart for the lap that would never seem to end. The second restart of lap 6 brought Swint - #5 back into the race and in turn 3 Capps - #J3 tired to take 4th from Redmon #66 but he held him off. Coming out of turn 4 of lap 7 Franks - #39 tried to take 6th from Gorman - #8 but Gorman was able to hold him off. In lap 9 Catrett - #02 began smoking and having problems which brought another caution. On the restart of lap 9 Redmon - #66 had problems in turns 1 and 2 but was able to rejoin the line and the lap restarted again. Points leader Wall - #14 again began his long journey up the line of drivers by moving past Holbrook - #28 for 8th, proving he may deserve the name Speed Racer! In Lap 11 Wall - #14 justified the name, Speed Racer, by taking 7th from Brown - #9 in turn 3. In lap 12 Gorman - #8 began having serious engine problems as white smoke pours from the back of his car bringing out another caution. The restart had Randy Register - #19 in the lead followed by Ken Redmon - #66, John Capps - #J3, Rodney Gorman - #8, Allen Franks - #39, Pat Wall - #14, Adam Brown - #9, Jay Swint - #5, and Efren Holbrook - #28. Wall - #14 found his groove and went high to take 5th from Franks - #39 in turn 3. Redmon - #66 moved around Register - #19 to take first coming out of turn 2 and Wall - #14, again moving up, took 4th from Gorman - #8 coming out of turn 2 going down the back straightaway. Speed Racer Wall - #14 just didn’t have enough laps left to finish moving up the line that night. Ken Redmon - #66 finished 1st, his first of the season, followed by Randy Register - #19, John Capps - #J3, Pat Wall - #14, Allen Franks - #39, Adam Brown - #9, Jay Swint - #5, Chris Arnett - #7, and Efren Holbrook - #28. The last race of the night was the second for the Open Wheel Modified drivers. They raced for 12 laps with 9 cars starting out. This time William Thomas - #22 sat on the pole followed by Justin Thornton - #1 on the outside pole along with Rodgerick Dykes - #6, Herbie Donath - #25, Timbo Gouker - #V94, Carlton Allen - #22, Eric Gano - #11G, Kevin Simmons - #31, and Donnie Harig. In turn 3 of lap 2 Gouker - #V94 moved past Thornton - #1. Donath - #25 went off the back of the track and brought out the first caution. This lap restarted several time dues to differing problems. In lap 3 Donath - #25 tried to pass Gouker - #V94 but Gouker holds him off and actually pulled away from him holding onto 3rd then coming out of turn 4 Thomas’s - #22 car looked like it jumped out of the spring box when his coil spring jumped from the car. He hobbled into the pits, ending his night of racing. The restart had Rodgerick Dykes - #6 in the lead followed by Timbo Gouker - #V94, Herbie Donath - #25, Carlton Allen - #22, Donnie Harig - #62, Devin Simmons - #31, and Eric Gano - #11G. Lap 10 was a very eventufl lap, Gano’s - #11G car died in turns 3 and 4 and Thornton - #1 bumped Simmons - #31 and sparks flew as they came out of turn 4. The lap restarted and they roared to life. In lap 11 Gouker - #V94 and Donath - #25 tagged up and spun out in turns 3 and 4. Then Gano - #11G, tried to avoid that collision and spun out and stopped, he had to be pushed by the wrecker to restart. The race ended with Rodgerick Dykes - #6 taking the win, his 9th win of the season and 3rd consecutivly. He was followed by Timbo Gouker - #V94 in 2nd, along with Herbie Donath - #25, Carlton Allen - #22, Donnie Harig - #62, Devin Simmons - #31, and Eric Gano - #11G. Overall it was a very exciting, if not exhilarating, night of racing. July 4th weekend had several events that will prove to be just as exciting. The 7th Summer Sizzler begins for Super Street, Hobby, and Bomber classes. Saturday night hosts the time trials for the above mentioned classes plus Late Models. The feature events will be Sunday night along with a Demolition Derby and fireworks. The battle for points leader will begin between Outlaw Arnett - #7 and Marchman - #27. Will Hobby class points leader Speed Racer Wall - #14 prove himself once again or will Capps - #J3 have his special miracle under the hood? Will points leader Stephens Sr. - #00SR dominate again? Check out the website, www.eamsdirt.com, for all the details. Come out and bring the family for a truly thrilling night or racing and fireworks. Phenix City, ALA – July 3, 2005 – Never let it be said that East Alabama Motor Speedway does not know how to throw a party for America. This weekends’ two day gala Fourth of July event included a gigantic fireworks display, a demolition derby that was won by a member of the traditional family of winners, Billy Duell Jr. (those boys know how to tear up some cars), a special Mini- Late Model event, six classes of stock cars, and a capacity filled grandstand with cheering spectators. The event culminated with the running of the Late Model feature. For decades the veteran champion Dana Eiland has continually excited the fans and won races. Perhaps most importantly he has set the standard for excellence both as a driver and in automotive performance. Dana’s crew chief Mike Harris brought a car that was set up so perfectly that Dana won the pole for the heat race with a 17.46-second qualifying lap. Then he dominated the field of highly competitive drivers to win the pole for the feature event. When the green dropped on the feature Dana immediately took a commanding lead. Second place Allen Sparks apparently got tired of running a mediocre race car and stepped up to the plate with a brand new car that turned him into a serious contender. Bobby Joe Eiland running in third got a fender inside Sparks going into turn one and looked like he was going to take the second place spot. Sparks however showed that he had more than just a pretty paint job as he rocketed off the corner to maintain second place. On lap 3 Wesley Holmes coasted into the pits with a mechanical failure as Billy Herrin was pushing Gordy Scarborough down the front straight but was unable to make the pass. By lap 6 Dana was almost a straightaway ahead of the field when Kevin Knotts spun in turn 4 to bring out the lap 7 caution. On this restart again Dana was the quickest out of turn 4 to maintain the lead. Sparks was trying hard to stay up with Dana and when they went into turn one Sparks pushed a little high opening the door for Bobby Joe on the inside who fired in turn one to pull even with Sparks in turn two. They battled side by side down the back straight then they hooked together and spun. Sparks spun off the track but the caution was called on Mickey Benton running in the back who pulled off the track to avoid a collision. On this restart Leon Watson JR was having a problem named Tod Darda who wasted no time passing him. Scotty Knowles also beamed himself up to fifth in his brand new GRT. By lap 15 Dana was driving a perfect race. With the precision of a neurosurgeon, Dana hit his marks and gained ground with each passing second. He was a full straightaway ahead of second place Sparks when Dana began lapping traffic. The first to get lapped was Monte Vaughn. Maybe it was the turbulence off Dana’s K-9 but right after he went by Vaughn spun out for a caution and went to the pits calling it a night. When the green flag came out again Dana blasted out to his commanding lead while second place Sparks and third place Bobby Joe supplied the suspense and excitement over who was going to finish second. Sparks was running the preferred line in the high groove while Bobby Joe was on the inside groove. Bobby Joe had the advantage in the corners but Sparks carried a little more momentum coming out of the corners, which kept him slightly ahead down the straight-aways. Knowles’ set up was coming to him as he had enough speed to come up and challenge Darda’s fourth position. Another exciting battle was Anthony Meadows trying to get around Leon Watson. The white flag flew and Dana was a full straightaway ahead of second place. Dana took the checkers uncontested, wire to wire, punctuating his legendary championship style. Allen Sparks had a tremendous showing to finish second and thwart all of Bobby Joe’s attacks for the entire event. Bobby Joe Eiland finished third, Tod Darda fourth, Scott Knowles fifth, Leon Watson JR sixth, Anthony Meadows seventh, Kevin Knotts eighth, Josh Noles ninth, and rookie Matt Woodson, who shows improvement each week, rounded out the top ten in tenth. Summer Sizzler Seven Sherry Covington The evening began with a somber note as everyone waited for the rain to fall. It was a light steady rain for about an hour but it did not dampen the fans spirits. They were all still packed in the stands, waiting to see their favorite drivers race. The night was full of excitement, despite the rain, as this was the first part of the Summer Sizzler 7! Super Street, Hobby, and Bomber class were all racing for $1,000 each and a huge trophy. The divisions, including Late Model, practiced and had time trials the night before. There were several battles waiting to be played out. And neither the fireworks nor drivers let the fans down on the excitement. The first race of the night was the Super Street class for 30 laps of racing and 13 cars in the starting line. The night proved to be full of excitement with this feature event and the guys did not let us down. Brandon Pijnenburg - #83 had the fastest car in qualifying and sat on the pole followed by Jimmy Evilsizer - #15 on the outside pole along with Marvin Cook - #40, Chad Marchman - #27, Todd Mitchell - #20, Josh Weathers - #91, Danny Stroud - #22, Roger Outlaw Arnett - #7, Al Walker - #02, Paul Walters - #17, Tim Hester - #2, Steven Gaines Jr - #50, and Bobby Hearn - #10. The cars shot out of turn 4 for the start and Evilsizer - #15 quickly pulled away to the lead but by turn 2 a caution had been called and the cars realigned for another double line restart. On the second restart Pijnenburg - #83 pulled out in front this time coming out of turn 4 setting up his entire race lead. On lap 2 Cook - #40 passed Evilsizer - #15 and Outlaw Arnett - #7 had pulled into 7th place. In lap 4 Hester - #2 looked to be having problems with his cars, moving real slowly, and then he pulled into the pits. By lap 5 Pijnenburg - #83 had a half track lead from the rest of the line of cars. By lap 7 the cars were well spaced covering the entire track with Pijnenburg - #83 closing in on the last car. As Pijnenburg - #83 closed in on Hearn - #10 to lap him, Gaines Jr - #50 spun in turn 3 bringing out the first caution of the night. He recovered and was able to rejoin the line of cars. The restart of lap 9 the cars were lined up with Brandon Pijnenburg - #83 in the lead followed by Marvin Cook - #40, Jimmy Evilsizer - #15, Josh Weathers - #91, Chad Marchman - #27, Todd Mitchell - #20, Roger Outlaw Arnett - #7, Danny Stroud - #22, Paul Walters - #17, Al Walker - #02, Bobby Hearn - #10, and Steven Gaines Jr - #50. In lap 10, Mitchell - #20 started to slide in turns 3 and 4 but held control and Hester - #2 rejoined the race. Coming out of turn 4 in lap 14, Walter - #17 tapped Stroud - #22 but Stroud controlled it and regained control going down the front straightaway. By lap 16 the first five cars pulled away from the rest of the line and then in turns 1 and 2 Hearn - #10, Gaines Jr - #50, and Stroud - #22 seemed to have problems bringing out a caution. Lap 16 restarted with Pijnenburg - #83 again shooting out in front coming off turn 4. Lap 17 Outlaw Arnett - #7 was a little loose coming out of turn 4; Stroud - #22 tried to avoid hitting him and Arnett - #7 and Walters - #17 tagged up. This caused Walters - #17 to spin and come to rest again the wall of the front straightaway. Walters - #17 was towed into the pits looking like his night of racing was over, Stroud - #22 drove on a flat tire into the pits for a quick change. The restart of lap 17 had Brandon Pijnenburg - #83 leading Marvin Cook - #40, Jimmy Evilsizer - #15, Josh Weathers - #91, Chad Marchman - #27, Todd Mitchell - #20, Roger Arnett - #7, Al Walker - #02, Tim Hester - #2, Danny Stroud - #22, Steven Gaines Jr - #50, and Bobby Hearn - #10. The restart saw Hearn - #10, Stroud - #22, and Walters - #17 back in the race. Walters - #17 had a new determination and by lap 20 had moved up 5 positions in 3 laps. In lap 21, Hearn - #10 tagged Hester - #2 in turn 4 causing Hester - #2 to fall out of the race. In lap 23, Weathers - #91 passed Pijnenburg - #83 to take a short lead but by lap 28 Pijnenburg - #83 had taken the lead back and Hester - #2 rejoined the race. Coming out of turn 4 of lap 28 Evilsizer went high and then stopped. It looked as if his rear-end busted causing him to be towed into the pits and taking him out the race for the night. On the restart of lap 28 Weathers - #91 tried to take second from Cook - #40, but Cook - #40 held strong. Brandon Pijnenburg - #83 was the big winner for the night, winning the Summer Sizzler 7 for the Super Street class, his second win of the season. Marvin Cook – 40 took 2nd in the Summer Sizzler 7 and Josh Weathers - #91 took 3rd. They were followed by Chad Marchman - #27, Todd Mitchell - #20, Roger Outlaw Arnett - #7, Al Walker - #02, Danny Stroud - #22, Bobby Hearn - #10, and Tim Hester - #2. The second race of the night was the Hobby class with the competition high between Points leader Pat Speed Racer Wall - #14 and John Capps - #J3. The cars were also competing for the Summer Sizzler 7 with 25 laps of racing and a huge line up of 18 cars. The line started with John Capps - #J3 on the pole and Pat Wall - #14 on the outside pole, followed by Derrick Pearce - #2, Rodney Gorman - #8, Alan Franks - #39, Chad Wallace - #27, Jason Craft - #0, Adam Brown - #9, Tater Holmes - #01, Chris Arnett - #7, Blake Meadows - #31, Kenny Mathis - #55, Jay Swint - #5, Tracey Baker- #98, Dana Brittingham - #15, Jim Gossett - #12, Mike Mount - #31, and Bill Patterson - #29. Coming out of turn 4 for the start Capps - #J3 shot out in front leaving little wonder that yes, he did have the miracle under his hood and Brittingham - #15 looked to be having car trouble as he was trailing badly. After the first lap Capps - #J3 had a huge lead. In lap 4 Capps - #J3 lapped Brittingham - #15. In lap 6 Pearce - #2 tried to take second from the points leader Speed Racer Wall- #14 but was unsuccessful as Wall - #14 was on a mission with Capps’ - #J3 place being his target. Holmes - #01, in the Dukes of Hazzard replica car, began having problems coming out of turn 3. In lap 12 Speed Racer Wall - #14 tried to take Capps’ - #J3 places as they were beginning to lap the back cars. Problems in turns 1and 2 brought out a caution in lap 13. The restart of 13 had John Capps - #J3 in the lead, followed by Pat Wall- #14, Derrick Pearce - #2, Chad Wallace - #27, Rodney Gorman - #8, Adam Brown - #9, Jason Craft - #0, Chris Arnett - #7, Jay Swint- #5, Blake Meadows - #31, Robert Jackson - #12, Dana Brittingham - #15, and Tracey Baker - #98. In lap 14 Wall - #14 tried to take Capps - #J3 coming out of turn 4 but a caution was called. Then on the restart of 14 Wallace - #27 tried to take 2nd from Wall - #14 but Wall held his place and held him off. In lap 17 Capps - #J3, lapped Brittingham - #15 on the front straightaway. Out of turn 3 in lap 18, Jackson - #12 started to loose control and spin but regained it going into turn 4. During lap 23 Mathis - #55, who was back in during the last caution, spun out in turn 4 causing a caution to be called. Coming out of turn 4 of the restart of lap 23 Swint - #5 tried to take 7th from Arnett - #7 but failed as Arnett - #7 held his own. Apparently his prayers to the racing gods were heard as John Capps - #J3 and his miracle under his hood held onto win first in the Summer Sizzler 7 for Hobby class, his fifth of the season. Points leader, Pat Speed Racer Wall - #14 took second place and Chad Wallace - #27 took third. They were followed by Rodney Gorman - #8, Alan Franks - #39, Jason Craft - #0, Chris Arnett - #7, Jay Swint - #5, Tracey Baker - #98, Kenny Mathis - #55, Jim Gossett - #12, and Dana Brittingham - #15. The third race of the night was the Bomber class with Richard Stephens Sr and Billy Duell Jr ready to battle for first. They had 25 laps to battle it out and 13 cars all fighting for the same spot. Points leader, Richard Stephens Sr - #00 sat on the pole along with Billy Duell Jr - #7 on the outside pole, followed by Montana Dudley - #55, Robbie Burt - #25, Bobby Duell - #7, Jay Elliot - #53, Adam Rodriguez - #20. Christy Noles - #16, Steve Mount - #31, Keith McTaggert - #17M, Greg Nix - #57, John Michael - #294, and Jerry Luke #89. The race began with Stephens Sr - #00 and Duell Jr - #7 side by side going into turn 1 and Stephens Sr - #00 pu