Local racing schedule:
Kil-Kare Raceway
Today — NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late models, modifieds, sports stocks, compacts. Gates open a 6 p.m.
Eldora Speedway
Saturday — Late models, modifieds, stocks. Gates open at 4 p.m., hot laps at 6, racing at 7:30.
Shadybowl Speedway
Saturday — Late models, modifieds, sports stocks, tuners, compacts and dwarfs. Gates open at 4 p.m., racing at 7.
Kil-Kare Dragway
Saturday — NHRA-sanctioned drag racing. Gates open at 10 a.m., time trials at 12:30 p.m.
Tri-State Dragway
Sunday — IHRA-sanctioned drag racing. Gates open at 9:30 a.m., eliminations at noon.
There’s no truth to the notion that when Oakley Blacktop repaved Shadybowl Speedway during the offseason, they put in a special groove for driver Brandon Oakley, son of the company’s owner.
“I wish there was,” Oakley said in jest. “I guess you just have to run where they’re not.”
Oakley was one of four drivers to set track records in the five divisions during Shadybowl’s season opener last Saturday.
He won the feature after overtaking runner-up Jim Lewis Jr. on lap seven of the 30-lapper, using the outside lane for the victory.
“The track’s awesome,” said Oakley, who set the one-lap record around the 3/10-mile oval in 13.365 seconds (80.8 mph). “It has a ton of grip and it was definitely fun racing on the outside of those guys coming from eighth for the win.”
Also setting track records on Saturday (with previous record):
• Troy’s Greg Stapleton, 13.516 in the modified class (Chad Poole, 13.56; 2008).
• West Liberty’s Gary Eaton Jr., 15.438 in the first-year tuner class.
• New Carlisle’s Matt Jackson in the compact class, no time reported (Gary Eaton Jr., 15.99; 2011).
Eaton and Jackson also won their features, while Dayton’s Mike Carroll edged Stapleton to win the modifieds. Springhill’s Steve Snapp won the sport stocks.
At Kil-Kare Raceway’s season opener on April 6, New Carlisle’s Dick Dunlevy (late models), Germantown’s Bill Burba (modifieds), New Carlisle’s Jay Lakins Jr. (street stocks) and Riverside’s Bo Hoelscher (compacts) all earned feature wins.
Eldora makes S.I. list: A basketball stadium in Athens, Greece.
A Norway hockey rink carved into a mountain.
And Eldora Speedway.
The Darke County track made Sports Illustrated’s April 9 issue in a list of places to see, titled “Another 12 Notable Fan Experiences — For Those Willing To Go Off The Beaten Path.”
S.I. staff writer Lars Anderson wrote: “Surrounded by cornfields in western Ohio sits Tony Stewart’s track of dreams. Stewart bought it in 2004, and with his renovations, Eldora Speedway now features the best dirt-track racing in the U.S.”
Parsons on NASCAR hall ballot: Before he was a NASCAR legend — and a finalist on the ballot for NASCAR’s Hall of Fame, which was announced Wednesday — Benny Parson’s tamed the high banks at Dayton Speedway.
Parsons, who raced around Dayton Speedway in a T-shirt and jeans in the 1960s, was known as The Flying Cab Driver for his yellow Ford Torino, the same color of the cab he drove in Detroit.
Parsons died in 2007 at the age of 65.
Stewart at White House: Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and Eldora Speedway owner Tony Stewart will be honored by President Barack Obama at the White House on April 17. Stewart, the defending Sprint Cup champ, will be honored with the rest of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup field.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991, or gbilling@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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