We return next week to what I think is a real UMP Hell Track, and should be an extremely extremely exciting race with these cars at the Highland Speedway in Illinois! I can't wait to see these cars on a tough bullring like that.
GAFFNEY, SC (June 1, 2014)- A full field of drivers came out tonight at the Cherokee Speedway for the Summer Hell Warm Up Series first visit to the southeastern speedplant, in what would become one of the most exciting races in recent Dirt Track Racing memory.
Crossville, Tennessee driver Howard Weaver held off a strong late charge by dirt late model veteran, 19-year old Austen Semmelmann, and Texas driver Dirk Daniels, in what became a thrilling photo finish.
"Yes!" exclaimed Weaver as he climbed out of the car. "Man those guys were comin' fast. With the tire wear on these cars and how hard they are to control towards the end of the races, it just had me nervous as could be like it was my first time racing again.
"I had no clue what tires they were on behind me, and I thought I made a good choice, but theirs obviously held up longer and they were both gaining on me at the end. It was a damn good race for me and I'm glad we were able to hang on at the line. 18 is always strong no matter what chassis we're racing."
Weaver pulled off the win after starting on the pole for the forty lap race, but the A Main was not without some scary moments for several drivers. Rookie Billy Goldfish, from Ashtabula, Ohio, was having a tough time keeping his car on the right path and may have cost second plae finisher Austen Semmelmann a better shot at winning. Semmelmann, the driver of the #18 Mopar Dodge, made hard contact in the rear of Goldfish on lap 26, which slowed him up enough to have to make a last turn slide job to try to win.
"Good job to Weaver, but people like that shouldn't be allowed to race. He was getting lapped every other lap and ruined my chance to win when he just stopped in front of me. We would have won that race by over a second probably, my tires were just starting to come in."