By By Steve Swogetinsky / special to The Star
April 20, 2004
Mike Boland may have done the driving that led him to a first-place finish at the Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series race in Long Beach on Saturday night, but he would have never gotten there if it hadn't been for his 11-year-old son, Jamey, who saved the day.
It was a two-race weekend for the MSCCS with a Friday night show at the Southern Speedway in Hattiesburg and a Saturday night race at the South Mississippi Speedway in Long Beach.
Boland was the top qualifier for the Hattiesburg race and was on the pole when his fuel pump went out on him. Lucky Keeton let Boland drive his car for the race to help him stay in the points standings. But that meant the Cuba, Ala., resident had to start in the rear of the 20-car pack. He moved up eight places and finished a disappointing 12th.
"We were ready to come home and skip the Gulfport race," Boland said. "I didn't want to drive back home, take a fuel pump off another car, and then drive back to Hattiesburg and fix the car, and then drive to the Coast."
As it turns out, he didn't have to. His son, Jamey, stayed home this weekend because he had a baseball game. Jamey helps his dad around the shop and when asked, he was able to take the fuel pump off the other car.
"I asked him if he thought he could do it," said Boland. "He went out to the garage and did it. He and my wife met me in Gulfport and we replaced the fuel pump on my car."
The No. 222 car then made up for the lost night as Boland took the pole and never trailed on his way to victory.
"I have to credit this one to Jamey," Boland said.
The top three finishers in the Saturday race were from the East Mississippi-West Alabama area. Rodney Wing, who works for Boland at his shop, placed second while James Dean came in third. In the Hattiesburg race, Dean finished fifth and Wing came in sixth.
Scott Slay of the Jackson area won the Friday race and is the MSCC points leader.
Queen City Speedway
Jason Boleware returned to the front of the Pure Street Division Saturday night at the Queen City Speedway as he won the pole and then never trailed in the feature race.
Boleware's No. 68 car was knocked out of action the week before when he broke an axle in the heat race. But it was business as usual this past weekend as he won the 12-lap race. There were two yellow flags during the race. Mitchell Moffett came in second while Kyle Rutledge came in third.
The visiting Cajun Sprints were the main event as those cars tore around the Queen City track at speeds better than 110 mph. There were four yellow flags, including one accident on the third lap that sent two cars flipping down the track. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Lane Whittington, who is leading the touring series, led all the way to in the 25-lap race. Tracy Brown came in second and Terry Coddington placed third.
Here is a recap of other divisions:
Late Models: Jason Smith led the first five laps of the Late Model Division race, but he was moved back one place after jumping the gun on a restart before the sixth lap and Herman Reynolds of Laurel took over from there. Reynolds led the rest of the way to capture the yellow flag. Jimbo McDuffie came in third.
Mini Street: In a caution-free 12-lap race, Steve Byram led all the way as he captured first place in the division. Barry Dearing came in second while Bill Bunyard placed third.
Modifieds: The lights went out in the Modified division, literally. A fan, for some reason, flipped off the light switch for the lights on the grandstand side and the race was halted for about 30 minutes until the lights could cool off and come back on.
There were three leaders in this 15-lap race. Ben Stephens led the first nine laps before being called on a yellow flag and sent to the back of the pack. Brian Chaney led the next two laps before being overtaken by Andy Pippen on the 12th lap. Pippen finished first, with Chaney coming in second. Steve Snow came in third.
Late Model Stock: This race belonged to the No. 68 car of Ray Windham as he led all the way in a caution-free 12-lap race. Chris Jimmerson came in second, while Mike Shirley placed third.
Cruisers Division: The No. 6 car of Kevin Pierce and Joe Ulmer of Newton County returned to the winner's circle in the Cruisers Division Saturday night as they took the lead in the third lap and never looked back. Wade Hutchinson and Travis Rainer came in second while last week's winners, Amber and Holly Thrash, overcome several obstacles to come in third.
The Queen City Speedway will be closed this weekend for Talladega. Racing returns May 1 at Queen City with a regular schedule of races.
Causeyville Raceway
The point races got under way Saturday night at the Causeyville Raceway go-kart track. Fans watched 51 cars zoom around the track, including a division of Mini Cup Late Models.
"We are adding this division and they will be here every time we race," track owner Randy Rawson said. "I know of six cars in the area right now and three of them were here. Hopefully, we will build some interest in this division and more will get involved."
Steve Small won the Mini Cup division, followed by Chad Johnson and Nick Klein.
Clint McCombs, last year's Drive What You Bring division champion, served noticed that he was back for another season as he placed first. James Wilson came in second followed by David Roberts.
Mike Palmiter, last year's double champion in the Stock Lite and Stock Medium divisions, picked up two third place finishes in those divisions. Chris Mosley came in first in the Stock Lite Division, followed by David Bridgeman. Rodney Bounds won the Stock Medium Division race, followed by Bill Moffett.
The winners in the other divisions were as follows:
Stock Heavy: Ryan Walters placed first followed by Steven Creel and Scott Williams.
Junior Stock: Arvie Eaves won the Junior Stock Division, followed by last year's Gold Division winner, Jeffery Maxwell. Matthews Sanders came in third.
Rookie classes: Neal Crowell won the Blue Division followed by Tyler Burgess and Matthew Sanders. Kyle Haggard came in first in the Purple Division, followed by Alex Walton.
David Roberts was the only car competing in the Limited Division and picked up first place points.
Go-kart racing will return to Causeyville May 1.