|
Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| Press Release |
|
|
|
HALF MILE
TRACK DOUBLEHEADER TO |
|
With
a successful pre-season schedule now in the books Manzanita Speedway looks
forward to the regular season which
begins Saturday night, March 6th.
Keith Hall has taken a page out of the past as he has both Sprint Cars
and Late Model Stock Cars in his season opener with both classes running on the
half mile track. That combination
proved to be the most successful of the season openers in the early nineties and
with the showing by both the sprints and stocks last year, combined with the
popularity of the half mile track and the first race of its kind in years, Hall
is expecting both a full pit area and a full grandstand.
The 2004 season poses several questions and one race will not provide the answers. For instance, can perennial champions Ricky Johnson and Wayne Noyes add to their championships totals. Johnson holds the record for most Sprint Car championships, six, at Manzanita and also for the most championships at his home track, eight. In addition to his Sprint Car titles, Johnson also has one in Midgets and one in Dirt Modifieds. Noyes won his eighth Southwest Dirt Modified title last year which is a record that may never be equaled. Another question being asked is will Eric Wilkins be able to go out a winner. The former Midget champion and the 2002 Sprint Cars titlist has declared that he will be hanging up his driving suit following this year and will concentrate on his family and help his children with their racing.Can former champions Bob Ream, Jr. and Josh Pelkey return to their glory days. Josh battled Johnson down to the final checkered flag last year but fell short of getting a companion championship trophy to match the one he took home in 1997 when he won 12 feature races. Ream is in the longest drought of his career. He has not won a main event since July 3, 2002. He has also been in two horrific accidents during that stretch. Can Marty Miller return from injuries to again be serious threat. Marty, the 2000 champion won the first two races of the 2003 season and then suffered serious injuries in the first race on the half mile track last year. Those injuries forced him out of the season. Can anyone offer a serious challenge to Noyes in the Late Models? That question may be answered Saturday night. The field appears to be strong with Adam Crippen, Mike Tathanen, Randy Burrows and a full field of others offering up the competition. There is a possibility that Noyes will also be facing Terry Belcher, generally regarded as the best Phoenix stock car driver of all time. Car owner Dick Reid has indicated that he may have the car ready to go. Terry Belcher, Jr. is also hopeful of being ready for the season opener. Rick Ward, a four time Dirt Modified champion bought a car last year and is expected to be a contender in the 2004 season.Race time for the half mile track doubleheader is set for 7:30 P.M. |
