Lakeside Speedway Ready To Rock And Roll This Friday Night

By JR Lowrey
Lakeside Speedway Public Relations
April 14, 2010

When we last left the characters of Lakeside Speedway, Danny Charles was winning his first Modified Championship since winning a Factory Stock title back in 2001, in the Grand National Division a new face, Chad Clancy, showed up and rode off with the title in his 1st full season racing at Lakeside Speedway and Brett Heeter hoisted the trophy in the Factory Stock division. What can Lakeside Speedway do for an encore in 2010? Open the doors back up!

Since Lakeside returned to dirt in 2000, it has spawned some great racing action. Last year turned out to be just like the years past. Great racing, super crowds and strong memories to be had by all.

In the off-season it seemed that all the talk centered around 2 things. When is the tv show going to air and have you seen what's going on in the Factory Stock rules? These two topics dominated bench racers everywhere.

Heartland Thunder is the title that has been given to the reality show shot at Lakeside Speedway last season following Tom Charles, Dan Charles, Justin Boney & Tim Karrick. The pretty much put a bulls eye on the backs of those drivers and the distractions of being followed around seem to hurt the programs of each of the subjects. As a matter of fact when the full crew was in filming, not one of the drivers centered upon won a feature race.

At this point the show is trying to find a time slot. It truly is a shame that they have not aired it to this point. Madhouse seems to be a popular show on the History Channel. I can say with 110 percent certainty, Heartland Thunder would provide more excitement and storylines than Madhouse by a country mile!

In the Factory Stock division, Marc Olson and Mike Johnson have teamed up to take the 'Boarder War' to a new division. Trying to provide other racers the opportunity to race at different tracks is the biggest reason for the recent changes. Many people are boasting that one type of car is being favored over the other, but in all honesty this class will be watched over like a hawk. If changes need to be made to level the playing field, look for them to come. As Friday night approaches look for the class to provide the same great wheel to wheel and door to door action it always has.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

MODIFIEDS - Dan Charles had a strong season last year picking up his 1st Modified Championship. In the past couple of years, the younger Charles has been getting better and better. Last season solidified the fact that Danny Charles is an excellent driver and a force to be reckoned with in the class.

Several drivers will be looking to knock Charles off his throne this year. Kerry Davis came close to winning the championship a year ago, but a bad break on the final night put Davis out of contention. This year he is back wanting to do better than ever and he will have to do it in a new Bills Built Modified. Tim Karrick will also be on the hunt when the green flag drops. He scored another top 5 finish in the points a year ago. It wasn't the season that he wants to remember, so look for him to be on a mission.

Many other drivers will have the chance to steal the show in 2010. Drivers to keep an eye on... Tom Charles, Aaron Marrant, Nic Bidinger, Dustin Boney, John O'Neal Jr. and a host of others will be on the run come Friday night.

GRAND NATIONALS - Last season it was the year of Clancy. This driver came to Lakeside Speedway last year and posted a number of wins on his way to championship #1. You might think that all the talk in the off-season would have been how many wins will Clancy get in 2010? Wrong. The talk in the off-season revolved around the return of former GN Champ, Gene Claxton.

Claxton returns to the class racing the I-35/Lakeside Speedway Border War Grand National owned by I-35 Speedway owner, Mike Johnson. Over the years Claxton has 23 wins to his credit in the class at Lakeside, before the year is over, I predict that he will add some to that total.

New faces and old ones will be back in competition on Friday night. This could be the year when someone steps up out of nowhere and shocks the rest of the competition and the fans.

FACTORY STOCKS - Last season Brett Heeter was smooth, he never got rattled and won the Factory Stock Championship.

It's tough to win a championship in this class at Lakeside Speedway. From top to bottom it's one of the most competitive classes out there. In the years past we have seen all kinds of races, dominating performances, last lap passes, drivers that have started from the back and one! If you can think of it, we have seen it over the years at Lakeside Speedway in this class.

More than 30 drivers have pre-registered and just like years before it will be a pick 'em on who a possible winner might be. It will surely be interesting to see how this class plays out by the end of the night.

Gates open at 5:00 p.m., hot laps are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the first race goes green right at 7:30 p.m. on the dot! Adult tickets are $12, kids 8 to 14 $6 and children 7 and under are always free.

In the event that rain hits on Friday, the show will be moved to Sunday at Lakeside Speedway. Check InThePits.Net and LakesideSpeedway.Net for any updates or time changes!