Needmore hosts six classes in first night of racing

Mar. 17—NORMAN PARK, Ga. — During its 2023 season opener, Needmore Speedway hosted six classes of cars on its 3/8-mile dirt oval on John Vickers Road.

Street stock, super street, enduros, 604 late model, 602 sportsman model and Crown Vics all had the chance to get mud on their tires, literally.

Dirt race tracks are coated with water, potentially for several days, leading up to an event. The clay will retain the moisture and compact when the drivers do their hot, or warm up laps.

Getting the clay to properly compact before races begin is imperative as that is what provides safe traction for the drivers.

Street stocks, super street, enduros and Crown Vics all use heat races to determine placement in their feature races.

"The number of heat races varies depending on how many vehicles registered for the event," said Needmore Speedway owner Chance Smith.

Placement in heat races is determined based on a pill draw — racers draw a number between one and 100. The lowest number drawn begins first in the initial heat, the second lowest number is first in the second heat, and so on.

All heat races were six laps, and that is what determined a driver's starting position in the feature race.

The winner of the first heat gets to race in the pole, or first, position, while the winner of the second heat race begins in second place. Second place from the first heat begins in position five, and second place in heat two starts in the eighth position. And so on.

Street stock vehicles are considered more entry level because a vehicle in this class can be purchased from a junkyard, so it's not as expensive to get started.

The body must maintain a stock, or manufacturer, appearance and can't be altered from a visual standpoint. It needs to look like a car that would be driven on the road.

The vehicle must also be brought up to all required safety features, such as a 4-point roll cage, and all engine and suspension regulations.

After the 15 lap feature, Cameron Metts from Albany, in car 37, took the victory and the $700 purse.

Second was car 55, driven by Heath Walker, and in third was Dean Watson, car 46.

Considered an intermediate class between the street stock and crate late models is the super street class.

The rules in super street are very similar to street stock. The main difference is super street allows more modifications to the guts of the vehicle. However, there is a limit to the amount of money a racer can put into their car.

Douglas native Brian Grantham, in car 8G, won the $700 purse in super street.

Car 24 was racer Dakota Nichols, who came in second. Carl Singletary came in third in car 74.

The final stock class with a $700 purse and 15 lap feature was enduros. These vehicles are sometimes no better than rescues from a wrecking yard repaired to just functioning conditions. It is also common for Enduros to not have windows.

Winning the entire class for enduros was Jared Jones, from Swainsboro, in car 15.

Second finisher was car 69K, driven by Mikey Kopka. Tyler Hamrick was third in car 74.

Also for stock vehicles were the Crown Vics, which are old police cars that have been painted.

"We didn't have that many Crown Vics tonight," said Smith. "We only needed to do one heat race."

Car 99T, whose driver was Dylan Litchfield from Guyton, finished first in the feature and won the $300 purse.

Litchfield was followed by Griffin Jones in car 17, and finishing third was J.L. Bryant in car 3.

The kattywompus body on the 602 and 604 late models made it easy to identify when the races shifted into the higher category of class.

On both 602 and 604 models, the entire front-end bends down on the left and grazes the ground in front of the tire. This gives the car a unique aerodynamic edge allowing the vehicle to maintain its high speeds and stay on the ground.

For racers in both these classes, their cars have to be purchased, not built. Additionally, the required crate engines are not allowed to be altered in any way.

"The only difference between these two classes is one uses a 602 crate engine, and the other a 604 crate engine," said Smith. "It all comes down to the driver and how the car is set."

Unlike the stock classes, the 602 and 604 use the fastest lap time to determine starting position in the feature. They still use pill draw to determine the order in the qualifier.

Each driver completed two laps around the track with their fastest time counting. For the feature, the racers are lined up from fastest to slowest for the starting flag.

During the 602 qualifiers, Needmore Speedway gave a $100 bonus to the driver who completed the fastest lap. This went to Nevin Gainey.

Because Gainey had the fastest time, he had to do another pill draw with numbers 1-6 to determine his starting position in the feature race. He drew a two, which meant the starting line up flipped so he would begin in second place.

The 602 feature had the drivers racing 20 times around the track for a $1,000 purse.

By this point in the evening, the engines rose to higher horsepower and the definitive roar began to rattle spectators rib cages.

For those who wanted even more than that, sitting closer to the track was possible. This meant as the racers zoomed past chunks of Georgia red clay would fly into the stands and lightly pellet the spectators.

The speed of dirt race cars varies depending on the class, but speculators can expect to see them wiz past between the enduros 80 mph to the 120 mph of the late models.

Due to these high speeds and the close proximity of the vehicles, one microscopic movement could cause complete chaos. This happened during the 602 feature.

"I still don't really know what happened," said Smith. "One of the cars went sideways and because they are so close together it set off a chain reaction. Everyone in the back got piled up, but the cars are designed for when that happens."

No one was injured and the 602 feature was able to finish once all cars were either taken off the track and put back into racing position and the flag moved back to green.

"You have to finish on a green flag," said Smith. "Once it turns back to green, you have to give drivers two more laps before you can give the white flag."

A white flag indicates to the drivers there is one final lap before the completion of the race and that iconic checkered flag is waving.

Car number 17, Gainey, of Fort White, Fla., won the 602 feature.

In the feature race, as with the stock models, time doesn't matter and it is whoever crosses the finish line first.

Colby Boyett came in second, and third went to Kole Platt.

The final class was the 604 late model, which had the highest purse at $1,500.

As with the 602, there was a $150 bonus to the driver who completed their qualifying lap the quickest. This went to Josh Bishop, who completed the 3/8-mile track in 16.14.

Kam Boyd followed close behind Bishop, and finished his 604 qualifier with a time of 16.18.

After the 604 heat races, the fastest six racers completed another pill draw to determine their starting position in the feature race. All other drivers were lined up via their qualifying time.

The 604s raced 25 times around the track.

Cody Overton won the purse after he drew second in the final pill draw.

In second place was Hunter Pecock. Third place was Mark Whitener.

The second event for Needmore Speedway will be April 12.