Hattiesburg Speedway 2014 A Look Back! With the announcement of the end of the 2014 season at Hattiesburg Speedway, I want to take this opportunity to look back at this season. Previous owners Jay and LaDonnis Robertson decided that 9 years was long enough, they put the facility up for sale. Several people expressed interest in the tight 1/4 mile in Dixie. When a was said and done, longtime racing family Donald and Kelli Parker became the new owners. After the thought of owning a dirt track sank in, it was time to get to work. Donald and the entire Parker family and friends went to work on the facility. A lot of the work that they have done on the track you cant see as they did major improvements to the drainage system. New posts and fencing went up, concession stand was remodeled, a tech shed was added and a new scoring system was put into place. Now it was time to actually open! Race teams, crews and race fans were excited to make the grand opening of The new Hattiesburg Speedway! While there were many ups and downs over the season, one thing is for sure, excitement for dirt track racing is alive and well in the heart of Dixie!! Throughout the entire season, the excitement kept building as racing in all classes was as good as anywhere. One of the classes that has been a mainstay at Hattiesburg is the Pure Street class and again in 2014 it proves to be everything it has been in the past! Defending champion Stephanie Necaise again was a force to be dealt with. While she is attending Pharmacy school, she still found time to race every weekend. The season was tough but she is always right there at the end. Some of the top drivers in the class were Jeremy Eaton, Bubba Trotter and Brad Taylor. Another class that has always been very competitive in the Outlaw Streets. Dallas Mozingo, Alan McLemore, Prentiss Smith, Leslie Brown and Mike Jarrell all battled all year long and put on some great side by side racing. Last season, Noah Daspit won the Nesmith National Crate Late Model Championship, this season Noah split time with his crate car and his modified but nonetheless put on a show week after week for the fans. Michael Arnold changed chassis in the middle of the season and went on a tear and rolled off some great wins including a Top 10 in the Nesmith National points championship. Multi time track champion Shannon Lee made a lot of starts this season and earned another Top 10 in the national points. Other top drivers included Cliff Williams, Sid Scarbourough and Richie Beasley. The UMP Modifieds never disappoint the fans. Many last lap winners come out each and every week. Ricky Idom, Ben Stephens, Ben Davis, Chris Hagler had wins this season. Robert Casada, always a mainstay had a good year. The UMP season culminated with the running of the 3rd annual Curtis Burns Memorial with Noah Daspit taking the lead from Jeremy Idom and took the win. Finally we get to the Nesmith Street stocks. Jeremy Idom unveiled his Throwback 1957 Chevrolet 2 seater. Not only did the pictures of this car go nationwide, but Jeremy went on to win the Nesmith Performance Parts by AR Bodies National Championship! Hattiesburg is a hotbed of street stock racing! 5 of the Top 10 in National points race the last week of points at Hattiesburg and 15 of the Top 20 races at Hattiesburg this season. Defending Mississippi Street Stock Series Champion Calvin Cook took the first ever Dixie 50 win. Not only were there great races, the fans got involved! Chavus Holland started designing and building these one of a kind trophys that were given in championship races and also a new deal, every heat winner goes into a vote that the fans decide and we call it the Fans Choice Hard Charger Award. The fans were very excited and into this award and the drivers were very humbled that they won. With the addition of YellowCautionFlag Media, the outreach for Hattiesburg Speedway was extended beyond measure. Chris and his staff bring a new level to racing in Hattiesburg. We also want to thank BJ Donald at MsDirtTrackRacing on Facebook for his help and dedication to promoting dirt racing in the South! I would like to say thank you to the Parkers for allowing me to announce racing in Hattiesburg again this year. I just completed my 19th season working at Hattiesburg. It was a pleasure to work with Chris Creighton and his YCF staff sharing the mics this season. I also want to thank Donald and Kelli Parker an the entire Parker Family for their dedication to dirt racing. Its not easy to own a racetrack and they proved that they are willing to go the extra mile to keep dirt racing alive and well in the Heart of Dixie! To all the fans.. Thank you!! Without you there would be no racetrack!! Thank you for your continued support! To the drivers, you keep coming and we appreciate it a lot! Thank you to everyone who allows me to do what I love.. Announcing dirt track racing and being a part and doing whatever is needed to keep it alive and well!! So, even though the season has come to an end, it just means that the 2015 racing season is one day closer! Support all the other races that are around and the other tracks that are still running and the good Lord willing, we will see all of yall in the Heart of Dixie at Hattiesburg Speedway, Mossissippis only Friday night track! God Bless and Be Safe!!
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 02:02:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015