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National Speed Sport NewsLernerville Money Jumps To $40G
by editor ? last modified 2007-12-26 07:44
PRI Notes
INSIDE LOOK: Visitors stop by the NASCAR display at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. (George Silbermann for NASCAR photo)
ORLANDO, Fla. ? The World Racing Group, which owns the World of Outlaws, DIRT and UMP as well as several race tracks, announced that its Lernerville Speedway in western Pennsylvania will pay $40,000 to win for both of its major races in 2008. The track will be celebrating its 40th anniversary. The Don Martin Memorial for the World of Outlaws sprint cars and the Firecracker 400 for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series will each pay 40Gs to the winner.
? ASA Racing President Dennis Huth said ASA will be offering a new form of insurance to its competitors. In the past, ASA members have received a $500,000 insurance policy that covers them at the race track.
But the policy, to be written by WSIB Motorsports Insurance, will cover competitors from the time they leave their homes to head to the track until the time they return back to their residence. Huth says it is the first such program in motorsports.
? Playboy magazine announced its sponsorship of the Mazda MX-5 Cup racing series. The series is part of the MazdaSpeed Motorsports Development Ladder which promotes champions of Mazda series to the next level of their careers.
The MX-5 Cup champion receives a Mazda-supported ride in the SCCA Speed World Challenge Touring Car championship.
? The 20th annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, the third-straight at the Orange County Convention Center, drew more than 1,400 exhibitors and a record 4,265 booths. It was the largest PRI show yet.
Exhibitors used more than 7,000 hotel rooms in the Orlando area and came to Orange County from 45 countries.
? Sprint-car driver Kenny Adams and his longtime friend and crew chief Red Stauffer stopped by the NSSN booth. Adams is looking forward to the 2008 season with the American Sprint Car Series Rebel region. Adams says the series will have 27 races within five hours of his Florida home. It would be the least amount of traveling he's done in years.
? Teenage sprint-car driver Dakotah Stephens and his parents also visited with NSSN. Stephens destroyed his car in a spectacular crash during the Florida 400 and did not compete in the Mopar Sprint & Midget Classic. Stephens, who checked out fine with doctors, does not remember the crash.
? Former team owner Daryl Saucier, who now builds fuel pumps through his DSR Racing company, has gotten more involved with the racing end of the sport again in the last few years. Saucier told NSSN he will work with California sprint-car ace Damion Gardner in 2008, racing primarily in the Midwest in cars owned by Gardner.
? Skip Barber Racing School announced a regional racing series for the Mazda MX-5 Cup car, which is one of the most popular cars in amateur and professional road racing.
The Skip Barber Mazda MX-5 Cup Regional Race Series will use MX-5 cars converted by Skip Barber Racing to similar specifications as those raced in the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX?5 Cup. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta will be among the race tracks where the series will race in 2008.
? Former Attica Raceway Park promoter Gene Frankart, who now works for the University of Northwest Ohio and its Limaland Motorsports Park, was walking the show touting the merits of the UNOH program that allows students to build, work on and race their own cars at the quarter-mile oval.
? The Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals will be offered live on HBO Pay Per View Jan. 12. While NSSN readers learned about the program via an ad in last week's issue, the television agreement was officially announced. The program will be sold for $24.95 and can be ordered from www.hbo.com.
? The Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series confirmed a Labor Day weekend event at the under-construction Thunderbolt Raceway in Millville, N.J. The Grand Am Rolex Series and the Grand Am Koni Challenge Series will be part of the Aug. 30-31 event on the 2.3-mile road course.
? Lucas Oil will sponsor Speed Wong Racing's two-car entry in the NASCAR Grand National West Series for drivers Jason Patison and Brian Wong.
? Former Indy Car driver and Pikes Peak Hill Climb winner Robby Unser has formed Robby Unser Racing to participate in drifting competition in 2008.
 | Tampa Tribune Article by Bill Green
Versatility Pays Off For Stephens
By BILL GREEN Tribune correspondent
Published: Aug 9, 2007
At 16, Dakotah Stephens already has been racing cars for more than half his life.
"I have always been very competitive at every level," the Brandon resident said. "My parents have provided me with great equipment, and we've learned as we've raced. I want to get better and move up to USAC sprints and hopefully follow the path of several NASCAR stars racing at that level today."
Stephens finished his earlier karting career with two Florida Karting Association state championships and a Dirt Devil's Speedway track title. He said his move to the full-horsepowered sprints has been easier because of his karting background.
"I took to it fairly quickly," he said. "The quickness of the sprints took a few laps to get used to, but after that I began to experiment with just how far I could go with it."
In 2005, Stephens successfully transitioned from go-karts to sprint cars. He now races regularly with several of Florida's sprint series - from the old USA Sprint Series that first season, where he finished sixth in points, to the Florida Sprint Car Association in 2006, when he was champion at 15.
Stephens is fourth in East Bay Raceway Park's Limited Sprint class.
The versatile driver took his first sprint feature win at North Florida Speedway in 2006. He also has won an Open Wheel Modified feature at East Bay, the first regular-season race of the year. He also has run a full-horsepower Late Model at Putnam County Speedway.
"There were guys from Georgia, Alabama, Florida and even North Carolina there that night," Stephens said. "That was the same night Tony Stewart won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. It was great to get that first win."
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Brandon Teen Stephens Moving Forward In A Hurry
By GARY ARDREY Tribune correspondent
Published: Nov 23, 2006
Stephens got his start in go-karts at age 7. He won more than 80 kart feature events, two Florida Karting Association championships, and a track championship at Dirt Devil Speedway in Land O' Lakes.
Last season, Stephens made the huge leap to open-wheeled sprint cars. He raced with the asphalt United Sprint Car Alliance and finished sixth in the points standings.
This year he competed with the Florida Sprint Car Association on dirt and was crowned FSCA champion. He recorded three main-event victories and posted 10 top-three finishes.
Stephens isn't intimidated by the fast open-wheel cars and their inherent danger.
"A lot of people are scared because they are so fast, but I'm not," Stephens said. "When I'm in the car I don't think about getting hurt. I think about having fun."
Stephens would like to follow in the footsteps of his idol, current NASCAR Nextel Cup and former United States Auto Club open-wheel star Kasey Kahne.
"He came up from a modest background. Talent got him to the top without buying his way to the top," Stephens said. "I hope I can do that too." |
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June 2, 2006 Ambassador Racing School in Balm, FL (near Tampa) 1st Annual "Speed-Fest". Come out for a fun weekend of racing as well as supporting a good cause. Ray & JR sold me my first competition Go-Kart many years ago.
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Sprint Racer #79 Dakotah Stephens and Track Owner JC Cowart watched the Super Late Model Race from the Flagstand Veiwpoint at DOUGLAS MOTORSPORTS PARK SPEEDWAY on April 22 |
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 | www.ocalaspeedway.com
Dakotah Stephens #79, Michael Smith #9, Dennis Misuraca #03, and Ocala Speedway's Track Promoter
USA Sprints |
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