HATTIESBURG SPEEDWAY HEAT/ FEATURES 6-24-16

JONES TAKES CLOSER LOOK AT FACTORY STOCK TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER WIN #2

6-26-16
Video Courtesy of Yellowcautionflag.com DIRT News & Promotions
Jones Motorsports Chip Jones, from Cottondale AL, racked up his 2nd Factory Stock Feature win of 2016. The Outlaw BBQ 17 team has had a roller coaster ride over the last several seasons but since the debut of this car back last year, Jones Motorsports has won several prestige races. After speaking with the team after the races, Crew Chief Carl Ray Jones (Father of Chip) stated that even though they have won previous events, this was the first time the race team would be bringing home a trophy.

TRIPLE SEVEN DEDICATES MID SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP STREET STOCK WIN TO "DADDY"

6-26-16
Video & Write up Courtesy of Yellowcautionflag.com DIRT News & Promotions

Brandon Leftwich, from Meridian MS took an emotional victory in his #777 Leftwich Plumbing NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division last night in only his 3rd start of the season. Leftwich & crew celebrated in victory lane dedicating the performance to a lost friend, crew chief Kenny Ross AKA " Daddy " who passed unexpectedly earlier this season. it was an emotional win but it did not come as easy as it may have seen after sweeping the night after winning his heat. Several hot drivers were put on the backburner last night. Triple 7's have been known to pay big if your lucky, but last night was fate & a grieving team celebrated a moment of joy & peace after dedicating the great run to a longtime friend who will never be forgotten.

BURGESS LOCKS IN MID SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER DOG FIGHT EARNING FIRST LATE MODEL WIN OF CAREER

6-26-16
Write Up & Video Courtesy of Yellowcautionflag.com DIRT News & Promotions

NeSmith Racing Crate Late Model driver Tyler Burgess of Quitman MS took home his first ever career Feature win last night at The House of Hook. Burgess, a four year veteran of the series, has finally kicked the monkey off the back of the #2 Burgess Outdoor Power / Henderson Motorsports team. After a successful rookie campaign, Tyler along with several other young talented drivers started making a name for themselves during & after the 2014 season. Burgess not only competes weekly in the dirt racing scene, but he is also a full time student at Mississippi State University where he is set to graduate with a Masters Degree in July of this year.

 The House of Hook has been blessed with a talented field of drivers throughout it's long standing history but the last few seasons a youth movement has become the topic adding several names to the list of young guns ready to take storm & contend against those already considered Legend. Burgess lived up to those early expectations after a stellar performance that kept spectators on their feet as they witnessed firsthand history being made.

Hunter Lewis had set the pole earlier in the evening & after a dominate heat win it looked as though we all could be watching a first time winner from the #7 of Lewis. From the drop of the green flag a Dog Fight of a battle broke out in the early start of the 25 lap event. Lap after Lap Lewis & Burgess swapped for the lead, each gaining no more than a hood advantage on the other & for almost 15 laps. They were side by side multiple times at the flag stand, making for an epic show stopping event. Eventually with about 10 to go Burgess cleared the #7 far enough to roll from the top to the bottom & history was made. " Feels good to get the first one. You've always got it in the back of your head " What's going to break these last few laps when you are chasing that first one ", Burgess explained in his interview with us. He went on to say, " Maybe now we can get that out of our heads & realize we ( Tyler Burgess Racing ) run with these guys."

KING'S MODIFIED TEAM DOMINATES WINS #6 AT WMP

6-26-16

Write Up & Video Courtesy of Yellowcautionflag.com DIRT News & Promotions

"King Kong"  Randy King dominated the Mid-Season Classic Modified division taking on the field in full Thriller fashion to capture his 6th victory of the season at The House of Hook this past Saturday night in his Lewis Wrecker/Watts Family IRP Racecars by Jason Ingals. 6 championships including 5 at track championships have made Randy & the #K1Team a household name over the last 8 years, becoming a fan favorite with an awesome driving skill. Don't believe what you hear either, New York City has underground bank vaults filled with Gold, but out here it's more like win tonight so you can race next week. 

This is a family owned team with most of it's funding coming from reinvesting earnings & car owners Rick King & "Booger" Mac Urston. Budget racers very rarely taste the type of success Randy has but talent carries you just enough to beat the other guy & with just a little backing it could make him a star. A star he is, though not like from the movie screen, this Clarkdale MS resident lives out his fame any chance he has or when the gates open at the local speedway just 15 miles down the road in a neighboring small country community that has been known forever as Whynot. 

Randy has been the one to beat in 2016, but it wasn't long ago that the King of Modified's was on the outside looking in. 2012 he suffered a back injury in a crash driving a late model Jackson Motor Speedway that sidelined him for several months costing him a modified championship before coming back & scoring a huge win in the end of the year Fall Classic. 2013 would not be much better after an early season wreck totaled his ride leaving him sidelined most of the season. 2014 rolled in but broken motors & a new job took most of the season. 2015 was a comeback year & this year looks to be his best ever if he can continue his roll of dominance for the latter half of the season.

CHARLES MCLEMORE MEMORIAL WILL BE RESCHEDULED & NOT RAN ON JUNE 17th AFTER LATE REQUEST BY FAMILY

PLEASE HELP US SHARE!! Thanks ahead of time!  

****IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING FRIDAY JUNE 17TH****

After consulting with the McLemore Family, it was in the best interest not to run the Charles McLemore Memorial this upcoming Friday June 17th. The McLemore Racing #31 will not be available for competition this weekend after having motor issues the previous two weeks. This race is in honor of Alan's father & we want him at his best the night we run this memorial event. This race WILL be rescheduled for a later date with an announcement coming soon. Hattiesburg Speedway WILL be running the NORMAL weekly race schedule along with the make up features from June 3rd for Pure Street, Modified & Crate Late Models. Also in action will be our Outlaw Streets & NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division, but these classes will only race 1 feature event. Those races were completed in its entirety on June 3rd. Come out & enjoy the official kick off to summer & help us cheer for The Stars of the Cars or try your chance at Taming the fast quarter mile banked oval at Mississippi's Only Friday Night Action Track located in the Heart of Dixie Mississippi on Hwy 49S just outside Hattiesburg city limits. For more information about rescheduling or upcoming events & prices go to HattiesburgSpeedway.net

" The Track Where Champions Are Built "

THEY CALL HIM "KID SMOOTH' & HIS CHILL ATTITUDE & CALM DEMEANOR ISFREEZING LOCAL COMPETITION IN THE STREET STOCK CLASS

Written by:

Chris Creighton 

June 14th, 2016

Toomsuba Ms.

THEY CALL HIM "KID SMOOTH' & HIS CHILL ATTITUDE & CALM DEMEANOR IS FREEZING LOCAL COMPETITION IN THE STREET STOCK CLASS

 The summer time heat wave is in full force in Southern Mississippi.  The annual scorcher sends mercury bursting out its stick as each day brings record breaking highs as fast as Dick Trickle would have broken a track record in the 80's at some small town short track on the smaller circuit. In dirt track terminology, this time of year means the season is nearing halfway to the end. Championship runs are gearing up for those already winning & promises of a better 2^nd half to others trying to get the formula just right. The best of racing is still yet to come.

Now the dirt life seems simple right? In this league only 1 competitor actually will win the victory & celebrate with pictures of you & your teammates holding the checkered flag with a trophy & a big bright smile. If you aren't that guy winning you are working your tail off to be, asking for a chance if lady luck could be so kindly. Sometimes you can find a win but not in normal victory fashion. With this perception a loss may not necessarily mean failure or fault, as a matter of fact the dirt life is everything of a race in itself. Where time is judged by how fast you turn & consistent time could mean valuable inches that keep you in or out that sacred ceremony. You may not win the race but you clocked the fastest lap of your competitors. Once that small victory is established the race becomes to better that time next time & so on & so forth. Racing becomes an hour glass of sand that isn't judged in minutes but instead fractions of a second.

Which leads me to a story of a young racing talent that worked his way into early success with heart, smarts & a character of charisma that will leaving you thinking this is one cool kid. This young fella is so chill that he brought his own name of "Kid Smooth" to the dirt track scene. Now only months into his journey, expectations have become a reality & many stat readers & racers have already started searching for the number 14 on line up sheets & qualifying times in the street stock division. Competitors & other racers may have not noticed or recognized the Outlaw Black with Red Outline Coopers Country Pleasin’ Sausage High Roller Race Cars street stock in the pits or hot laps but when you realize the 14 is working your quarter panel, his chill skill will be no match for the unnerved. As he launches past your chrome horn understand you just got worked by a by a smooth operator. After the race those that didn’t already know the name will be searching the bracket on the line up or the official finish posted online for the driver behind the wheel of that black #14 & there they will find the pilot of the machine, Benjamin Allen Keith or aka Ben "Kid Smooth" Keith. 

Whether he got the name by his chill approach on the track or just a childhood nickname he carried over, the kid certainly seems a little calmer & more mature than most his age. It's no doubt when he is on the track the Kid lives up to the name & has been all season long earning his place ahead of many seasoned well experienced wheelman in the National NeSmith Street Stock & the local MISSISSIPPI STREET STOCK SERIES. Competing for Rookie of the Year against other highly touted Talents could have easily stunted his development & growth. Most are hit with the realization of unreasonable goals, high expectations or setbacks beyond control but nothing has overshadowed this recent rise to success for this 16 year old Kosciusko High School Junior. Such talent as he has is too hard not to notice. In a league of over 300 stock car teams, in only a few short months “Kid Smooth” has already successfully captured his first career pole, 2 heat race wins & a career best top 3 finish in the feature event this past weekend at the House of Hook, finishing behind Spencer Hughes & longtime veteran Jeffery Walker.

Though some trouble came to pass early on in the season, the race team has manufactured a consistent string of good finishes here of late adding to a steady rise in National points for the rookie. Team 14xxv celebrated a first after breaking into the top 20 in national points after his solid finish this past weekend at the House of Hook. Keith now finds himself perched in 19^th place with 360 points in 11 races rising 14 spots from the 33rd position he was in rolling into the last week of May. The team has recording 6 top 5's & 7 top 10 finishes already & could possibly break into the win column this weekend at the Annual Clash at the Mag in Columbus Ms. Small victories pay big dividends when patience & precision is your fasting approach. Good finishes & consistent runs eventually lead to W’s in the win column.

Ben "Kid Smooth" Keith can be found & followed each racing week in the state of Mississippi. The 14 crew has raced Jackson Motor Speedway, Whynot Motorsports Park & Magnolia Motor Speedway as often as the doors are opened & racing is allowed. He has also ventured to Louisiana to race La36 Speedway located in St Tammany Parish La. Look for his car the next time you see the heavy metal stock cars hit the speedway & when you see that fourteen passing your favorite, just know that kid is Smooth.... Kid Smooth!!  Ben’s racing career is made possible thanks to these sponsors: High Roller Race Cars, Keith's Service Station, Landscape Designs by Glen, Cooper's Country Pleasin', Big Daddy Approved Chris Harris, Michael Millis State Farm Insurance, Willhite Racing, Dirt Defender, Roofing and Siding with Strength, Amory Powder Coating, Rhino's Remodeling and Electric Topnotch Signs & Apparel. You can follow him on Facebook or Instagram & his race team at AK Motorsports & @_kidsmooth14_