Late model class was too costly, ATPR says

A lack of cars and attendance was the biggest culprit in Auto Tire and Parts Racepark's decision to drop the late model class from its weekly schedule, promoter Jerry Wolsey said Tuesday.

But don't consider it to be a sign that the track is on its last leg, he said.

"I've heard people talking and posting on message boards saying that we're in some sort of trouble and that we won't last," said Wolsey, who is leasing the track from a group headed by owner Doug Friese of Cape Girardeau. "We're not in danger of closing. We just knew from the start that running late models and sprints would be tough every week. It didn't work financially."

Wolsey said this season's addition of the late model class -- which lasted four weeks before being cut last week because of a low car turnout -- was a trial run at the request of area racers. But that division accounted for $4,300 of the track's $16,900 weekly payout, and Wolsey said it wasn't holding its own.

"I like the class, but you just can't run two expensive classes like late models and sprints together," he said. "We knew it would be tough, but we wanted to at least give it a try. We weren't going to cut the sprint class because they've been around since Day 1 here."

Wolsey said the prize money in the track's remaining classes will not change.

Former Oran resident recovering from S.C. crash

Brent Glastetter, a former Oran, Mo., racer now living in North Carolina, is recovering in a Charlotte hospital after a crash at a Buffalo, S.C., dirt track Friday.

Glastetter broke his arm in three places when a driveshaft from another car came through the driver's cockpit of Glastetter's car. He faces more surgery before beginning what could amount to more than a year of recovery time.

Noteworthy

Rain kept most area tracks soaked -- and idle -- over the weekend. Among the few that did compete was SEMO Raceway near Blodgett. Winners there (before rain washed out part of the event) included Austin Matthews in micro sprint A, Dylan DeJournett in restricted sprints, Dusty Baggett in heavy karts, Michael Grant in light karts and David Gonzales in over-35 karts. Eric Harris won in junior stock, Colby Burge in junior sportsman champ, Shawn Knuckles in rookie and Destiny Scott in yard karts.

The track will not be open Saturday, but it will return with a full slate May 24.

Joe Morris of Galatia, Ill., the driver who won three of the four late model events at ATPR before the class was dropped, quickly found a new home to his liking Saturday and won the feature race at Mount Vernon (Ill.) Speedway.

No makeup date has been set for the Mid-America Racing Series event rained out Thursday at Malden (Mo.) Speedway, although there has been talk of it being rescheduled for a Thursday.

Daron Clayton of Sikeston spent the weekend at the NCRA sprint series openers. He finished 18th at Jetmore, Kan., and 24th at Wichita. It's the same series that will go to ATPR on March 24.