The Heart of Dixie

Solon Springs, Wis. ~ The long open road has finally closed for the Brady Smith Racing team in 2005.  More than 50 races in 14 different states meant a lot of time away from his Northern Wisconsin home.  But for Brady Smith, the lessons learned and the knowledge gained will help fuel his return in 2006.

The last stop on the Brady Smith “Tour of Duty” pitted The Deuce in the heart of Dixie, with races in Mississippi and Georgia.  Smith had planned to compete in both nights of the annual ‘Dixie Shootout’ at the Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga., but Tropical Storm Tammy had other ideas.  The opening night of racing action was canceled at Dixie, so Smith made the decision to turn towards the Columbus Speedway in Columbus, Mississippi.  The Solon Springs, Wis. native vied for a starting spot in the annual ‘Magnolia State 100’ at the track dubbed as the “Baddest Bullring in the South.”  In his heat race on Friday night, Smith ran a strong fifth, but only the top three advanced to the $20,000 to win main event.  Instead of trying to make the main event through the B-Main on Saturday, the team packed up the AMSOIL decorated trailer and headed towards Woodstock, Ga. for the $10,000 to win ‘Dixie Shootout.’

At Dixie on Saturday, Smith was running fifth in his heat race when the driver of the AMSOIL #2 Monte Carlo crashed hard into the outside retaining wall.  His machine suffered heavy damage and he was forced to retire for the remainder of the evening.  He was forced to watch the 50-lap event from the stands instead of competing on the 3/8-mile, high-banked speed plant. 

“It wasn’t our weekend, that is for sure,” said Smith.  “We had a decent starting spot in the B-Main at Columbus, but I thought that it would be advantageous for us to travel to Dixie to earn some more points in the NARA standings.  If I didn’t crash in the heat race, we would have probably transferred through the B-Main at Dixie.  It was just one of those weekends where everything we did went wrong.”

“The Deuce” is most likely done for the 2005 racing season, although Smith noted that there is a very slim possibility of attending the ‘Commonwealth Cup’ weekend at the Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway, October 28-29.

In all, Brady competed in 59 Dirt Late Model events throughout the course of the 2005 campaign.  He amassed three victories, 12 top-five runs, and 31 top-ten finishes.  Smith was also tabbed as the R.A.C.E. Florida Speedweeks Rookie of the Year back in February after his stellar efforts at the East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla.  His biggest win came on September 3 at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.  He also captured victories at the Superior (Wis.) Speedway and the Cedar Lake (Wis.) Speedway in 2005.

In addition, Brady will also end up finishing in the top ten of the ultra-competitive NARA Late Model Dirt Series.  Despite missing several series events throughout the course of the year, Brady is currently eighth in the series point standings heading into the last series event at Kentucky Lake.  He competed at tracks in several states including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Mississippi.

“Overall I think it was a pretty good year for us,” Smith said.  “This was our first true year out on the road traveling against the best Dirt Late Model competition in the country.  I don’t know how many tracks we raced on for the first time, but there were an awful lot of them.  The learning curve in this sport is a big one and the only way you can get better is to go out and race all over the country.  It was definitely a learning experience for us all year long and the travel will do nothing but benefit us in the future.  I have to thank all of my sponsors for their support throughout the season.  With AMSOIL coming on board this year, that really allowed us to travel more and gain some much-needed experience.  We will go to work all winter and gear up for Florida in February.  I am already excited about the 2006 racing season!”

Dubé Gaining Ground

Toronto, Ontario ~ Marco Dubé has a history of battling through adversity.  Injuries have cut short too many race series the past few years.  Honda decided to let one of the top Canadian riders go last winter, meaning Dubé had to find a new ride.  To top it all off, the French-Canadian from Quebec had a rough outdoor season in 2005, battling various injuries and learning a new bike in the process.

But through it all, Dubé has always found a way to get back to the lead pack.  Over the past few weeks his comfort level, and more importantly, his health, are allowing him to race out front.

The first round of the Canadian Arenacross series brought the number 8 KTM bike of Marco Dubé to Toronto.  The layout of the track was good for his riding style, even if the dirt was less than stellar.  No traction in the corners meant the track turned sandy for day two.  On Friday, Dubé came out with a win in his heat race and a fourth place finish in the main.  He would follow that strong showing with another fourth place feature win on Saturday.

Round two for the series will be this weekend in Winnipeg.  All five rounds will be televised by TSN.

More From Team AMSOIL

• The #66 car of Ron Berna was pushed to the edge and back this summer, and it paid off for driver Ron Berna, aka: Rocket Ron.  Berna was able to pilot his Late Model ride to the winners circle of the Indian Summer Classic last weekend in Antigo, Wis.  Berna, who is sponsored by AMSOIL Dealer David Hooker won his heat and the feature, beating out 38 Late Models in the process.

• Tim and Criss Blackwell out of Parkton, N.C. are having a good fall racing season.  Timmy recently earned a third place finish, with Criss coming in fifth.  Criss is on pace to finish the season in first at the Fayetteville Motor Speedway.  The Blackwell’s are sponsored by AMSOIL Dealer Jimmy Baker.

• AMSOIL Dealers:  If you have race results or photos of your sponsored race team, please e-mail them to racing@amsoil.com.  AMSOIL will do its best to post your results on the racing website and even here in the Checkered Flag.  If you are interested in sponsoring a local race team, you can find out more by reading the G-2074.  That form can be found in the Dealer Zone at www.amsoil.com.