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Forsyth’s Seth Thomas enters the pro racing world today at the
SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race in Sebring, Fla.
SOCCER ROUNDUP
St. Pius upends Central late
South girls
pick up lone
region victory
By Morgan Lee
Sports Writer
On a night that proved frustrating
for Forsyth varsity soccer, only
South’s girls managed a win as both
the Bulldogs and War Eagles took to
the road in Region 6-AAAA.
Central soccer suffered a sweep at
the hands of region foe St. Pius X.
with the boys’ 2-1 loss proving espe
cially gut-wrenching. L'nable to hold
a slim halftime advantage, the Dawgs
went a man down during the last 19
minutes. Central's girls, meanwhile,
fell behind early and never caught up.
dropping a 3-0 decision.
At Riverwood. South's girls
picked up a 4-1 win. while South’s
boys gave up a late penalty kick goal
in a 1-1 tie.
Dawgs tripped up
down stretch
During the first half of Tuesday
night's key region tilt at St. Pius.
Forsyth Central made it look easy
almost too easy.
Few teams have walked away vic
torious from the Golden Lions’ Joe
Bean Stadium, but after an impres
sive 40 minutes of play capped by
Ryan Whittington's heads-up goal
the Dawgs seemed poised to do just
that.
But 21 minutes into the second
half, things quickly went awry for
Central, when, within seconds, the
Dawgs’ Nino Fetic was ejected and
Pius equalized on a disputed free
kick.
Deflated and undermanned.
Central fought before Pius scored a
freak goal with three minutes remain
ing to complete a 2-1 comeback.
After a dominating performance
in goal. Central’s Raymond Escamilla
couldn’t keep out Pius' winning
strike, misjudging a long chip that
bounced in front and then over the
onrushing keeper’s head for a Pius
attacker to tap into the empty net.
See SOCCER, Page 2B
Central tennis splits region
match, slams Gilmer Co.
From staff reports
Forsyth Central tennis split
region matches with North
Springs, Monday, before sweeping
Gilmer County, Tuesday.
Central’s boys fell 3-2 to North
Springs, with Brian McKinnon
picking up the Dawgs only singles
point, defeating Zach Sofford 7-6
(7-4), 6-3. Central’s No. 2 doubles
team of Andrew Webber and
Simon Allen also won, taking their
match 6-3,6-4.
The Lady Dawgs swept their
singles matches to oust North
Springs 3-2. Nerina Schoeman (7-
5, 6-3), Brittany Romig (6-0. 6-1)
and Melissa Smith (7-5, 4-6, 6-3)
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Photo/David McGregor
Forsyth Central’s Lauren Moore, seen earlier this season, and her Lady Dawg teammates
couldn't overcome St. Pius X, Tuesday afternoon in Atlanta, falling 3-0.
each picked up wins.
t Against Gilmer, both teams
i rolled, winning 5-0.
r For the Dawgs, Justin Davis (6-
1, 6-3), McKinnon (6-3, 6-4) and
! Harry Pritchett (6-2, 6-1) took sin
i gles matches. Kyle Rinna and
i Tony Abdulkarim (5-7, 6-3, 7-5),
> along with Webber and Allen (6-4,
i 6-0) each won in doubles.
| For the Lady Dawgs,
r Schoeman (5-7, 6-3, 6-1), Romig
(6-0, 6-1) and Smith (7-5, 6-2)
r each won in singles. While in dou
i bles, Maddie Stoddart and Erin
Moister (6-1, 2-0 retired 1 ) and
I Jenniffer Korb and Jane Turpin (6-
) 4,6-0) dominated.
Sports
Racer Thomas set for pro debut
By Travis M. Chaffin
Sports Editor
With three years racing experi
ence under his belt and a fourth on
the horizon, Seth Thomas is set to
make his debut on the professional
circuit today in the SPEED World
Challenge Touring Car race at
Sebring. Fla.
When the engines crank up for
the 1:15 p.m. race, Thomas will be
behind the wheel of his 2001 BMW
325 an upgrade from the '94
model he drove last year when he
won the Sports Car Club of America
(SCCA) Club Racing ITS (Improved
Touring-S) Southeast championship.
Today’s event is the season opener
for the Speed Channel World
Challenge Series’ 10-race season.
“I’ll be a rookie this year,” he
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said. “The preparation level is 10
times better on the [professional]
cars... It will be a totally different
challenge this year.”
Most of the time, Thomas can be
found working at the family busi
ness, Thomas Lumber on Browns
Bridge Road.
But on race week, the 27-year
old driver and his crew chief, Jamie
Wright of Buford, meet up with
their full-time. Radford. Va.-based
crew and prepare for the task at
hand.
Today’s event is a support race
for the American LeMans Series and
The 12 Hours of Sebring. The 50-
minute race will be broadcast on
SPEED Channel on a tape-delay
basis this Sunday, March 21, at
noon, and again on Friday. April 2.
Quarter
midgets
face-off
Young racers
from around the
nation faced off
in the Spring
Nationals at Bill
Thomas
Raceway at the
Cumming last
week. For
results, look on
page 48.
Photo/Davk)
McGregor
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at the same time.
“It’s a pretty big event,” Thomas
said. “Last year all the [races] were
regional stuff. Mostly, the people
who came to the track were friends,
family or the people who were rac
ing. This one is going to be specta
tors who are coming from miles
around.”
Racing is fun, but it can be
expensive without a sponsor
which Thomas and his team are cur
rently seeking. Barring any engine
problems or sheet metal damage, the
average cost ranges between $4,000-
$5,000 per race.
The prize money is decent, start
ing at SIO,OOO for first place,
decreasing gradually through the top
See SET, Page 4B
Forsyth’s
Lucas takes
first place at
dragway
By Tim Glover
For the Forsyth County News
Four of the five classes contested
during last week's edition of the Summit
ET Series at Atlanta Dragway featured
repeat finalists.
Mike Ramsey won Super Pro (runner
up March 6 race), Mike Newby runner
upped in Trophy (same as last week),
Cody Martin won 13-17 Junior Dragster
(runner up March 6) and Joshua Sisson
runner upped in 8-12 Junior Dragster
(won March 6).
Although points are
not a real issue, this
feat has certainly put
these people in the
early lead for the year.
Added attractions inc
luded a Top Alcohol
Dragster, owned and
driven by Dan Lucas
from Cumming.
Lucas, with the
help of his super crew,
made a couple of passes with a brand
new combination. Lucas was happy with
the progress, saying he would be back in
two weeks to further “dial in” his car.
Added attractions today included a
Top Alcohol Dragster, owned and driven
by Dan Lucas from Cumming, GA.
Lucas, with the help of his super crew,
made a couple of passes with a brand
new combination. Lucas was happy with
the progress, saying he would be back in
two weeks to further “dial in” his car.
“I accomplished what 1 came to do.”
said Lucas, who is getting back into rac
ing after taking a couple years off for
his family.
During the past year. Lucas has
rebuilt the entire car, including a new
style supercharger and a hand built fuel
injection system.
He came to test the combination to
■make sure it wasn't too lean (a condi
tion where the engine is not getting
enough fuel, which can be catastrophic
to a Top Alcohol engine) and to see how
the car worked.
Lucas said he is going to
Montgomery in April for a Division Two
points meet, and will also enter the 24th
annual Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Southern Nationals presented by
Pontiac, which will take place at Atlanta
Dragway on May 13-16.
“If the car runs good, then we will
look at going to Bowling Green and
Baton Rouge," he said.
Lucas’ crew includes Willie Gray,
Tony Hatfield, Glynn White, Darryl
Shadburn and Russ Glover.
An ORSCA (Outlaw Racing Street
Car Association) competitor, Cody
Rabon, was preparing for the upcoming
March 28 ORSCA race last week, mak
ing seven-second, 160-plus-mph passes
in his turbocharged Mustang.
Mike Ramsey changed some suspen
sion components in his Don Ness-built
'Bl Camaro during the week, and his car
responded well, running close to or right
on its dial all day.
Bert Chapman, who led Sportsman
points for most of the 2003 season,
See FIRST, Page 2B
B
Lucas