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WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PACE 3B Local Racing Banks battles Commerce at Night of Fire BY AMY GLOVER Special to The BCN Mother Nature waited until after the fans were satisfied with a clas sic Commerce vs. Banks County show on the quarter-mile before she rained on Atlanta Dragway’s parade, at the 2008 Night of Fire event Saturday. The ever-changing weather pre cipitated a challenge for all racers, dial adjustment being the main issue, when predicting elapsed times throughout unpredictable conditions. In the 13-17 Junior Dragster Category, both 16-year old Brett Bowman of Homer and 15-year old Taylor Ramsey of Commerce struggled with matching their dial- ins, Bowman running an 8.05 on an 8.00, and Ramsey an 8.02 on a 7.99. The race became all about reac tion time, with Bowman ending the race at the starting line with a .059 light against Ramsey’s .092, claiming the win with a .008 mar gin of victory. Bowman met the victory coolly. “It’s a big race, but just like any other win,” he said. “A lot more people watching, you know.” Seventeen-year-old Amber Stroud of Douglasville took the number three position. Eight-12 Junior Dragster win ner 10-year old MacKenzie Butler of Jackson met the weather chal lenge with determination, cutting a perfect .000 light against 10-year old Cole Wood of Jefferson, who broke out by .05 seconds, running an 8.85 against an 8.90. Ten-year old Alex Krause of Peachtree City placed third. In addition to the Summit ET Series bracket-racing program, the Night of Fire event features exhi bition runs, from wheel-standers to jet cars, and the grand finale of a huge fireworks show. Corvettes dominated the visit ing Pro-Mod category, namely the ’63 model, with Salem, Ala., racer Dan Parker at the head of the pack. Parker ran 180.28 MPH in 4.06 seconds against the non-conformist ’04 model driver James Hancock III, of Opelika, Ala., whose car gave out mid-race, running 48.82 MPH in 8.93 seconds. Keith Baker from Dothan, Ala., and Steve Kirk, Jr. from Monroe, placed in the semi-final round. The Pro Mod show was topped off with a face-off between Scott Kennedy’s “Controlled Insanity” Funny Car and Ken Nelson’s “Cool Bus,” racing to the finish line on just two wheels each. To complete the set, Elaine Larsen rolled up in the Embry- Riddle jet dragster, with three suc cessful runs, the final pass offered a unique insight into the process, as an in-car radio amplified the con versations of the Embry-Riddle jet dragster crew, including Elaine’s exclamation of “Woohoo” follow- HOMER'S BRETT BOWMAN ing each 280-plus mph run. The culmination of the event was the annual fireworks display, highlighting the approaching July 4th weekend, in celebration of independence and the sport of drag racing. The show was made more spectacular by nature’s own contri bution; the clouds behind the fire works lit up with lightning, carried by an approaching storm. Conveniently enough, the clouds did not break until after the official highlights of the show came to a close, bringing the curtain down on the remaining racers of the accompanying Summit Snap-On points race. The winnings were split among the nine Super Pro, nine Pro, eight Sportsman, and six motorcycle racers left in competi tion, while the Junior Dragster and Pro Mod classes were able to finish. First and Ten ... continued from page JB After eight successful seasons in Covington, West suprised many by moving to Union County, a smaller school. However, it really didn’t suprise me. West always moved to his own beat and certainly never cared what anyone else thought. With Union County competing in the same region as Banks County, I had the chance to catch up with West a couple of years ago after his team competed. “Coach West,” I said as I extended my hand. “Chris Bridges,” he responded in turn. It was obvious time had seen both of us mature and grow in our respectful professions. More than a decade ago when I first met the coach I wouldn’t have thought much about the chances of us still talking 12 years later. I’m glad we did though. Grudges are for weak people. We should all live for the present and for the future, not the in the past. My thoughts are with West’s fam ily today. I hope some hand of com fort will be placed upon them. I will remember a fierce competitor who hated to lose and one who didn’t let what others thought keep him from his goals. I admire those traits in anyone who had the courage to display them. Chris Bridges is sports editor of The Banks County News. E-mail comments to chris@mainstreetnews. com. TOLBERTiUi'iBRADFORD Attorneys at law STOP Foreclosures STOP Repossessions STOP Garnishments STOP Tax Levies STOP Creditor Harassment Chapter 13 Repayment (Pay only Filing Fees to Start) Chapter 7 Get a Fresh Start Free Initial Consultation Athens • 706-549-8545 • 320 E. Clayton Street, Suite 514 • Athens, GA 30601 Jefferson • 706-367-5290 • 62 Washington Street • Jefferson, Georgia 30549 BIG FIREWORKS SHOW! * JEFFERSON, GEORGIA / Where Speed Lives la Georgia THURSDAY, JULY 3 U TOYOTA TUNDRA presents INDEPENDENCE 125 71 125 Laps - Pro Late Models Plus Local Divisions Pit Gates Open at 11:00 a.m. • Practice at 1:00 p.m. Grandstands open at 5:00 p.m. • RACING at 7:30 p.m. Children 12 & Under FREE 3 For more information visit www.georgiaasphaltseries.com or call 706-387-7490. Down the Stretch Having to step up and find my racing nerve S everal years ago, my dear friend and mentor Rob Wainberg taught me a phrase in Yiddish that I have used many times since. It’s become one of my favorites, and it sums up some situations nicely. The phrase, as best I can spell it in English, sounds like “Tokhis oyfin tish.” Roughly translated, it means, “Put up or shut up.” Well, I had to apply that phrase to myself this week. Over the course of the last 25 years, I have said many times that, given half the chance, I’d hop into a high powered, rubber burning race car to tear laps around Peach State Speedway, my home town race track. Well, that opportunity came around on Monday. I’m proud to say, folks, that I put up. The folks out at Peach State were getting geared up for their Independence Day weekend race, and invited the media out to the track on Monday to talk to a few of the racers and to tour the facil ity. Plus, track media director Allen Hastings added in his email, the newly renovated Peach State “Ride Along” car, a two seater race car, would be available to take folks on a few laps around the venerable old speedway. Now, I’ve taken laps around tracks many times before, in pace cars, on golf carts, and more than once just driving a pair of sneak ers. But I had never really had the opportunity to turn laps at speed at Peach State, which, at one time, was the fastest half-mile paved track in the country (and remains the fastest paved half mile in Georgia to this day). I think I can honestly tell you that I didn’t once think about not doing it. My 34th birthday fell just a few days before the media day, and I just looked at it as a late birthday present from fate. So, on Monday morning, I drove out to the track on Lyle Field Road, along with Jackson Herald sports editor Justin Poole, to have a go at the track. Hastings met us at the gate, and directed us to the infield to wait on the drivers to arrive, along with track promoter Vince Whitmire. Whitmire, a second-generation racer who competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series and has worked and appeared in several racing movies and com mercials, arrived in style moments later. He hit the track in the ride along car, which, instead of being the GAS late model that I had expected, was a former NASCAR Busch Grand National racer, a car that potentially held a lot more horsepower under the hood. Remember I said I was looking at this as a late birthday present? Somebody also brought cake. Before the GAS series drivers showed up, Hastings asked me “You ready to jump in there?” Absolutely. I climbed in on the passenger side, and got some assistance hooking up the three-point seat- belt before putting the helmet on. After securing the window net, Whitmire looked over at me and grinned. “Are you ready?” he asked. “I was born ready,” I said. With that, he lit her up, and took off. The biggest sensation I noticed were the g-forces. Even on a small track like Peach State, they shove your body over pretty good, and I was fighting against them to stay upright. I didn’t reach for any kind of “chicken bar,” but I did hold on to a support bar in the middle of the car to help keep me upright. I never really got worried dur ing the ride, other than when the car came up on the track off the apron, and when it was coming off the banking into the pits. That was the only time the car ever seemed unstable. Other than that, it was pushing up in the turns, so there was little fear of it spinning out. As we rolled into the pits, Hastings looked in and grinned, asking how it was. I just flashed the “ok” sign. I looked over at Whitmire and said, “Good run. Felt good.” I climbed out feeling like a mil lion bucks. I had done something I had always wanted to do. It made for a heck of a birthday present. Brandon Reed is a reporter for Mainstreet Newspapers. E-mail comments about this column to brandon @ mainstreetnews. com. brandon reed Auto Racing From racing to high school sports to action at the recreation field...The Banks County News has it covered We're pleased to announce our recent engagements ■ Athens Regional Medical Center is now accepting patients covered by CIGNA and Kaiser Permanente. Beginning July 1st, we will also be accepting patients covered by Humana, and on August 1st, those covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO/POS. Athens Regional, here for you always ... in sickness and in health! Athens Regional J MEDICAL CENTER WE ALSO ACCEPT MEMBERS OF: 1st Medical Network, Beechstreet, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO & Indemnity, Coventry National Health Network, First Health, Health Plan Select, and Tricare/Champus among others. For a complete listing of carriers call 706-475-5921. 1199 Prince Avenue • Athens, Georgia 30606 • 706-475-7000 • www.armc.org