Saturday
Casey Roderick Stars As Gresham Motorsports Park Swings Gates Open On World Crown 300 Weekend
Press Release
Roderick won both the Pro Legends and Thunder Car portion of the evening program while Cody Haskins grabbed the Semi-Pro Legends main event. Meanwhile, Randy Gunton beat Randy Thornton to the finish line to capture the Master Legends feature.
In Bandolero action, Alex Coffee won the first-ever race on the all-new Gresham Motorsports Park quarter-mile oval while Anderson Bowen got the best of the field in the Bandolero Young Guns division.
Earlier in the day, sunny skies and a full pit area greeted fans at the totally refurbished speedway Friday morning. Late Model practice for Sunday’s World Crown classic rolled off with a bang when Allen Karnes pasted the Turn 1 wall. The heavy impact destroyed Karnes’ ride and put him on the sidelines for the remainder of the weekend.
Meanwhile, times on the new GMP half-mile oval proved to be lightening quick as Chase Elliott led all practices with a best lap of 16.546 seconds – three tenths faster than the standing track record. In all, 12 drivers eclipsed the all-time track record of 16.83 seconds in practice.
The Late Models will be back Saturday for another round of practice before hitting the track in search of the Monolith Companies Pole Award for this year’s World Crown 300. Qualifying Saturday is set for 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Late Model division will be joined by four divisions of cars Saturday. For just $15, fans can take in Crown qualifying as well as see the Iceman Late Models. Mini Stocks, Renegades (Street Stocks) and Trucks do battle on the freshly minted GMP half-mile Saturday evening. The first race will roll at 7 p.m.
Finally, Drift Emporium of Athens, GA will put on a tire smoking drifting exhibition prior to Saturday evening’s main events. The group will be part of a bigger Drifting show to be presented by Southeast Drift on Saturday, November 28, at GMP.
Saturday’s practice schedule gets underway with the Late Models on the track at 10 a.m. The Iceman, Mini-Stock, Renegade and Truck divisions will alternate practices beginning at 1 p.m.
Sunday’s World Crown 300 pre-race gala will feature a ribbon cutting, dedication, live music and driver introductions before the green flag waves at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
About Gresham Motorsports Park
Opened as Jefco Speedway with a NASCAR Late Model Sportsman (now Nationwide) race in 1967, Gresham Motorsports Park has served the auto racing community for more than 40 years. The half-mile asphalt oval located just outside Jefferson, GA will reopen with the 26th-Annual World Crown 300 November 13-15, 2009. The multi-purpose facility is currently formulating plans to host a wide range of events in 2010 including multiple divisions of auto racing, local and regional Craft Shows, Farmer’s and Flea Markets, Car Shows, Concerts and other community events. For more information about Gresham Motorsports Park – or to enquire about booking a 2010 event at the facility – please log on to www.greshammotorsportspark.com
- Gresham Motorsports Park Press Release
Article Tags: Alex Coffee, Casey Roderick, Chase Elliott, Cody Haskins, GMP, Gresham Motorsports Park, Iceman Late Models, INEX/600 Racing, Jefco Speedway, Mini Stocks, Monolith Companies Pole Award, NASCAR Late Model Sportsman, NASCAR Nationwide Series, Randy Gunton, Renegades (Street Stocks), Trucks, World Crown 300
